Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum to open

Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum to open

It's been a long time coming, but on May 12 the Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum will celebrate its grand opening. Thousands of volunteer hours and tens of thousands of dollars have gone into the project which was the vision of Bernie Cubitt, who was the chairman of the restoration project.

On May 12 at 11 a.m., elected officials, volunteers and residents will be on hand to see the fruits of the labor started by Cubitt and Bud Nichols and aided by many community volunteers.

The upper level of the depot will house a visitor center with historical displays and possibly ticket sales for Erie Canal boat and/or canoe rentals. The first floor will have public restrooms and shower facilities for use by canal travelers. A deck has been built on the depot level to connect with the canal area.

Carol Coburn, Town of Ogden and Village of Spencerport historian said, "Congratulations to the citizens of the Ogden/Spencerport community. You now have a new community facility that will attract heritage tourism, provide education to your children, a museum, a welcome center and rest facilities for Canal travelers.

She said she was excited to have been part of the project. "This project proves that a caring community like Ogden/Spencerport can make miracles happen," she said. "This is what a community can do when they care about preserving history."

Doreen Castano, a Friend of the Library, who is the volunteer coordinator for the Depot's satellite library, said the library that will be housed in the Depot has been furnished in replica furnishings as in the old library as depicted in an photograph that was found. "The library is going to be old-fashioned," she said. "Visitors will be issued cardboard library cards, there will be a card catalog to look up books and the books will be stamped by hand - just like they used to be."

The books that will be housed in the Depot are all donated items and will also be available for loan to boaters who might stop in. "They can either leave the book with another library within Monroe County or we will have envelopes so they can drop the books in the mail when they are done with them," she said.

The Depot hours are scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays; 2 to 7 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. "With the hours we have planned, we will need 104 volunteers per month to staff the Depot," Castano said. "If we get more volunteers, we can be open more hours."

Individuals wishing to volunteer at the Depot can contact Castano through the Ogden Farmers' Library or can attend either of the two volunteer orientations that will be held on May 14 - there will be one session at 4 p.m. and one session at 7 p.m.

Village of Spencerport Mayor Ted Walker said, "The Depot is a great example of people with an idea working hard and bringing it to fruition. The grand opening brings this project to an excellent conclusion."

Background

The depot was originally located where the power station is at the north side of the Village Plaza. The tracks ran up West Avenue and there are still places where the old tracks are visible beneath the street's blacktop. The depot was moved to an area off Evergreen Street in Spencerport village and was renovated as a private residence. It served that purpose from 1946 to 2002. It was nearly unrecognizable as a trolley station until the team of community members began working to restore it to its original state.