Laurel station (LIRR)
Laurel station, originally called Franklinville, was a small Long Island Rail Road stop on the Greenport Branch in Laurel, New York. The first depot stood in Franklinville, but when the town got a post office in 1898 the name was changed to Laurel to match the postal area (there was already another Franklinville in New York). The station appears in records around 1872, likely built then to serve farmers and fruit growers. The 1870s building was updated in 1879, and the depot handled freight like cauliflower shipments as well as occasional passengers. Regular passenger service showed up on timetables in the 1890s, with the name change reflected in 1898.
A new simple depot building replaced the old one in 1901. In 1910 there was a dispute over who should handle the mail, but a second door was cut so the Post Office could take responsibility. Because Laurel was far from New York City and there was no fast electrified service, very few riders used the station.
In the 1920s and 1930s the LIRR worked to end the station's operator role, finally getting permission in 1938 to close the agent while keeping some freight and a small amount of passenger service. The depot was turned into a shelter by 1939.
Service continued to fade in the 1960s; mail service ended in 1965 and newspaper deliveries were reduced. All regular service ended in 1966, and the shelter was demolished in 1967.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:06 (CET).