Ocean County Chamber of Commerce - Manahawkin, New Jersey
Posted by: 
gparkes
N 39° 41.749 W 074° 15.698
18S E 563305 N 4394257
This one time railroad station is now open on Saturdays during the summer as an information station for Ocean County.
Waymark Code: WMAMGE
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 01/29/2011
Views: 2
A historic marker at the site states:
Stafford Township Historical Site
Stafford Township Historic Preservation Commission 2006 ~ Mayor Carl W. Block and the Stafford Township Council
Installed as part of the Troop 65 Eagle Scout Project by Jerry S. Gambino
Manahawkin Railroad Station (1872)
The railroad came to Manahawkin as part of the post Civil War railroad boom. The Tuckerton Railroad (1871 - 1940) developed 28.0 miles of track between Whitings and Tuckerton providing a transportation corridor between Philadelphia and the Southern Ocean County shore area. From 1886 to 1935, a spur of the Pennsylvania Railroad provided access to Long Beach Island.
Manahawkin has had two railroad stations. During the first winter, the original station was deemed unfit for winter operation. Therefore, stationmaster M. L. Peckworth operating from Sprague's General Store across the street. Between April and August of 1872, the station that still exists in Heritage Park was built on Stafford Avenue. The last station master was Frank Southgate. All the rails and ties were removed by 1940, leaving little other evidence of the railroads that ran through the area at one time.
After abandonment of the Tuckerton Railroad, a local businessman, Wayne "Zip" Pharo used a car and log rollers to move the station building across the lot for use as his wood shop. The station was purchased in 1964 by Flosters and moved to 755 East Bay Avenue for use as an antique shop. In 1990, the station was purchased by the Stafford Township Historical Society and the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce.
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