Somewhat unusually, this station served the city of Rockland for several years as its town hall, though the city has since built new digs and it is now home to the Trackside Station Restaurant.
Built in 1917 by Maine Central, the station was taken over, as were all the railroads, on January 1, 1918 by the government and operated by it until March 1, 1920, at which time it reverted to the Maine Central Railroad. The Brunswick-Rockland line, known as the Rockland Branch, has been operational intermittently through the years, being taken over by the Maine Eastern Railroad in 2003 and operated by them until December 31, 2015. On January 1, 2016 the line was taken over by the Central Maine & Quebec Railway. Summer train excursions had been run on the line from the Rockland station for several years, but with the change in operator on the line the future of that service is in question. Freight service is being taken over by Central Maine & Quebec Railway while excursions may or may not be continued by the Morristown & Erie Railway.
The seat of Knox County, Maine, Rockland is one of several settlements fronting on Penobscot Bay. First settled about 1769, Rockland had a couple of names, Shore Village then East Thomaston, before becoming Rockland in 1850 and the City of Rockland in 1854. The city was built on two major industries - shipbuilding and lime production. Though shipbuilding was for many years the foremost industry, by 1886 it was overtaken in importance by the lime industry which employed 1,000 workers. As well, Rockland supported a goodly number of smaller industries such as grain milling, machine shops, cooperies, tanneries, shoe factories, lumber mills and, of course, fishing.
The Knox and Lincoln Railroad came to town in 1871, opening up a flourishing tourist industry for the seaside town, which remains an important economic driver today. Lime production and shipbuilding have long since ceased, as has, to some degree, fishing, leaving the city today more of a service centre and tourist town. Lobster fishing remains an important industry.
Moored in the harbour are a handful of old schooners, all NRHP listed. Other NRHP sites in the town include the Courthouse, Indian Island Light Station, Main Street Historic District, the Mequnticook Golf Club, Rankin Block, Rockland Breakwater, Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse, Rockland Public Library (a Carnegie library), Rockland Railroad Station, Rockland Turntable and Engine House, Security Trust Building and the Strand Theatre. It's easy to see that the town values its history and its historic artefacts.
Rockland is also home to the
Farnsworth Art Museum and the
Wyeth Center, a world renowned museum of art, containing paintings by Andrew Wyeth, as well as N.C. and James Wyeth and other well-known New England artists. The major annual event which takes place in Rockland is the
Maine Lobster Festival, a five day event which draws lobster lovers from around the world. For years the
Maine Eastern Railroad operated seasonal excursion trains between Brunswick and Rockland. That service appears to have ended in 2015.
Though now in a more conventional building, the Rockland City Hall was, for several years, housed in the old
Rockland Railroad Station, built in 1917 by Maine Central.