The Victorian train station is the very first stop on the official Borough sponsored Cattell Tract Historic District walking tour. The development of Victorian Merchantville can be traced to the association with the ease of transportation afforded by the railways. Philadelphians were able to live in a pleasant new development while commuting to the city with ease. This 1 and a half story station was the center of life in this new development. Its inviting porch provided protective areas for awaiting trains while passing the time of day. The ticket area was located in the central area with freight and passenger waiting rooms on either side. At one time the train master lived on the second floor with his family. The present use of the building as office space is a good example of adapted reuse of a historical building with sensitive treatment of the exterior to maintain the Victorian character. Note the carved griffins in the tympanum, a symbol of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (Source: Pamphlet given out at the borough hall)
I took a 2 hour walk of this incredible and little known town/jewel. I live two miles away and had no idea this area existed. I went to the borough hall and picked up a brochure entitled A Walking Tour of the Cattell Tract, A National Registered Historic District. Inside the pamphlet, there are 15 examples of contributing structures with a wide range of diversity so as to allow the visitor to have a complete flavor of the district. There are a total of 174 buildings in the district. While I was unable to procure a list on this day, the borough folks told me contributing houses (everyone from the 1890s) have markers indicating the date of construction and the original homeowner's name. There are many contributing structures without the markers, but, I only documented the ones with the markers so as to waymark them and provide suitable evidence for the contributing structures category. Recently however, the nomination form has been digitized and now all of the properties and narratives are available.
The complete nomination form with all the contributing structures and their narratives can be found HERE
The narrative for this property reads as follows:
SE Corner N. Center Street and E. Chestnut Street - Merchantville Train Station
Circa 1881, renovated 1980s. 1 1/2-story, 5-bay Victorian train station, originally
organized as central ticket office with flanking passenger and freight rooms. Brick first
floor, butt and cove shingles in two second floor gables. Full-width porch, turned posts,
knee brace brackets, pediment with pendants and carved griffins in tympanum, symbol of
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Two entrances with glazed and paneled doors, 4/4 double hung
sidelights. Other first and second floor fenestration 8/8 double hung, stone sills at first
floor. Shake porch roof and main roof. - Contributing (Section 7, Page 4B) SOURCE
The Camden and Pemberton Agricultural Railroad was chartered for construction and operation of a line connecting Camden, Merchantville, Moorestown, Mt. Holly, and Pemberton on July 28, 1854. During the next three years, no railroad construction through Merchantville ensued, although Loutey and McFadden continued to acquire land. The nationwide financial panic of 1857-1858 likely postponed construction further. In fact, it was not until the organization of the Camden and Burlington County Railroad in February of 1866 that ground was broken for Merchantville's new link to Philadelphia. The Cattell, Stetson, Homer, Cunningham, Morris and Curtis families donated much of the land needed for construction of the railroad. Train service officially opened October 21, 1867, and in 1868, the Camden and Amboy Railroad leased the line. SOURCE
As far as the historic district, I took a 2 hour walk of this incredible and little known town/jewel. I live two miles away and had no idea this area existed. I went to the borough hall and picked up a brochure entitled A Walking Tour of the Cattell Tract, A National Registered Historic District. Inside the pamphlet, there are 14 examples of contributing structures and narratives (including this contributing structure) incorporating a wide range of structural/architectural diversity so as to allow the visitor to have a complete flavor of the district. There are a total of 174 buildings in the district. I think this may be the only non-residential structure to be found here. While I was unable to procure a complete list of contributing structures on this day, the borough folks told me contributing houses (everyone from the 1890s) have markers/plaques indicating the date of construction and the original homeowner's name. There are many contributing structures without the markers, but, I only documented the ones with the markers so as to waymark them and provide suitable evidence for the contributing structures category. The train station is unfortunately devoid of markers or anything else which may identify it as an NRHP site, but, it is a contributing structure nonetheless.
Here is what is on the brochure:
Alexander G. Cattell, United States Senator, commission merchant, and organizer of the Corn Exchange National Bank of Philadelphia, was the first developer of Merchantville. By 194, he along with the "founding fathers", real estate speculators, had acquired land which was to become the Borough of Merchantville. Cattell and his brother, Elijah G., eventually acquired 79 acres or one fifth of Merchantville's total area.
Not coincidentally, the first railroad was chartered for construction and operation between Pemberton and Mount Holly the same year. However, it took until 1866 for the Camden and Burlington Railroad to break ground. The Cattells and other land owners donated much of the land needed.
Between 1868 and the mid 1870's several Cattell lots were sold for $400 - $500. The first home, the Furber House, at 25 East Walnut Avenue was built in 1869. Contributing to the first building boom were the formation of the Cottage Building & Loan Association, magazines that promoted suburban living, and the opening of a summer boarding house.
By 1910 the Cattell Tract was substantially developed, its predominant architecture being Victorian. Today the majority of structures exhibit a high degree of architectural integrity and are in excellent condition. SOURCE