Rockland Turntable and Engine House - Rockland, ME - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Rockland Turntable and Engine House

Constructed in 1921 to replace an earlier complex, the Rockland Turntable and Engine House are significant reminders of the railroad's former importance to this mid-coastal city. It is located about one-half mile west of the Rockland Railroad Station (N.R. 2/7/78) which was converted into the city hall after its abandonment in 1959. The Turntable and Engine House are eligible for nomination to the National Register under criterion A for their association with the history of transportation in Rockland.

The first rail line to reach Rockland was the Knox and Lincoln Railroad. Chartered in 1864, the road was completed to Rockland, its eastern terminus, in 1871. Reporting on the arrival of the first in-bound train, the Rockland Gazette noted in its November 3, 1871, edition that a "...construction train arrived near the depot grounds bringing ties and the material for a turntable, water tank, etc." The immediate construction of a turntable was essential, since no other means existed at this end of the line to turn the engines for their return trip. For what period of time this particular structure existed, however, is uncertain.

In 1876 the railroad extended its track into downtown Rockland where it constructed a wood frame passenger depot and platform (a building virtually identical to an extant depot in Warren which was on the K+LRR). This change was made in part to place the railroad in closer proximity to the wharves served by numerous passenger steamships. The Maine Central Railroad leased the Knox and Lincoln line in 1891 and acquired it ten years later. In 1921 the Maine Central replaced the turntable then in existence with the present structure and engine house, although apparently at a different location.

Incorporated in 1848 as East Thomaston, the Town of Rockland (as it was known after 1854) developed into a significant mid-coastal city during the nineteenth century. Its broad harbor provided an ideal transportation route for the local lime industry, as well as the shipping needs of numerous merchants and small-scale manufacturers. The growth of the community is evident in a comparison of population figures. In 1850 there were 5,052 persons residing in Rockland, but by 1900 this number had increased to 8,150.
From the NRHP Nomination Form