RISING SUN — September 13, 2024 — On this fine Friday evening at the end of summer, we stopped by the Rising Sun Train Station to capture a photo of the building, as we understand it will soon face demolition.
The railroad reached Rising Sun in 1865, marking a significant milestone with the arrival of a passenger excursion train on Christmas Day. Over the decades, the northern Cecil County community enjoyed good service with eight-weekday tran stopping in 1927. However, passenger service soon faced a sharp decline, and on March 29, 1935, the Midland Journal announced its discontinuation.
Rising Sun remained an operational point for freight even without regularly scheduled passenger service. Mail for the post office continued to arrive by rail until October 1, 1945, when the last mail train made its final run. The town had been without passenger service for years, and now the local newspaper reported the only service on the line was occasional freight.1 Still, we recall Sally McKee telling us about going to the station to get oranges shipped by Florida relatives in the 1940s or perhaps 1950s.
The station’s history is also marked by its station agents. Alexander Wilson served in this role into the 1940s and may have been the last railroad official posted in town. His duties in Rising Sun extended into at least 1943, when the newspaper reported he had returned to work after being hospitalized for three weeks. Earlier in the 20th century, Everett A. Morris, who had learned telegraphy under another agent, served several years.2
In 1883, Sharpless W. Lewis took charge of the Cecil County Station. 3 The Oxford Press reported that in July 1891, the station was briefly closed as the family of Mr. Lewes, who occupied it as a dwelling, passenger station, and office, had scarlet fever. The company office was temporarily moved to the freight house. 4 In 1893, he was transferred to Kennett Square.
With the transfer of Agent Lewis, it was rumored that George F. Jones would be transferred to town. He had been stationed at Nottingham some years earlier. Additionally, W. W. Carter had a long tenure, holding the post for 16 years before the Oxford Press announced his retirement in 1883.5
As the Rising Sun Train Station closes its final chapter, we paused on this warm Friday evening in September as the sun began to set to take a few minutes to reflect on its rich history. In the golden age of Railroading, it served as a vital hub for the community, connecting townspeople to the broader world. Its impending demolition marks the end of an era.
Endnotes
- “Mail Train Discontinued,” Midland Journal, October 5, 1945. ↩︎
- Obituary, “Everett A. Morris,” Midland Journal, Aug 18, 1939 ↩︎
- “New Agent at Rising Sun Station,” The Oxford Press, April 30, 1893 ↩︎
- “Local News,” The Oxford Press, Feb. 28, 1883 ↩︎
- “Cecil County Items,” The Oxford Press, Feb. 14, 1883 ↩︎
This article implies the freight station may have closed in the late 1940s; however, I remember going there with my father to pickup up items for his business that were shipped by freight. And in about 1957 I purchased a firearm from an ad in Popular Mechanics that, I believe, was shipped to Rising Sun by Railway Express, since firearms could not be mailed.
The house pictured was not the station. As I remember it, there was a warehouse type building for freight shipments adjacent to the tracks with a office in one end. The house in the picture may have been the home of the stationmaster. I believe in the 1950s the stationmaster may have been named Rockefeller(?).
Thanks, Clay, for some additional information.
The research of the records didn’t pinpoint a more precise date for the lapse of freight service or the closing of the freight station. But freight continued after mail service disappeared in 1945. The remark about an occasional freight on the line came from the Midland Journal the week the mail train stopped running (Midland Journal, October 5, 1945).
Sally McKee, whom we referenced, in the article also mentioned going there to pick up oranges shipped to the station by relatives from FL for Christmas. She wasn’t sure of exactly when that was but thought it was the 1940s or 1950s. The railroad abandoned the Branch south of Colora in 1961, according to the High Line a railroad history publication.
Roger Cole took a few pictures of the freight house in the 1980s and he had shared those with us previously.
Here’s a link to the station from a postcard circa 1912 station and station agent’s home.
Thanks for the additional information