LISBON County engineer envisions offices in old train depot

Plans call for the deserted depot to be renovated in 2004 using grants.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- It once sheltered passengers and railroad employees, but the old train station now stands idle, a haven for spiders, dust and nesting birds.
Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson wants to change that by undertaking a nearly $250,000 project to renovate the crumbling depot and use the county-owned structure for offices.
"There are all kinds of funds available" for such a project, Dawson said. He said that he's hopeful state and federal grants can be landed to cover most if not all the renovation costs.
"I think it's a good idea," Tina Frantz, a trustee with the Lisbon Historical Society, said of the renovation plan.
The two-story, 19th-century brick structure is across from the county engineer's department on the 200 block of South Market Street. It's about two blocks from the courthouse, which has run out of room.
The county bought the depot and surrounding property nearly four years ago for about $108,000, Dawson said.
The building is now used for storage and needs repairs. Many of its bricks are loose, paint is peeling and some windows are boarded.
Previous uses of building
After its career as a train depot, the station was used as part of a feed-mill, and some of the mill is attached. Commissioners are advertising for a scrap company willing to pay to remove the mill, components of which can be sold by the contractor as scrap metal.
That job is expected to be completed in the next few months.
Dawson said he foresees applying for renovation grants in 2003 and undertaking the work in 2004.
County history books that were consulted provide few details on the depot.
It was associated with the Pittsburgh, Lisbon & amp; Western Railroad Co., which operated near the turn of the 20th century. The line stretched from Lisbon to New Galilee, Pa.
The railroad hauled passengers, coal, clay, sand and brick, according to one historical account.