LISBON Engineer says he'll try again to get railroad depot on historical listing

A state agency doubts the building was originally a train depot.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County Engineer Bert Dawson is refusing to take "no" for an answer in his quest to have a decrepit building declared a landmark and in having the structure restored.
Dawson said last year that he wanted to renovate the former Pittsburgh, Marian and Chicago Railroad depot that's owned by the county and sits largely unused near his South Market Street office.
A first step in that process was to have the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places, which Dawson said would have made it easier to land state and federal restoration grants.
Dawson has estimated it will take about $250,000 to restore the building to its period appearance.
An application was submitted to the Ohio Historic Preservation Office, which rejected the bid in April.
The agency listed a number of objections, among them a concern that the two-story brick structure may have been built originally as a house and converted to a depot.
The preservation office also said it has reservations about the property's historical integrity.
It noted the tracks that once passed near the building are no longer there, that there are additions to the building related to its one-time service as a feed mill and that "there doesn't appear to be much on the interior that reflects the rail history of the building."
Determined
Dawson said he thinks that with the help of area historical societies, it can be demonstrated that the structure did start life as a depot, not a house.
He also noted that the county has removed the old feed mill remnants that merited the preservation office's objection.
"It's a unique little train station" and deserves national register status, Dawson argued.
It's likely another application for inclusion on the exclusive listing will be submitted this fall, he added.
The county bought the depot and surrounding property nearly five years ago for about $108,000.
The building is being used for storage and needs repairs. Many of the bricks are loose, paint is peeling, and some of the windows are boarded.
Once renovated, Dawson said, the structure could be used for offices.
He also said that, with restrooms installed, the old depot would be a nice adjunct to the county park system's Greenway Trail.
The hike-bike pathway stretches from Lisbon to Leetonia, about 12 miles.
Its Lisbon trailhead, which has only a portable restroom, is just a few blocks from the train depot.