Program

Historic Transportation

Subject

Site, Transportation

Location

121 California Dr, Williamsville, NY 14221, USA

Lat/Long

42.9589916, -78.7517991

Grant Recipient

The Village of Williamsville

In the village of Williamsville in Erie County, New York, adjacent to the Williamsville Lehigh Valley Depot, stands a section house, a remnant of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad that once ran through the community. The section house was built by the railroad by 1914 and was used to house its workers. From 1914 to 1938, section foreman Carmine A. Duke resided in the house with his family. As the section foreman he oversaw a crew of men that worked to keep the Williamsville section of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in repair, inspecting the tracks daily and overseeing general track maintenance efforts in the area.

Shortly after its construction, the June 19, 1914 issue of the trade magazine Railway Age Gazette included an article on the Williamsville Lehigh Valley Railroad section house. It reported:

The Lehigh Valley has recently adopted a new type of section house for the use of its foremen and laborers which is considerably above the average standard of such structures throughout the country. One such structure has already been completed at Williamsville, N.Y., while another is now about half completed at Stafford, N.Y., and others are about to be built at five other points along this road.

The first floor of the section house included a kitchen and dining room, along with a bunk room for railroad workers. The second floor had three rooms and an attic and was reserved for use of the section foreman and his family. The Railway Age Gazette noted that the section house cost about $3,750 to build.

Once no longer used by the railroad, the section house sat vacant for a time. The Western New York Railway Historical Society worked to save the building and it was eventually acquired by the village of Williamsville. As of 2024, a restoration project is underway to save this local landmark and bring attention to the significance of this lasting transportation feature of the former Lehigh Valley Railroad.