Last Sunday the main house of Borderland Farm on Rt. 94 burned, with tragic results. This house was about 150 years old, and in addition to the terrible loss of a life, and a home, owner Virginia Martin has lost the archival records of her family & the historic homestead, which she had intended to share with the Historical Society. Our condolences to Virginia and the family; the community sorrows with you. The same week we were notified that the Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Veteran's Association had gotten a call from Orange County Community College. They needed to clean out an old garage, and discovered 150 boxes of archives of Warwick's Lehigh & Hudson River Railway. Years ago when the railroad office closed, the valuable archive was transferred to OCCC. It was transfered eventually to the railway museum in Strasburg, PA-- or so it was thought. Apparently only some of the records were transferred, and everyone had forgotten this huge lot of records! Many people don't realize that without the L & HRR, and the commerce, jobs, and wealth it gave rise to, Warwick as we know it would not exist.
For more on the railroad, check out Marty Feldner's web site: http://lhr.railfan.netOver the next week or so the railroad club will rescue the records and store them temporarily, with the finacial help of the Historical Society of the Town of Warwick and the Carriage House Storage owners, Jack and Janice Hubert. There they'll be sorted and an inventory created, so that a new, secure home that is accessible to researchers can be found.
No comments:
Post a Comment