There's No Place Like Home In A Train Station

In a 1973 real estate advertisement, the former train station at Shinnecock Hills was described as an ideal home for a “writer, artist or just a creative person.” Its time as a train depot, which had begun in 1887, had been over since 1932, as had its role as a post office since 1966. There had been other incarnations as well, as a telegraph office and, most recently, though also abandoned, as a real estate office.“We had seen it from the tracks and we said, ‘Let’s go look at it,’” Ellen Kirwin explained last week. “It had broken windows with boards over them, graffiti all over, no electricity and no water.”

She wondered aloud what other flaws her beloved home had had 40 years ago.

The flaws did not bother her. The station, located on the appropriately named Hills Station Road, was everything the Kirwin family could have wanted because it was starkly different from any other “home,” and today none of those feelings has changed. “We were crazy, but it was unique, and it would be our own home,” she said.

In 1974, the family bought the old station for $7,000, which even 40 years ago was inexpensive. At the time, the land was maritime grassland with little green overgrowth and few trees. The station was easily visible from the tracks, and the bay and ocean could be seen from the original depot tower. Since the station also served as a real estate office, the tower had at one point been a spot from which to study properties for sale in Shinnecock Hills.

Although the station needed significant work—including electricity, plumbing, and the digging of a well—to be transformed into a livable home, the Kirwin family, who live here year-round, loved everything about the dilapidated building and worked hard to restore it to as close to its original condition as possible, changing only what was necessary.

Many of the building’s old signs had been thrown into the woods nearby. The family went out and collected all they could find, and today the signs still hang in the house, giving it considerable character. One that reads, “Western Union Telegraph and Cable Office” hangs in a room with a steep ladder that leads up to the original tower. In another room, a sign saying “Railway Express Agency” serves as a reminder of the building’s original purpose.

The family also collected doors that had been removed from the house and reinstalled them in their appropriate spots.

Today, the rustic old black telephone, ticket window and green waiting benches remain and have all been incorporated into the family’s home. The waiting benches serve as a couch, easily mixing the contemporary with the historic and blending in with the original doors of the old station.

In 1893, the depot had become what is called a “flag station”—passengers had to flag down the train, like a taxi, by getting the conductor’s attention so they could board and travel to their desired destination.

A train still passes by 12 times a day on weekends and eight times a day during the week. Ms. Kirwin explained that when her children were younger, they used to count each time the train came, and even played regularly in the tracks since they knew the exact schedule.

“A lot of people were afraid that the train would derail and run into the building when it ran by,” Ms. Kirwin said of the time when they bought the old station. “If they thought that, then I don’t think it would be the right home for them.”

Sally Spanburgh, chairwoman of the Southampton Town Landmarks and Historic Districts Board, noted that today the train passes by at considerably more than 30 mph, and that there is a large swath of bamboo, which provides some “protection and privacy” to the home. Otherwise, “it has changed very little,” Ms. Spanburgh said.

The Shinnecock Hills railroad station was named a Southampton Town landmark last year, a salute to both its history and architectural charm.