Laurel (LIRR station)

Laurel
Approximate site of the former Laurel Station
Location	Laurel Lane Laurel, New York
Coordinates	40°57′45″N 72°33′45″W / 40.962386°N 72.562567°W / 40.962386; -72.562567Coordinates: 40°57′45″N 72°33′45″W / 40.962386°N 72.562567°W / 40.962386; -72.562567
Line(s)	Greenport Branch
Platforms	2
Tracks	1
History
Closed	May 22, 1966
Rebuilt	1901
Previous names	Franklinville
Services
None (Closed) Preceding station   LIRR   Following station Jamesport station Main Line (current and former locations) Mattituck station

Laurel, originally Franklinville was a station stop along the Greenport Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Laurel, New York.

The station was built in the hamlet of Franklinville, and after securing a Post Office in February 1898, they had to change its name as there already was a Franklinville in Cattaraugus County. The residents voted to choose the name "Laurel" after the local lake. The station is mentioned in the Gazetteer of the State of New York in 1872.

In light of the farming, gardening, small fruit raising, and cultivation of root crops, a freight depot was established following the arrival of the railroad right-of-way. It was reported in 1887 that the total number of barrels of cauliflower carted from the depot was 3,762. The building was renovated in the summer of 1879 to afford better accommodations for passenger service. In the fall of 1895, new interior floors and new roof shingles were installed as well as new platform planks. Regular passenger service appears on timetables in April 1891. On the timetables the name Franklinville first appears in April 1891, then disappears to reappear in September 1892. Then the name disappears again but reappears in June 1894. It is listed as Franklinville as late as Employee Timetable #3 from June 1897, when the superintendent of the LIRR ordered that names be the same as the postal jurisdiction. With the opening of the Laurel Post Office, Franklinville was revised as well. By the summer of 1898, timetables reflected the modifications, with Franklinville remaining in parentheses. Thereafter it was simply Laurel. Soon after the station became a signal stop only.

At Laurel, a small shack depot replaced the former structure in 1901. In 1910, the building was the setting for a controversy between the LIRR and the Post Office as to who should haul the mail from the station because of the location of the depot’s entry. Tape measures revealed that it was the railroad’s responsibility. However, soon after a second door was cut into the depot making it the Post Office’s obligation.

Due to the long distance to New York City and the fact there was no high-speed electric service, commuter ridership at Riverhead stations, such as Laurel was minimal. Statistics from the winter of 1930 reveal that there were no daily commuters to western LIRR terminals, and there was no change the following summer. The low numbers at Laurel, forced the railroad to take action. As early as 1925, the LIRR petitioned the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) to allow for the discontinuation of its Laurel station agent. The PSC denied the request on July 14, 1925. Nevertheless, the LIRR won a second request in May 1938 and was allowed to close the Laurel agency. The stipulation was that the company maintain suitable facilities for the receipt of carload and less-than-carload shipments of freight. Since it was a non-agency station, it was placed under control of nearby Mattituck. In the next few months in 1939, the Laurel depot was made into a shelter by boarding up the windows and removing the track-side wall. The shed was razed in the year 1967.