Johnsonburg Station

History of Johnsonburg Station

Johnsonburg Station was a station in Johnsonburg, New Jersey and was one of three stations along the Lackawanna Cut-Off. This station was identical to Greendell Station in appearance, however Johnsonburg had orange roof tiles rather than green. Along with this, Johnsonburg was located on the westbound side of the tracks, while Greendell is located on the eastbound side.

The station opened on December 23, 1911 and passenger service to the station ended on July 27, 1952. A prominent feature of Johnsonburg was the creamery which was just across the tracks, which lasted much longer than Greendell's creamery, and was where operations were transferred to once Greendell's creamery closed in 1937. The creamery at Johnsonburg operated up until the 1970s.

After Jerry Turco had purchased the Cut-Off in 1985, he revitalized the station due to pressure from locals, and installed new windows and a roof. Turco had advertised the station for rent, however it stayed vacant. Since the station was isolated, it made the station extremely vulnerable to vandalism, which is what ultimately happened. 

After the State of New Jersey acquired the Cut-Off in 2001, the station was left abandoned. In the fall of 2007, a contractor was hired by the State of New Jersey to demolish the creamery as it had become a nuisance, the contractor mistakenly took down the station as well. The demolition of this station is what led the Lackawanna Cut-Off Historical Committee to form, and begin efforts to save Greendell Station. 



Johnsonburg Station facing westbound on March 26, 1913. Armstrong Cut can be seen in this photo (Bunnell Photo)
Johnsonburg Station on March 26, 1913.  (Bunnell Photo)
Johnsonburg Station as it looked in September of 1974  (Harry Abendroth Photo)
Johnsonburg Station (right) and the creamery (left) as they looked in August of 1977  (Pete Putman Photo)
Johnsonburg Station as it looked after restoration in 1990 (Chuck Walsh Photo)
Johnsonburg Station's Foundation as it looked on April 20, 2021 (Austin O’Connor Photo)