by James Benetzky/photos by the author
The Longswamp Historical Society held an open house at the train station in Mertztown, Pa., on Sunday, August 2, 2020. The station is located on Chestnut Street in Mertztown, along Norfolk Southern’s Reading Line. Local residents and railfans visited the station this day to get a glimpse of the past and see what the inside looked like before the society relocates it in the future. The former Reading Railroad depot was built in 1875 by predecessor East Pennsylvania Railroad and is located on the Atlas Chemical & Mineral Co. property at Chestnut St. in Mertztown.
Atlas Chemical had been using the building for storage when the Longswamp Historical Society acquired the building in April 2019. The Society has plans to eventually disassemble the building and move it six tenths of a mile away to the Longswamp Community Park at 1112 State Street in Mertztown. The society plans to restore it and use it as a museum and public gathering space. You can learn more about the Mertztown station relocation project on their web site.
