Westport, NY (WSP)

6705 Main Street
Westport, NY 12993

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $27,667
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 790*

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: Town of Westport
• Parking Lot Ownership: D&H Railway Company, Inc.
• Platform Ownership: Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
• Track Ownership: Canadian Pacific Railway Co.

• Adirondack

Jane Brophy
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnyc@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• Town of Westport
• Depot Theater
• New York by Rail

The Victorian-era passenger depot in Westport was built in 1875-1876 for the Delaware and Hudson Company (D&H, succeeded by Canadian Pacific Railway), added onto in 1891 and extended further in 1908. The building’s restoration since 1974 is a good example of adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of an older depot.

In 1974 the depot was sold to the town of Westport for $1, with a long term lease on the land from D&H. Two years later, the Westport Historical Society initiated a major restoration of the building, particularly the lobby. With the sponsorship of the Westport Historical Society, the Depot Theater was founded in 1979 and became the primary occupant of the building. In 1988, the Depot Theater acquired funding for the restoration of the cupola through donations from two local families.

A subsequent renovation began in 1998 and cost about $225,000. The original slate roof was replaced, and repairs were made to the ornamental fascia. Work also included installation of ADA-compliant bathrooms, electrical rewiring necessary for theater operations and inclusion of new signage. The majority of the funding came from a federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) grant; the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) provided $50,000, the Great American Stations Foundation provided $16,000, and an earmark from Senator Little provided $20,000. The theater group raised money for landscaping, painting, and floor refinishing. Since then, there have been further rehabilitation of the electrical wiring, work on the insulation, replacement of doors, and other miscellaneous projects.

In 2000, the town and the Depot Theater won an Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) Award for the restoration of the depot. The AARCH Awards Program annually recognizes exemplary historic preservation work throughout the Adirondack Park.

Amtrak, in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration and in cooperation with the town and Canadian Pacific Railway, completed accessibility improvements to the depot in fall 2024. The $3 million project included installation of a new 120-foot platform with an integrated platform snowmelt system, new accessible parking and a wheelchair lift with a secured enclosure. The station also features new public right-of-way access, energy efficient LED light fixtures along the pathways and at the platform, and all-new signage. The work was primarily funded through the federal Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act of 2021.

The town was founded by William Gilliland in 1764, who surveyed and established Westport as well as the neighboring towns of Elizabethtown and Willsboro; however, this initial settlement was destroyed during the Revolutionary War by General Burgoyne’s army on its march south from Canada. In 1804, Charles Hatch made his way to the shore of North Bay on Lake Champlain, and by 1815 the town separated from Elizabethtown, eight miles away and established its own government. The settlement prospered with its grist mills, saw and pulp mills, as well as stores, taverns, a tannery, and a cloth factory. The Sisco furnace established there in 1840 processed iron ore from local mines, but while it was technologically advanced for its day, did not prosper or persist.

However, beginning in the mid-19th century, medicinal springs in Westport encouraged the beginning of resort trade. Its social scene was reported upon in the New York Times and Boston Globe until the 1930s. The Westport Hotel, standing across from the station, also dates from that same era. The town is also the location of the Essex County Fair, with exhibition buildings and a trotting track still used today, easily visible from the depot. Westport is said to be the birthplace of the Adirondack chair, that symbol of summer familiar to many Americans. Camp Dudley, established by Sumner F. Dudley on Lake Champlain in 1891, is the oldest continuously-run YMCA camp in the United States and still very active.

The Depot Theater not only occupies a place in the station, it occupies a place in local culture. A professional Equity theater, it produces stage plays all summer long, and other musical and film events throughout the year. The Depot Theater additionally hosts a year-round lobby gallery featuring artists and shows from northern New York State, working with the Arts Council for the Northern Adirondacks—also headquartered in Westport.

Service on the Adirondack is financed primarily through funds made available by the New York State Department of Transportation.

*Adirondack service resumed in April 2023 following a pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Station Building (with waiting room)