Travel Back To The Year 1901 At The Lindenhurst Historical Society’s Restored Long Island Railroad Depot And Freight House Museum – Now Open For The 2026 Summer Season
Lindenhurst Museum Director Marianne Guglieri, Site Manager Ed “Skip” Meinhold, Lindenhurst Historical Society President Evie Sosna and Lindenhurst Village Deputy Mayor Maryann Weckerle have announced the earlier-than-anticipated seasonal opening of the 1901 Restored LIRR Depot and Freight House Museum. When asked about the May 20, 2026, opening day, the Depot Museum’s Site Manager, Skip Meinhold, pointed to the community’s enthusiastic response at the recently refurbished Freight House’s March 28, 2026, sneak peek. Mr. Meinhold commented, “The overwhelming response we received regarding the entire site has inspired the Village and the Historical Society to undertake an earlier seasonal opening, giving visitors, train enthusiasts, and history buffs even more opportunity to tour the Depot, Freight House and our circa 1958 ‘Hack’ railroad car.”
Credited as Long Island’s first railroad museum, the Depot and Freight House replicate the Lindenhurst stop on the Long Island Railroad, recalling its original location along East Hoffman Avenue, close to the grade crossing at North Wellwood Avenue. The exhibit displays artifacts, photos, and other memorabilia that celebrate the railroad’s contribution to Lindenhurst’s founding and subsequent development as the fourth-largest Village in New York State. Located at Irmisch Historic Park, in the heart of Lindenhurst Village and close to the Village’s vibrant downtown, visitors to the 1901 Restored Long Island Railroad Depot and Freight House Museum can journey back in time to experience what life was like in Lindenhurst at the turn of the last century; recalling that the Lindenhurst we know today, first known as Breslau, owes it’s beginning to the arrival of the railroad.
Ms. Guglieri recalled that while the Depot has been open to visitors since 1975, the Freight House has been open only intermittently. “We sought to change that in 2024 when Lindenhurst Historical Society President Evie Sosna and I joined forces with Skip and a team of volunteers to turn our attention to the Hack and the Freight House,” said Museum Director Guglieri. “Our efforts, while generously underwritten by funding from the Village of Lindenhurst and with Suffolk County Omnibus funds, would not have been successful without the countless volunteer hours contributed by local craftsmen, historical society members and dedicated residents,” said Lindenhurst Historical Society President Evie Sosna. “This project, spearheaded by the Lindenhurst Historical Society and supported by the Village of Lindenhurst and the Village’s Public Works force, resulted in a long-needed refurbishment and revitalization of both the Hack and the Freight House,” said Deputy Mayor Weckerle, “and the outcome speaks for itself.”
The two-year effort included a major cleanup, artifact reorganization, storage improvements, cosmetic renovations, and site access improvements. With work completed earlier this year, visitors can more easily tour the “Hack” and the Freight House, where new exhibits regale Lindenhurst’s symbiotic connection to the railroad as well as celebrate Lindenhurst’s industrial heyday.
The 1901 Restored Long Island Railroad Depot and Freight House Museum, at South Broadway and South Third Street in Irmisch Historic Park, welcomes visitors every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. through October 28th. Docents are on-site to guide and inform visitors. The Old Village Hall Museum, adjoining the 1901 Depot and Freight House at Irmisch Historic Park, is open year-round from 2 PM to 4 PM every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from June to the end of October and from November to May on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Admission is free. For more information, please call 631-506-8431.
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