2019 Seven to Save: Ossipee Depot

The Portsmouth, Great Falls, and Conway Railroad connected Rollinsford to Conway and reached Ossipee in 1870 after the town voted to loan the line 5% of the town’s total valuation. Four depots were constructed after 1871, two of which were nearly identical – Center Ossipee (later known as Mountainview) and this one, in Ossipee.

Many of the line’s railroad depots were distinctive, most notably the Russian-inspired North Conway Depot. But seven smaller depots shared the design details employed at Ossipee – a central spire, hipped dormers, a wrap-around awning, and plenty of bargeboard. Of these depots, Ossipee and Wolfeboro are the only two remaining.

The Boston and Maine Railroad leased the line in 1890, but by the mid-1900s, much of the passenger and freight service had ceased. This depot wound up in private hands until it sold to a voluntary association in 2015 which hoped to convert it into a museum. But a property tax dispute discouraged the museum from forming, and the property was put on the market. The current owner wishes to find a preservation-minded buyer.

Located near the village of Ossipee – the seat of Carroll County, this former depot will need a visionary new owner who has the passion and money to make a preservation project happen.