New York Railroad Archive

Smith’s Mills, NY

The Erie Railroad station in Smith’s Mills, NY circa 1909. From the collection of Steamtown National Historic Site archives, image #O-09. Found on rootsweb.com.

Smith’s Mills (sometimes spelled “Smiths Mills” or “Smith Mills”) was a station on the original main line of the  Erie Railroad. This line was operated by the New York and Erie Rail Road (1851 – 1861), the Erie Railway (1861 – 1878), the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad (1878 – 1895), the Erie Railroad (1895 – 1960), and the The Erie Lackawanna Railroad (1960 – 1976). The line between Dunkirk and Dayton, NY was abandoned in 1976 with the creation of the Consolidated Rail Corporation (Conrail). The station in Smith’s Mills was torn down when the line was abandoned.

Detail of an 1881 map showing the location of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad station in Smiths Mills, NY depot. From “Chautauqua County 1881, New York” published by F.W. Beers and Co. in 1881. Found on HistoricMapWorks.com.

A crossroads on the banks of Silver Creek, Smith’s Mills had four mills and a tannery, along with a schoolhouse, hotel, general store, blacksmith, livery, slaughterhouse, wagon builder, and match factory. The depot in Smith’s Mills was about one-half mile south of the commercial center of town.

The Erie Railroad station in Smith’s Mills, NY circa 1909. From the collection of Steamtown National Historic Site archives, image #O-08. Found on rootsweb.com.
A map showing the track configuration near the Erie Railroad station in Smith’s Mills, NY. Author’s illustration from Erie Railroad 1918 valuation map V-11-NY/34.
A LIDAR image of the area around the former Erie Railroad station at Smith’s Mills, NY. Note that what looks to be the foundation of the old station is visible inside the blue circle. Author’s illustration based on the Discover GIS Data NY tool.

Clippings

Maps

Timetables

Thanks to Cathy Kaicher from Imagine Forestville for historical information about Smith’s Mills.