Then and Now: Silver Lake Train Stop

In this Then photo you can see the small but frequently used Silver Lake train station around 1917.

The population around Silver Lake during the summers tripled, according to Gerry O'Reilly's book on the matter, after state-wide (mostly cityfolk) vacationers would take buses, trains and cars into Wilmington.

The vacationers would stay at cottages around the lake taking in the sun during the day and the festivities at night. There were dances, boxing and wrestling matches and even slot machines at the Pavilion at Thompson's Grove.

Many cityfolk used the train system, the Lowell Train from Boston, to hop up to Wilmington for the summer and got off at this stop.

While the lake continued to be popular, taking the train up here didn't. With the end of WWII also came the end of rationing and cars were once again the easiest, most convenient, way to get around. By the 1970s the train station was lost to disuse and closed.

In this Now photo you can see the station depot is gone (but not the tracks) and almost entirely forgotten.