Buckland and the Railroad

Buckland and the Railroad. . In 1872 landowners John Gochenour and Josiah Clawson platted 30 lots north and south of the railroad line coming through what would become Buckland. On July 24, 1873, the line was completed to St. Marys, and chartered as the Lake Erie and Western. The Vanderbilts, owners of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern line (New York Central), purchased the LE&W in 1879, relegating it to substandard service to reduce competition. The Clayton Anti-Trust Act of 1914 forced the Vanderbilts to sell the line to the Van Sweringen brothers, Cleveland owners of the Nickel Plate Railroad. On October 16, 1964, the Nickel Plate was merged into the Norfolk and Western System. Today the line is owned and operated by the R.J. Corman Railroad Company., The Buckland Railroad Station operated as an agent station into the mid-1950s. The last scheduled passenger train to stop regularly in Buckland was in 1951, when trains were terminated because of the elimination of the mail contract. Two passenger trains continued to run but would stop here only by special request. The last Nickel Plate passenger train through Buckland was in October 1959., Kathryn "Katie" (Dyer) Dicks (1871-1942) , Katie Dicks followed her father into the railroad business by becoming a ticket seller at age 12. Katie was transferred to the Buckland station in 1906 as an agent-operator, a position she held for 35 years. Katie was not only telegraph operator and railway agent; she sold tickets, handled baggage, controlled the signals, managed the express, checked passing trains, and even served as a crossing watchman in the village., On March 24, 1923, a fire in an adjacent building engulfed the railway station. Katie's temporary office was a baggage car that stood on the siding. Katie herself drew up the plans for the new station, with the exact features she desired., In September 1939 Katie took a trip through the East. In New York City she attended the World's Fair and appeared in a radio broadcast of "Ripley's Believe it or Not." The program's theme was "Ladies Holding Men's Jobs.", Katie retired from the railroad in June 1941 and moved to Danville, Indiana., Marcellus Herron then became the Nickel Plate station agent followed by Maurice (Newt) Newtson, Chet Osborn, and T.R. (Tommy) Anderson., Buckland was originally named Whitefeather, for the Shawnee leader who had once lived at the site. Colonel Ralph Buckland is credited with helping bring the railroad here and the village was renamed for him in 1891, at the time of its incorporation., Auglaize County: In Motion enhances our understanding of and appreciation for the many museums and historic sites in Auglaize County that reflect the themes of motion, movement, and transportation., Auglaize County: In Motion is a project of the Auglaize County Historical Society made possible by support from the Ohio Humanities Council, as well as the Midwest Electric Community Connection Fund, St. Marys Community Foundation, Wapakoneta Area Community Foundation, and the City of Wapakoneta's Lodging Tax Grants Program.