Welcome to Adams Station

Welcome to Adams Station. . , This building was a passenger waiting station on the electric streetcar Pittsburgh and Butler Street Railway., In the early twentieth century (ca 1907) there were two parallel railroads serving Mars. One is where the existing railroad is still located and operating (to your right) and the second ran through Mars on Clay Avenue (across the street to your left). The Clay Avenue Railroad operated from 1907 to 1931 and was also known as the Butler Short Line. It served the farmers, businesses and general population from Pittsburgh to Butler., There was also a similar electric streetcar railroad that ran from Pittsburgh to Evans City and on to New Castle called the Harmony Short Line. It ran through the Cranberry area about 10 miles west of Mars. A route map of these two railroads is inside this building., Those railroads used electrically powered rail cars that received their power from overhead wires. You can see some very accurate 1 1/2" scale models of these railcars in the Freight Room of the restored B and O railway station behind you., This Adams Station Building was a passenger waiting station along the Butler Short Line. It was originally located a few miles north of here. The Mars Historical Society obtained the building from a farmer who was using it as a storage shed. The Mars Historical Society restored it to its original condition. Inside you will see some artifacts and pictures from the electric railroad era. Note the initials that were carved into the station walls.