The yearlong sale of a 65-year-old machine shop is seen as a spark to rekindle activity and excitement at a central, strategic location in Panther Valley.

It all started in late December 2021, when machinist and Lansford native Ken Hill announced his retirement and sale of Hill’s Machine Shop inside the former Lehigh and New England Railroad Freight Station, Dock Street.

The 10,000-square-foot industrial complex had been the backbone of industry in the Tamaqua-Panther Valley region for six decades. The shop, featuring 61 machines and a skilled staff, worked on hardware at the region’s largest operations: Atlas Powder Company, Lehigh Coal and Navigation, Ametek, Silberline Manufacturing and many others.

The availability of the property, which also includes the 9,000-square-foot former Zimmerman Produce Warehouse building at 2 Dock St., became the hot topic of 2022.

That’s because the building is largely original and the site is seen as rich in history.

The station opened in 1925, serving the Lehigh and New England Railroad. Up until the 1960s, it moved passengers and freight to New York’s Hudson Valley and other locations.

It didn’t take long for Lansford borough to express interest. In fact, it was only a matter of weeks when council President Bruce Markovich and council members met with Hill and wife, the former Jeanie Kulhavy, and an agreement was forged to sell the property to the town.

“I’d like to see something that employs people,” Hill said.

The idea was for the complex to be preserved and revamped, possibly used as an anchor business and an attraction site for those visiting the coal mines less than a mile away.

Developers expressed interested in re-establishing rail services to the station again.

In early February, the Hill couple signed over the business, expressing hope that the location will become an attraction site for tourists.

“I would love to see blacksmithing done here, I studied blacksmithing, making shoes for horses, and I would like to see exhibits to really show people how it was in the old times,” said Ken Hill.

Jeanie Hill, Lansford native, said she was happy to see the depot put into the borough’s hands.

“You only got this building on a loan because it really belongs to history and now it has come full circle and it’s time to give it back to history.”

In April, Lansford Alive hosted a reunion of Hill’s close-knit team of workers and to thank the Hills for their generosity.

“He gave back to the community in many ways. It shows his importance to the community to look at the crowd here today,” said Christopher Ondrus, Lansford Alive president.

Bill Harleman, president, Lansford Historical Society, said preservation of the depot is especially significant in light of the large number of historic Lansford buildings which have been lost over time.

“The potential is unreal.”

Next steps

Markovich said a six-year plan to develop the depot is being accelerated, possibly to two years, largely to take advantage of nearby complementary projects.

“We want to move up our timetable. There are two projects. The state is doing a $5M fan house and expansion project at No. 9 Mine over two years. And we’re working with a private developer who’s looking to turn the former Edgemont Lodge property into a wedding venue. That’s a two-year, $5 price tag.”

Economic development strategists see the Edgemont project as having the potential to bring a substantial number of people into the valley.

That prospect, combined with the No. 9 Mine and Museum expansion, would both generate visitors and additional investment to maximize potential at the depot.

In fact, there is a plan afoot to declare the Dock Street vicinity and surrounding resources as the Anthracite Heritage Parkway.

Markovich and other see the station as the key to future economic development in the borough.

As for the depot building, there’s no shortage of interest, he said.

“We have a list of people waiting to move in there. It’s moving along.”