Danville Train Station: 2026 Preservation Award

The Danville His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety is hon­ored and delight­ed to announce that the restora­tion of the his­toric Danville Train Sta­tion has been rec­og­nized with a 2026 Preser­va­tion Award from the Preser­va­tion Trust of Ver­mont. The award was pre­sent­ed dur­ing the Down­town & His­toric Preser­va­tion Con­fer­ence held in St. Albans on June 4, cel­e­brat­ing out­stand­ing work in pre­serv­ing Ver­mon­t’s built and cul­tur­al landscapes.

This recog­ni­tion belongs to the entire Danville com­mu­ni­ty and reflects the ded­i­ca­tion, vision, and hard work of count­less vol­un­teers, part­ners, donors, and sup­port­ers who helped bring this remark­able project to life.

We would like to extend our deep­est grat­i­tude to the Town of Danville Train Sta­tion Com­mit­tee, formed in 2021 to guide the restora­tion and revi­tal­iza­tion of the sta­tion. The com­mit­tee’s com­mit­ment and per­se­ver­ance were instru­men­tal in trans­form­ing the build­ing from a dete­ri­o­rat­ing his­toric land­mark into a vibrant com­mu­ni­ty resource. While every com­mit­tee mem­ber played an impor­tant role, we would be remiss not to acknowl­edge Danville native, retired archi­tect, and com­mit­tee mem­ber Rob Balivet, who gen­er­ous­ly served as the pro­jec­t’s Own­er’s Rep­re­sen­ta­tive. His exper­tise, lead­er­ship, and count­less vol­un­teer hours were invalu­able through­out the restora­tion process.

We also extend our sin­cere appre­ci­a­tion to the pro­fes­sion­al team that made this project pos­si­ble, includ­ing R. Edwards & Com­pa­ny, archi­tects for the restora­tion, and Engi­neer­ing Ven­tures, whose civ­il and struc­tur­al engi­neer­ing exper­tise helped ensure the pro­jec­t’s success.

This reha­bil­i­ta­tion would not have been pos­si­ble with­out the sup­port of numer­ous fund­ing part­ners, includ­ing the Town of Danville, the Preser­va­tion Trust of Ver­mont, Green Moun­tain Pow­er, the Ver­mont Agency of Com­merce & Com­mu­ni­ty Devel­op­ment, the Ver­mont Agency of Trans­porta­tion, the Ver­mont Depart­ment of Forests, Parks & Recre­ation, the Ver­mont Divi­sion for His­toric Preser­va­tion, the Ver­mont Hous­ing & Con­ser­va­tion Board, and the many indi­vid­u­als whose gen­er­ous pri­vate dona­tions helped make this vision a reality.

Built in the sum­mer of 1871 for the Port­land & Ogdens­burg Rail­road, the Danville Train Sta­tion served as a pas­sen­ger and freight depot for more than a cen­tu­ry. Fol­low­ing the clo­sure of rail ser­vice in the ear­ly 1990s, the build­ing faced decades of deferred main­te­nance. A crit­i­cal sta­bi­liza­tion effort in 1994 helped pre­serve the struc­ture, but a com­pre­hen­sive restora­tion remained a long-term goal for the community.

That oppor­tu­ni­ty emerged with the devel­op­ment of the Lam­oille Val­ley Rail Trail. Rec­og­niz­ing the sta­tion’s impor­tance as both a his­toric land­mark and future com­mu­ni­ty asset, the Town of Danville estab­lished the Train Sta­tion Com­mit­tee in 2021 to lead restora­tion efforts.

Fol­low­ing an exten­sive plan­ning and design process, work began in 2023 and includ­ed the recon­struc­tion of the his­toric plat­form and canopy, acces­si­bil­i­ty improve­ments, ener­gy-effi­cien­cy upgrades, full elec­tri­fi­ca­tion of the build­ing, restora­tion of his­toric inte­ri­or fea­tures, and the thought­ful inte­gra­tion of mod­ern ameni­ties. The project was com­plet­ed despite sig­nif­i­cant con­struc­tion chal­lenges and cel­e­brat­ed its grand reopen­ing on Sep­tem­ber 18, 2025.

Today, the Danville Train Sta­tion once again serves as a wel­com­ing gate­way to the com­mu­ni­ty and a des­ti­na­tion along the Lam­oille Val­ley Rail Trail. The restored pas­sen­ger wait­ing room now show­cas­es his­toric rail­road arti­facts and mem­o­ra­bil­ia, while the for­mer freight room is being acti­vat­ed with new vis­i­tor-ori­ent­ed uses that will ensure the sta­tion remains a vibrant part of com­mu­ni­ty life for gen­er­a­tions to come.

The Danville His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety is deeply grate­ful to every­one who con­tributed their time, tal­ent, exper­tise, and finan­cial sup­port to this project. This Preser­va­tion Award is a tes­ta­ment to what can be accom­plished when a com­mu­ni­ty comes togeth­er to pre­serve its his­to­ry while cre­at­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for the future.