Editing Susquehanna Depot, Pennsylvania (section)

== History ==
The [[New York and Erie Railroad]] (later reorganized as the Erie Railroad) built a rail line through the county in 1848, including the [[Starrucca Viaduct]]: a monumental stone structure spanning [[Starrucca Creek]]. Concurrently, the railroad established [[workshop]]s in what would eventually be known as Susquehanna Depot. Initially, 350 workers were employed. The line opened for traffic in 1851.<ref name="Stracuzzi">Stracuzzi, Francine A. [http://susquehannaborough.net/about_us/history3 "Erie Railroad's Effect on the Borough of Susquehanna: Susquehanna Depot."] Accessed August 28, 2011.</ref>

[[File:Susquehanna Shops - Erie RR 1971a.jpg|thumb|left|Erie Railroad shops, built 1864–66 along Main and Drinker Streets. The shops were demolished between 1980 and 1982.]]
The borough was incorporated on August 19, 1853, from part of [[Harmony Township, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Harmony Township]].<ref name=Harmony>{{cite web|title=Harmony Township|url=http://www.susqcohistsoc.org/#!county-information/c1a2c|publisher=Susquehanna County Historical Society|access-date=March 9, 2013}}</ref> In 1863, the Erie shops were expanded to cover {{convert|8|acre|ha}} and they employed 700 workers by 1865, and later over 1,000.<ref name="Stracuzzi" /> The complex included a 33-stall [[Railway roundhouse|roundhouse]], a [[rail yard]], a foundry, gas works, oil works and offices.<ref name="Coppock">Coppock, Gary F. (1992). [http://susquehannaborough.net/about_us/history4 "Borough of Susquehanna Depot Early History."] From Phase I Archaeological Survey Report for the Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Project.</ref>  By 1887, the shops were producing five locomotives per month.<ref name=Harmony /> The [[Susquehanna (Erie Railroad station)|Susquehanna railroad station]], which included a large hotel called the Starrucca House, opened in 1865.<ref name="HAER">Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, Washington, DC. [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.pa1257 "Erie Railway, Susquehanna Station & Hotel."] Repository: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Call no. HAER PA,58-SUSQ,3- . Survey No. HAER PA-8.</ref>
[[File:Susquehanna Depot PA.jpg|thumb|left|Main Street in Susquehanna Depot]]
The railroad converted the Starrucca House to offices and staff housing c. 1903.<ref name="Dahl">Dahl, John C.(2001). [http://www.trainweb.org/rshs/GRS%20-%20Susquehanna,%20PA.htm "Great Railroad Stations: Susquehanna, Pennsylvania."]</ref> A new roundhouse complex was constructed between 1904 and 1911, and other shop buildings were added through the 1920s. In 1928, the railroad relocated its locomotive shops to [[Hornell, New York]], and moved other shops out of Susquehanna in 1929, but retained a [[Passenger car (rail)#Coach|coach]] shop with reduced staffing through the 1950s. In 1952, Erie closed the roundhouse as it converted its steam locomotive roster to [[diesel locomotive]]s. By the end of the decade, Erie had moved all of its remaining shop operations to [[Meadville, Pennsylvania|Meadville]].<ref name="Coppock" />

Erie merged into the [[Erie–Lackawanna Railroad]] (EL) in 1960, and the latter ended passenger train service through Susquehanna on November 27, 1966.<ref name="Stracuzzi" /> EL went bankrupt in 1972 and was absorbed into [[Conrail]] in 1976. Most of the railroad shop buildings were demolished in 1980 and 1981.<ref name="Coppock" />

With the demise of the local railroad industry, Susquehanna now has many small resident-owned businesses scattered along Main Street. Recent renovations to several Main Street buildings mark the first significant upturn in the local economy in several decades.

The [[Susquehanna (Erie Railroad station)|Erie Railroad Station]] was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1972.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>