Ken and Jeannie Hill ran their machine shop out of Lansford’s old train station for a half a century.

In the process they helped maintain a historic building which the town now hopes will serve as a hub of activity once again.

“This station is the key to a lot of future economic development here in the borough. And for that we have to thank Kenny and Jeannie Hill,” said Bruce Markovich, president of Lansford Borough Council.

During a ceremony on Tuesday, Ken Hill handed over the keys to the building to Markovich, to mark the transfer of ownership to the borough.

The building looks unassuming from its years as a machine shop.

The station opened in 1925, served by the Lehigh and New England Railroad. Up until the 1960s, it moved passengers and freight to New York’s Hudson Valley and points in between.

A few years after the station closed, Hill was a young machinist operating his business out of his home. He would often drive with his wife to the station and share his dreams to turn it into his shop.

“Kenny said ‘Someday this is going to be mine.’ And he made it happen,” Jeannie recalled.

Hill filled the station with machining equipment which he and his employees used to make custom parts which kept local industries running. But he refused to take out anything original from the train station. Instead, he hid the original windows, doors, light fixtures and ticket window behind new walls.

Over the years many of the other buildings from the LNE and Lansford’s mining heyday were lost to demolition. The station survived in relatively good condition, thanks the Hills.

“It was a very unique survivor,” said Dale Freudenberger, a local historian.

In recent decades towns like Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua have turned their train stations into tourism hubs. Lansford sees the same potential in their old station.

After voting to buy the property, the council formed a steering committee with partners representing economic development, tourism, and historical preservation.

The steering committee brought in high school students from Carbon Career and Technical Institute to create a vision of what the station might be in the future. The students, enrolled in the Drafting and Design Technology program, created building plans and 3-D renderings which will be used to market the station. They also have looked into possible future uses for the building and surrounding areas – such as a restaurant, museum, shops, and/or performance space

“It’s a cool building. If this turns out the way they want it to, it could mean a lot for the community,” said Craig Conville, a CCTI student.

Borough officials see those ideas as being several years down the road. Their primary focus was making sure the building was preserved. The Hills feel the same way. While others made higher offers, they thought the borough would be the best caretakers of the building which they consider a part of the family.

“Kenny and I feel confident you can extend the life and existence of this goldmine – which we’ve had the honor and pleasure of being the caretakers of for at least a half century,” Jeannie Hill said.