DO YOU HAVE RINGING/BUZZING IN YOUR EARS?
FREE QUOTES! SCHEDULE YOUR LANDSCAPE MAKEOVER BEFORE MAY 31st TO GET ON THE LIST FOR 2025!!
We may be able to help.
Call today . . . spots are limited! MyAffordableHearing.com
MOWING • WEED TRIMMING YARD CLEAN-UP • LANDSCAPE REJUVENATION
574-835-4826
FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED
574-223-EARS (3277) • 418 E. 9th St., Rochester
TAX SERVICE Individual | Business | Farm
574-505-0813 By Appointment Only 9581 E. 100 N., Akron, IN 46910 E-mail: tom@tombauterscpa.com
Fulton County
Shopping Guide News Wednesday, March 12, 2025
www.shoppingguidenews.com
617 Main Street, Rochester, IN 46975
Phone 574-223-5417
Your Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Specialist.
574-491-4882 LOCALLY OWNED & OPERATED
ADDITION — A second story was added to the depot after it was made into a home.
AKRON, IN
Get More
For Your
Buck & More Coverage!
Call 574-223-5417 To Advertise
WINDOW — One of the old windows in the depot-turnedhome is shown.
Rochest e r resi d ent s enj o y l i v i n g i n former Athens train depot
Fulton County
Shopping Guide News
RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER
PAID
Milford, IN Permit No. 2 EDDM
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
ECRWSS
PAID
Milford, IN Permit No. 2
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage
PRESORTED The Papers Inc. STANDARD NONPROFIT ORG P.O.U.S. Box 188PAID POSTAGE MILFORD, IN Milford, Indiana 46542 PERMIT NO. 2
SIDENTIAL CUSTOMER
PAID
Milford, IN Permit No. 2
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
Circulation Over 8,500!
ECRWSS
LIVING IN AN OLD TRAIN STATION — Addie, left, and Dustin Lawson live in the former Athens train depot, which has been converted into home. It’s located at 2305 West Side Road, Rochester.
Text and Photos By LEAH SANDER Staff Writer The Athens train depot may once have served people’s travel needs, but now supports a couple’s at-home ones. Addie and Dustin Lawson and their two cats call the former depot their home. The couple rents the property located at 2305 West Side Road, Rochester,
AT YOUR SERVICE
24/7
on Lake Manitou, from Bill and Barb Hardesty. According to Fulton County records, the original structure dates to 1900. Gayle Bishop, who owned the house with her husband, Mike Bishop, before the Hardestys did, said she heard the depot was moved over to Lake Manitou to be a fishing cottage. It’s been updated as a home with a second story addition,
which Addie Lawson said she believes dates to the 1970s. She noted the 942-square-foot building has runners underneath it, which made it mobile. “There’s two really pretty trusses on the outside that I’m assuming they’re (in) the original paint ... where as the rest of the house has been sided,” said Addie Lawson. The structure also contains many old windows.
Addie Lawson said one of the previous owners put a sign on the home reading “Athens Depot.” “It’s as pretty as an old train station can be,” she said. Addie Lawson called living in a piece of history “really cool.” She noted it’s ironic that she’s living in the home because she’s a Purdue University graduate. “So I’m a Boilermaker living in an old train station.”
KITE & ULERICK &
574-223-6307 Family Owned & Operated
Residential & Commercial ~ Licensed & Insured ~
Est. 1985
NO
INFLATED FE WEEKEND ES FOR SERVICE CALLS!