The old passenger depot, currently owned by Historic Inns of New Hampshire, has sat on Kimball Road near the Gilford stump dump for five or six years now.

Don Leavitt, who along with Rick Miller owns Historic Inns, said the airport would like to construct another airplane hangar on the land where the depot now sits, so the structure needs to be removed by the end of the month.

Laconia Airport Manager Diane Cooper said no land transactions have been made but the station does need to be removed.

"The old train station is on airport property, but we didn’t sell any property," said Cooper.

"We don’t sell property. Land was purchased by the federal government for the purpose of an airport," said Cooper. "We just lease out land."

Cooper said the information that a land deal, either a sale or lease, has been made on the property which the train station sits is false.

Originally Cooper said that initially the Airport Authority agreed to allow the station to be stored on airport land for one year, but that was several years ago, which is why something needs to be done to remove the structure from the land.

"We’ve given everyone sufficient time to make arrangements to have it removed," said Cooper.

The Lakeport Train Station was built in 1900 and was in use until about the 1960s when it was no longer needed for transportation needs. In 1983, the entire station was moved from its location off Lakeport Square to make room for a boat showroom.

After about four years of storage in Lakeport, the train station was moved again, this time near the Laconia Airport.

Since then, the station was thought to have a use with Leavitt and Miller with the Kimball Castle project to provide additional guest rooms at Kimball Castle. However, Leavitt said the project plans changed and the train station was no longer necessary for the lodging facility.

Leavitt said he hopes someone in the area will find some use for the piece of history, which is considered by some in Lakeport as a crown jewel.

"The train station was the pride of Lakeport when it was built in 1900 so there was a lot of feeling for it," said Leavitt. "It is beloved with some of the older people of Lakeport."

Leavitt said the airport has been very gracious in letting the train station sit on the property for more than the first year and he understands the property needs to be used for another purpose.

"The airport has been very, very patient and very kind through all of this," said Leavitt. "It’s not that the Airport Authority is just tired of looking at it, they have a definite use for that property, which is why it needs to be gone."

Leavitt said the actual building is free to anyone who would like to remove it from its current location, which may seem like a lot of work but it can be done. He said the costs of moving the station and making the arrangements to have it moved would be the responsibility of whoever is taking it.

"It’s free, obviously it has to be moved," said Leavitt. "It’s been moved before, so it’s ready to go."

Leavitt said people need to look beyond the peeling paint of the building and the other weathered features and see the history of the old train station.