This station was built when the Rondout and Oswego Railroad got to Arkville (then called Dean's Corners) in 1871, covering the site of the ancient Tuscarora Indian headquarters.
Calanan received large quantities of material used in highway construction up through the 1970s, processing them in a plant located on the flat south of the present Arkville yard.
The D&N track ended at the switch just east of the Route 28 highway crossing, but its trains were allowed to enter the yard and use the turntable.
West of New York State Route 28 the D&N had its own freight house, which still stands today as a laundromat, a pizza parlor and an apartment complex.
The New York Central acquired the portion of the D&N running past the D&N's old freight house and served a retail coal dealer located there until the line was abandoned, on October 3, 1976.