It was built by the Ulster and Delaware Railroad to replace an earlier station, primarily serving the patrons of hotels in the surrounding Catskill Mountains.

It remained in use for about 55 years, after the New York Central Railroad bought the U&D on February 1, 1932, and ultimately ran its last passenger train on March 31, 1954.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 as the Phoenicia Railroad Station, and today is home to the Empire State Railway Museum.

The station is located just south of High Street, a road that leads into Phoenicia from the NY 28 state highway.

It is situated in an open area on the flood plain of nearby Esopus Creek across from the southwestern foot of Mount Tremper.

A cast iron air distribution pedestal was moved slightly from its original location to make room for a new electrical outlet.

[4] Thomas Cornell started the Ulster and Delaware's predecessor, the Rondout and Oswego, in 1866 to get goods from Central New York to what is now Kingston: already the terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, which had established itself as the main route carrying coal from Northeast Pennsylvania to New York City via the Hudson River.

Even after the Ulster and Delaware collapsed and was sold to the New York Central Railroad on February 1, 1932, the station remained busy.