The station was opened by the Highland Railway in 1884 to serve the small village and rural area of Rathven but had a short life with services being suspended during World War I on 9 August 1915[4] and the rails south of Buckie removed, although it was hoped to restart services.
The station was located next to the turnpike road and in 1915 it was reported that it had handled 3000 tons of goods traffic, mainly grain, meal, coal, potatoes and livestock.
Wartime economies led to closure of the line on 9 August 1915 and in 1917 the track between Aultmore (towards Keith) and Portessie was requisitioned by the Admiralty.
As a rather straggly branch line, the Highland route struggled to compete, and the population between Buckie and Keith was too sparse to provide much additional traffic.
[11] Since 1871 Inchgower Distillery had been established nearby and Rathven handled all its traffic, together with agricultural produce and livestock.