About Train Creative
Our Mission
The mission of Train Creative is to facilitate community learning experiences for creative education to increase arts and humanities awareness in our community while preserving architecture, locations and landscapes. In preserving our heritage, we wish to inspire people to form a lifelong love of design.
Our organization will provide access to comfortable, affordable, and well maintained space to learn, teach, create, and share knowledge of creative skills from yesterday, today and tomorrow. In addition we plan to support and enhance the efforts of our neighbors including the Sparta PAL, Sparta Ambulance Squad, Sparta Train Station, Sussex County YMCA, Sparta Recreation Department, Sparta Historical Society, Station Park, Peters Valley and others.
Sparta Train Station Summer 2016
William Dermody IV with his father William Dermody III
About the Sparta Train Station
Train Creative is powered by the Sparta Train Station, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 with a mission to preserve the Sparta Train Station for the use and enjoyment of future generations. The Sparta Train Station is maintained to house railroad artifacts from the local area and act as an inspiring backdrop for the creative training experiences of the community. The building is dedicated to William E. Dermody Jr. who as a man of great ingenuity inspired others to build, create, and share our passion with the community. With the high tech reach of our websites including TrainCreative.org and StationPark.org, we strive to create unprecedented access to event information and enrollment in our area.
Following an extensive $400,000 renovation by the Dermody family in 2015-2016, the new Sparta Train Station is a modern marvel that both pays homage to its historical origins of the late 1800’s and paves the way for future generations as an inspiring backdrop for the creative training experiences. The exact replication of the original building is in the spirit of the station in every important detail making it a truly unique events center where community learning intersects innovative education. View Our Calendar to browse our calendar of upcoming classes.
The Sparta Train Station is located at 30 Station Road in Sparta, NJ. In close proximity to the Sparta Town Center off Main Street, near Rt. 15, and Rt. 517, the station is convenient for thousands of area residents to enjoy.
About William E. Dermody Jr. and the Dermody Family of Sparta, NJ
William E. Dermody Jr. was a dedicated citizen of Sparta Township, NJ, and his leadership helped create many of the wonderful amenities enjoyed in the community today. While building his business and raising his family, he still found time to work in the community. He was pivotal in improvements and projects like the Sparta Public Library, the Sparta Ambulance Squad building, Knoll Heights Village and the Reverend Brown School .Whether he was raising money for the Sparta Ambulance Squad or serving as Mayor (1972-1974) he did it with the admiration and respect of the people around him. . This station dedication to Bill Jr. is intended to remind future generations of the commitment and sacrifice of those who went before us to make Sparta what it is today.
Today, Bill Jr.’s legacy has been carried forward by his son and son and grandson, William E. Dermody III and William E. Dermody IV. In November 2008, the Dermody family purchased the site near Station Park from the Environmental Protection Agency. The family had the goal of revitalizing the train station, as well as other industrial buildings and a water tower on the property. The first phase was the opening in of the new Sparta Police Athletic League (PAL) building in 2012 which was once an industrial building. Once the PAL building was open, the Dermody family created a non-profit organization with the intention of restoring the train station and nearby water tower as part of the second phase of the revitalization efforts. Overcoming enormous obstacles, such as the 2012 electrical fire that leveled the train station, is a testament to the Dermody family’s commitment to bettering the Sparta community and preserving properties like the Train Station for years to come.