Huntsville Depot

For the WWII chemical weapons plant of the same name, see Huntsville Arsenal.
Southern Railway System Depot
The depot in July 2010
Location 330 Church St., Huntsville, Alabama
Coordinates 34°44′4″N 86°35′27″W / 34.73444°N 86.59083°W / 34.73444; -86.59083Coordinates: 34°44′4″N 86°35′27″W / 34.73444°N 86.59083°W / 34.73444; -86.59083
Area 2.8 acres (1.1 ha)
Built 1860
NRHP Reference # 71000101[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP September 10, 1971
Designated ARLH June 25, 2002[2]

The Huntsville Depot located on the Norfolk Southern Railway line in downtown Huntsville is the oldest surviving railroad depot in Alabama and one of the oldest in the United States. Completed in 1860, the depot served as eastern division headquarters for the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.[3] It is listed on both the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage and National Register of Historic Places.[1][2]

Huntsville was occupied by Union forces in 1862 during the Civil War as a strategic point on the railroad and the depot was used as a prison for Confederate soldiers. Graffiti left by the soldiers can still be seen on the walls. The Huntsville Depot saw its last regularly scheduled passenger train, Southern Railway's The Tennessean, on March 30, 1968. Today the Depot serves as a museum, part of the Early Works Museum.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Staff (July 9, 2010). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 "Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage". Alabama Historical Commission. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. Kazek, Kelly (May 22, 2013). "Alabama's 3 known existing Civil War-era depots: What are they now?". The Huntsville Times (Huntsville, AL: Advance Publications). Retrieved May 22, 2013.

External links

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