The first railroad depot that we came
across was a true old timer… This brick passenger and freight depot in
Scottsboro Alabama was built back in 1860 – 1861. It’s over 150 years old. The depot was built by the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad and it’s one of only 3 surviving pre-civil war depots in the
state of Alabama. A serious skirmish was
fought over the depot during the war. I
found where the Jackson County Historical Society had undertaken a project to transform
the old depot into a local museum. The
building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
This town of about 15,000 is famous for
at least 2 reasons. First, it is the
home of the Unclaimed Baggage Center.
This retail outlet processes, cleans and tests unclaimed luggage from
the airlines and other sources, and then they put it up for sale on their
40,000 sq. ft. sales floor. There are
real deals to be had! Check it out at http://unclaimedbaggage.com/.
Scottsboro’s other claim to fame is
historical and it isn’t an upbeat story.
The town was the core location for the sensational ‘Scottsboro Boys’
Trials. Basically, 2 white girls accused
a group of black boys of raping them while they all were ‘riding the rails’
back in 1931. The evidence was poor at
best and the witnesses were unreliable.
Still, this incident took place in the South in an era where a black man
could be hung for just talking to a white woman. Bottom line…after repeated trials lasting
until 1937, several of the black youths were convicted. This was despite the Supreme Court’s
involvement with 2 landmark decisions.
In 1946, one of these men skipped out on parole… He and his family were discovered
in New York City in 1976. For more on
this sad episode in US jurisprudence, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottsboro_Boys.
This handsome passenger depot is located
in Stevenson Alabama. The depot was
built in 1872 for use by both the Nashville and Chattanooga and the Memphis and
Charleston Railroads. One railroad’s tracks
ran on one side of the depot and the other passed on the opposite side. Even today, CSX freight trains pass by the station
on this side and Norfolk Southern trains pass by on the other side of the
station.
This is the Stevenson
Hotel… It too was built in 1872 and it’s located between the tracks right next
to the depot. The saying was that “The
hotel was so close to the tracks, that passing trains opened the windows and
pulled the covers off the beds”. This
building is now being used for the town’s offices.
Here’s a photo showing just how close the
two building are to each other. Back in
the days of early steam locomotives, the trains would stop here to pick up the
necessary coal and water. That would
allow the passengers sufficient time to disembark and have a meal at the hotel. Both buildings are listed in the National
Register of Historic Places.
This GE 44 Ton Switch
Engine and the Extended-Vision Caboose are on static display adjacent to the
Stevenson Alabama Railroad Depot. A
total of 385 of these diesel locomotives were built. In addition to the USA, they’ve also seen
service in Canada, Australia and Sweden.
There is a website listing
for the Stevenson Depot Railway Museum…but the site appears to be inactive or
just gone. Stevenson is a town of only
about 1,800 people and they may have had a tough time keeping the museum
operating. The listed website is http://www.jacksoncountychamber.com/area-information/attractions/51-stevenson-railroad-depot-museum.
The town does have a “Depot
Day’s” celebration every June. Among
other events and activities, they stage a Lawn Mower Race, a parade, an Ugly
Woman Contest, an auto collectors rally and a street dance.
Just click on any of the
photos to enlarge it.
Thanks for riding along
on the back roads with us!
Take Care, Big Daddy
Dave
My grandfather worked for the main hotel in town and it was directly across the street from the RR depot
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