The
Linville Depot
Avery County was only six years old when
construction started on a depot in Linville. The year was 1917, and America
was in the throes of the Great War. But despite the woes in Europe, the elite
in American still sought the solace of the mountains as a respite from the
summer heat. Their Avery County destination was Eseeola, a summer resort built
in 1892.
The railroad had first
arrived in the area in June 1882. The East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina Railroad built a line from Johnson City to Cranberry. The line’s
purpose was to transport the iron ore coming out of the Cranberry Mines. In
1896, the Camp brothers of Chicago began purchasing timber rights in the area,
and soon began the Linville River Railroad. The line was to run out of
Cranberry and into Pineola. The brothers ran out of funds before the line was
laid, and the property was later acquired by William M. Ritter. The proposed
line was reconstituted as the Linville River Railway. The LRR was finished to
the lumber mills in Pineola. "Over the years," one historian
recorded, " logging tracks were thrown down across Red Bird Gap to Jonas
Ridge and to Pine Bottom, Crossnore, Altamont, Mill Timber Creek, Wilson
Creek, and down the Linville River as far as Linville Falls.... Log trains
also operated over the Linville River Railway’s tracks from Newland, where
timber was cut on Kentucky Creek and Sugar Mountain."
In 1906, Ritter
moved his main operations to Caldwell County, and the ET & WNC RR (and its
parent corporation) started negotiations to purchase the LRR. This was
accomplished in 1913. Another lumberman, William S. Whitting, was setting up a
mill in Shull’s Mill, in Watauga County. In 1915, it was agreed upon that
the LRR would be extended to Shull’s Mill
After leaving
Montezuma, the LRR stopped in Linville. The first depot in 1916 was an old
boxcar, minus its trucks, sitting beside the track. A new depot was ready for
the summer tourist season in 1917. This structure was expanded 1921. The
Linville Depot was unlike any other depot on the narrow gauge line. Like many
of the buildings in Linville, the depot was covered with chestnut bark, which
with age, turned gray. The ornate windows and doors were painted white, and
there were window flower boxes. Many local residents worked as agents at the
Depot, including R. L. Clay, J. S. Campbell, T. W. Phillips, Bryan Ledford and
Mary Belle Allison. The depot was located in "West Linville," about
a mile from the Eseeola Lodge.
Automobiles and
better roads brought an end to regular passenger service for the Linville
Depot. The Depot was closed after the tourist season in 1937. For the next
couple of years, only the baggage for the summer children’s camps was
unloaded and loaded. The flood of 1940 destroyed the tracks just to the east
of the Depot and the structure was sold in June 1941 for $50 and converted
into a gas station. The building was moved at a later date to Grape Street in
Linville and used as a residence.
Untold numbers of
America’s wealthy and elite more than likely disembarked at the Linville
Depot, taking buggies, and later cars, to visit the lodges and play golf on
one of North Carolina’s earliest courses.
In the summer of 2007, the Linville depot was
given to the Avery County Historical Society and Museum. A deadline was given
for the depot to be moved, or it would be razed. In July, the Historical
Society approached the Avery County Board of Commissioners, asking them if the
depot could be placed behind the Museum. The Avery County Historical Museum is
housed in the old county jail, which is still owned by Avery County. After a
few moments of debate, Commissioner Scott Heath made a motion that the
Historical Society and Museum be allowed to move the depot. Commissioner Heath
called salvaging the Depot "A cool thing."
The East Tennessee and
Western North Carolina Railroad Historical Society was instrumental in
obtaining the funds to help move the depot. Not only were there monetary
donations from the ET&WNC RR folks, but the members of that group, along
with volunteers from the Avery County Historical Society ,spent several
weekends in July and August preparing the depot for the move. A brick facade
was removed from the structure, the interior braced, and a carport removed by
Society members. By September, the Depot was ready.
Early on the morning
of September 10, the old Linville Depot was moved from Grape Street in
Linville, up Hwy. 181, to its new home behind the old jail beside the
courthouse in Newland. Over the next few weeks, a masonry foundation was
installed, and the building was secured for the winter.
The plans for the
Linville Depot are to return the outside to its original appearance, with
poplar bark on the outside (alas, chestnut bark is not to be had), window
boxes, and other items unique to the Depot. The original Linville Depot was
one of the best looking depots along the entire railroad. The interior of the
Depot will house a large ET&WNC RR and Linville River Railway exhibit,
detailing the life of America’s most famous narrow gauge.
It is estimated that
the restoration of the depot will cost $200,000.00. While grants are in the
process of being written to help the Avery County Historical Society with this
endeavor, your help is needed. If you are interested in helping with this
project, please contact the Avery County Historical Society and Museum at: PO
Box 226, Newland NC 28657-0266 (828) 733-7111 or via email at averycm@interlink-cafe.com
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