nce upon a time — though not so long ago — Thomasville’s old railway depot stood in glory.

A passenger depot built in 1870 and a major stop on the new North Carolina railroad, the little building served as a transition post for the rich folks traveling by train to visit the hunting lodge right across the street.

Year’s later, the depot still stands as one of North Carolina’s oldest depots and, despite its age, still serves the people of Thomasville as a visitor’s center.

“It almost helps signify a changing of the times and how cities have to be,” said Thomasville Tourism Director Mark Scott. “The train used to signify our goods and products, our chairs being shipped out and people coming in by train. Now it’s interesting that the depot has become a visitor’s center because tourism has now become one of the biggest industries in North Carolina.”

The foundation of the depot lies in the beginning of the railroad.

The idea for the North Carolina railroad began in the 1840s with the passage of a $3 million tax. N.C. Senator John W. Thomas, who represented the Thomasville area, started the town which became known as Thomasville along the proposed route of that railroad.

In fact, according to some accounts, Thomas traded a four-horse drawn wagon-load of bacon for 1,500 acres of land which would become a primary part of Thomasville. Thomas then built his own depot and a general store along the tracks, and the area became known as Thomas’ Depot before it was called Thomasville.

The first train passed through Thomasville on Jan. 20, 1856, and by 1860 Thomasville was a thriving city with 308 residents, a female seminary — constructed by Thomas — and a shoe factory.

The depot now standing on Main Street was first built in 1870 on the opposite side of the railroad tracks as a passenger depot. In 1912, the building was moved to the side of the tracks on which the building currently stands, and served as a baggage and freight warehouse.

A major stop on the North Carolina railroad, the Thomasville Depot sent soldiers off to war and shipped furniture all across the country. During the Civil War in 1864, Gen. James Longstreet’s corps rode through the Chair City on the railroad to join Gen. Lee’s army in Virginia.

The depot eventually fell out of use when Thomasville ceased to be a railroad stop and was restored between 1975 and 1977 by the Thomasville Historical Society. In 1981, the building was added to the National Register of Historical Places as one of the oldest — if not the oldest — depot in North Carolina.

Even though it no longer serves its original purpose, the depot doesn’t stand empty. In 2000, the old railway building was converted into the Thomasville Visitor’s Center and contains books, pictures and artifacts from Thomasville’s history.

But it hasn’t lost its ties to the past.

“Today’s it’s being used not only as a visitor’s center but as a starting point for the Civil War trails and the walking trails through Thomasville,” Scott said. “I think what it kind of stands for is how we’re trying to roll with the changing of the times and the changing industries.”

That symbolism attached to the depot forms a major part of why the Chair City spent so much time and effort to restore a building that wasn’t being used, termites not withstanding.

“It has a lot of meaning to the town,” Mayor Joe Bennett said. “The railroad is really what has made the city of Thomasville where it is.”

Staff Writer Erin Wiltgen can be reached at 888-3576 or at newsdesk@tvilletimes.com

Pullout –

The old railroad depot — now the Thomasville Visitor’s Center — is located at 44 West Main St. and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The depot was built in 1870 as a passenger depot on the other side of the track from where it stands today. In 1912, it was moved to the opposite side and used as a baggage and freight warehouse.

In 1975-77 the depot was restored, and in 1981 was put on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2000, it was converted into the Thomasville Visitor’s Center.

pullout - caboose

As cabooses were being phased out in the 1980s, the City of Thomasville decided to get one. The Norfolk Southern Corporation donated Southern Railway Caboose X703 to the City after it was retired.

The caboose was delivered to City Fuel and Ice in October of 1986. Soon afterward, it was moved down the street on special dollies to its current location next to the Visitors’ Center.