Huntsville Depot

The story

Behind the sketch.

Completed in 1860 for the Memphis & Charleston Railroad, the Huntsville Depot is Alabama's oldest surviving railroad depot and one of the city's great witnesses to change. During the Civil War, Union forces controlled the strategically important rail line, and used the building to hold Confederate prisoners. Some of those men scratched names and messages into the walls, leaving behind graffiti that feels far more immediate than any polished historical marker. Passenger trains continued to stop here for more than a century, with the last regularly scheduled service ending in 1968. The depot has welcomed soldiers, merchants, travelers, and, much later, the scientists who helped turn Huntsville into the Rocket City.

Neighborhood

Downtown

Book location

Page 22