Gordonsville depot project back on track?

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer
Published: August 21, 2008

The old C&O Railroad freight depot building might look to some like nothing more than an ramshackle shed. But in reality, that plain old building is a living fossil--a weathered gray remnant of Gordonsville’s glory days as a bustling crossroads transportation center and market town.
“It’s the earliest building that we have record of,” Gordonsville Mayor Bob Coiner said. Reports on the precise age of the one-story structure tend to vary, depending on the source, Coiner said. Records verify that the weatherboard building was built by the Louisa Railroad, and has existed in some incarnation since the 1840s.
A few years ago, the gable-roofed relic came close to disappearing altogether, when railroad officials determined the unused freight depot’s location abutting the tracks was unsuitable.
Coiner said town officials negotiated with CSX representatives in 2003 to determine a way to preserve the freight depot.
At that time, the town pursued a T-21 grant to cover the expense of moving the old freight depot 125 feet away, off the CSX right-of-way to a spot adjacent to the Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum and out of harm’s way. Additionally, ownership of the 75-foot long antique was transferred from CSX to Historic Gordonsville, Inc.
An additional grant provided for approximately $50,000 for cosmetic improvements the structure, but aside from a new site and a few nails here and there, very little else has been done to the depot since it was moved.
“We’re kind of in a holding pattern,” Coiner explained.
Coiner said the destiny of the depot will ultimately be decided by HGI, but the town is moving forward to help the not-for-profit transform the ancient building into a landmark.
Gordonsville Town Manager Sam Martyn said efforts to secure additional grants to use in refurbishing the depot will begin in the very near future.
Martyn asked the council at its meeting Monday whether or not it wanted to pursue future grant funds for the depot project.
The council was enthusiastic about completing the project and encouraged Martyn to pursue further grant funding.
The depot, as a tourist destination, will be a “key component of our whole downtown revitalization,” Martyn said. “It will complement our whole downtown.
The old freight depot’s role in Civil War history, African-American history and railroad history gives the building a potential to draw a wide range of tourists and visitors, Coiner said.
“When you’re doing tourism, if you can hit that extra niche, it really helps,” Coiner said.
Coiner was quick to produce a number of visitor and tourist-friendly scenarios for the old freight depot. But, he conceded, “That would just be my opinion.” What becomes of the building will ultimately be decided by HGI, Coiner added.
According to HGI President Tim Burnett, plans for the depot include the creation of an exhibit chronicling Gordonsville history-exclusive of the Civil War.
“There’s really so much to talk about outside the Civil War,” Burnett said.
Gordonsville articles and artifacts currently on display at the Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum will be housed in the renovated depot, instead, Burnett said. A major feature planned for the depot is an extensive African-American history exhibit. A portion of space in the depot’s interior will be dedicated to the area’s role in railroad history from the 1840s through the 1950s, Burnett added.
“It will really go after the entire Gordonsville history,” Burnett explained. “And Gordonsville has quite a wonderful history.”
Plans are being drawn up to create footpaths and travelways between the exhibits at the depot and the Exchange Hotel, to create a compound of Gordonsville history. And Burnett hopes to create a link between tourism in Gordonsville to historic attractions county-wide, he said, by installing an Orange County Department of Tourism satellite office near the depot and the Exchange Hotel.
According to Burnett’s plans, the bookstore and gift shop currently housed in the lower level of the Exchange Hotel, along with non-Civil War materials and artifacts will be set up inside the freight depot. And with extra space in the Exchange, additional exhibits devoted to the old hotel’s role in the Civil War will be created, Burnett said.
But converting a tired old depot into a multi-dimensional museum doesn’t happen overnight. Burnett said his goal for a grand opening probably won’t take place for several years.
“My hope has always been to have it up and running in 2011,” he said. That year marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, and likely, a great deal of tourist traffic through Gordonsville.
There’s certainly no shortage of ideas for the conversion of the freight depot into a museum, but there’s a great deal of fundraising to be done. Burnett said he estimates the project’s price at $800,000.
HGI will rely largely on private donations from the Gordonsville community to raise funds, Burnett said.
“I’m not going to get this done without the community’s help,” he said.
Burnett hopes to get the fundraising campaign started by offering 125-year-old handmade bricks, formed from locally-dug clay, that were once part of the depot’s original foundation. The bricks, and evidence that a fire once burned the depot to the ground, were discovered when the freight depot was moved in 2003. The bricks, along with a certificate, are available for $75 each.
For more information about fundraising, plans for the freight depot, or the Exchange Hotel and Civil War Museum, contact the museum at 832-2944.