Southern - Bristol Depot

On September 24, 1856, the last rail was laid in the town of Bristol by a crew of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.  

The first depot in Bristol was completed in 1856 to accommodate the first passenger train on October 1. Tickets were five dollars.  The brick structure was erected by James Fields.  According to V. N. (Bud) Phillips, in Bristol Tennessee/Virginia A History 1852-1900, R. T. LeGard built a "triumphal arch" over the railroad, as Fields completed a dance floor and a stand for speakers.  The coming of the railroad to Bristol was an exciting time of celebration.  Phillips records that "large crowds waited in the autumn chill, ears straining to hear the first faint sound of a whistle."  People climbed on top of the depot to get a glance.  Candles, lamps, and bonfires lit up the town to welcome the train.   Finally, around 9:00 p.m., the people "heard the joyful sound."  The first train from Lynchburg had arrived in Bristol, Virginia.  Festivities extended into the next day with barbecue, "feasting and fellowship."  A moving speech by The Reverend James King, founder of Bristol, was heard by all, with tours of the depot, railroad yard, and roundhouse following.  Arriving on Wednesday, October 1, train passengers departed on Friday, October 3.  It was an historical time to be remembered in Bristol.  By 1858, the tracks were laid into Bristol, Tennessee, continuing to Knoxville.  

In 1864, the depot was burned during Union General George Stoneman's raid.  In 1865-66, the second depot was built.  By 1881, this depot had become too small and a third one was built.

The current, and fourth, depot in Bristol was built in 1902-1903 by North and Western. Union Depot was shared by two railroads, N&W and Southern, who would later merge to become Norfolk Southern.  The structure is stone and brick, combining Romanesque, with the characteristic trait of heavy round arch windows and doors, and European style architecture, which features a notable hipped-roof pavilion on one end.  Historical Marker Database lists the price of construction at $79,000, an equivalent of nearly three million dollars today. 

George Stone gives a description of the interior of the Bristol Depot in his book Bristol:  The right two-story tower...a first floor newstand, lunch counter, smoking room, and men's toilet...one-story midsection served as the ticketing and waiting room, divided into separate areas for blacks and whites...two-story east end was divided into baggage and express rooms...the basement had two areas: one for the boiler and the other to store coal.  Stone also points out the beautiful windows on the tower, which may be seen in the postcard below are capped by arches of alternating brick and stone.

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The note written on the edge of this postcard featuring Union Depot in Bristol, VA, dated Oct. 6, 1906, from the Ridley Wills East Tennessee Postcard Collection, states:  Hope you will come to Bristol very soon as S. & W. Rwy offices are to be moved to Johnson City before Xmas.  Nearly all the boys are grieving but it doesn't do any good.  JEM  The postcard is address to Miss Carrick Stamps, Rogersville, Tennessee.

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This sketch of the Bristol Terminal Railway Company with Depot Location, dated March 15, 1913, is from the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway Records housed in the Archives of Appalachia.

 

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This postcard from the Ridley Wills Postcard Collection shows the depot centrally located at the corner of State Street, and the former Randall Street, now MLK, Jr. Boulevard.  State Street is the dividing line between Tennessee and Virginia.

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The famous sign: "Bristol Is A Good Place to Live," depicted here in a Bristol Bicentennial Celebration photograph from the Delbert W. Loudermilk Railroad Collection, c.1950s-60s, stands to the right of the depot in this photo taken from State Street.

Between the depot and the North and Western and Southern Freight Station, two train cars, North and Western and Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, are stationed on the tracks near the umbrella roof.

Footage of the train arriving and departing from the Bristol Depot may be viewed here in the Virgil Q. Wacks Collection.

Passenger service ended in 1971.  The building remained empty until the 1980s when it was turned into a shopping mall called the Train Station Market Place.  This lasted for a few years then closed.  In 1999 the building was purchased and renovated by the Bristol Trainstation Foundation. Located at 101 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Bristol, VA, this beautiful historic building is still standing and functional today as a commercial venue. 

Today...

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The Norfolk Southern Depot in Bristol is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of the last of its era before World War I. 

Southern - Bristol Depot