Southern - Chuckey Depot

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The site of the Fullen's Depot, halfway between Afton and Limestone, was determined by a crossing of roads from the river landing of Rheatown that ran through the village of Fullen, so named in honor of Ad Fullen who donated the land for the depot.  Many towns like Rheatown, that were the direct route of the stage road, were bypassed when the railroad came through due to the lay of the land.  The railroad required the flattest land with the least curves.  

The original depot in Chuckey was built midway between Limestone and Afton. N. W. Earnest was the depot agent in 1861. As with many depots being hastily erected as the tracks were laid around 1858, the first depot was labeled a "shack."  Constructed of vertical planks, the building burned in 1905, the victim of sparks from a red signal fuse,  according to Mrs. Lola Fitzgerald, an historian for the Chuckey community, quoted in The Greeneville Sun, dated October 18, 1957.  Between 1858 and 1904, the name changed to Chuckey City.  In 1904, the U.S. Post Office officially changed the name to Chuckey.

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The existing structure, built in 1906, is a mixture of Gothic Revival style, with raking eaves, brackets, and one-over-one single pane windows, and Richardsonian Romanesque with a broad, hipped roof and eyebrow louvre windows.  The depot had one chimney, two waiting rooms and a ticket office.  Two entrance doors were located on the right side. A box for mail is mounted near the right door. The bay ticket window faced the tracks.  Freight was handled in a separate building.  The depot was used until the mid 1950s. Threatened with demolition, the Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society & Museum (WVRHS&M), the town of Jonesborough, TN, and the Heritage Alliance partnered to preserve the historic depot which is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.  

OLD DEPOT SAVED FROM DEMOLITION

Today...

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 "Plank by plank" and "piece by piece," all numbered and meticulously organized to retain the architectural integrity, the monumental task of moving the Chuckey Depot to Jonesborough was completed.  The Chuckey Depot Museum is now beautifully restored to the original color and design, and a quickly disappearing piece of history preserved.  (See Jonesborough Depot)

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View of the former site of Chuckey Depot from Charles Johnson Road, Chuckey, TN.  

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View of traffic signals at the intersection of TN351/Chuckey Pike and Charles Johnson Road from the former site of the Chuckey Depot.

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View looking toward Jonesboro from Chuckey Pike of the former site of the Chuckey Depot and railroad traffic signal.  Depot was formerly located on the right in the gravel area.

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View from TN 351/Chuckey Pike at the intersection of Charles Johnson Road looking toward Jonesboro.  The gravel area on the right is the former sight of the Chuckey Depot.

Southern - Chuckey Depot