ET&WNC - Shell Creek Depot
Shell Creek is located in Carter County near the North Carolina State line, approximately 3.7 miles from Roan Mountain. This was the last stop on the Tennessee side for ET&WNC. This tiny little town had very few inhabitants when the railroad came through in 1883. Jordan C. Hardin donated the land for the depot. In Along the ET&WNC, Johnny Graybeal states that by October 1883, the depot was full service, complete with telegraph, post office, freight and passenger service.
Unlike Erwin and Elizabethton, Shell Creek did not flourish with a booming economy. The depot was razed in 1936, but the area still continued as a flag stop.
Passenger service ended in 1945. A resident of Shell Creek confirmed that a house now occupies the spot where the old depot used to be at 8710 US-19E Roan Mountain, TN, just across the road from what was once the Shell Creek Post Office, which is still standing.
The beautiful area of Shell Creek remains relatively unchanged from all those years ago. While there are certainly more houses, one can still envision what it must have been like for the tiny community as the quietness was suddenly pierced by the sound of steel on steel, and the warning whistle that the iron horse was making its way through the mountains. Just down the road from the depot was Lower Shell Creek School, built in 1911 and still standing today. Long gone are the cast iron rails that opened up the world to a community and gave them a glimpse outside. Highway 19E was built directly over the tracks forever erasing an era of history. The depot at Shell Creek is a mere memory.
Photographs are from the ET&WNC Collection.