Abandoned Train Station in Alabama


Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama
Date added: July 28, 2023 Categories: Alabama Train Station Passenger Station
Track Facade, Looking West (1993)

Dothan lies in the Wiregrass region of Alabama, an area not settled until after the Civil War due to its poor soil. In 1890, four years after its incorporation, Dothan's population was sparse with only 247 residents. The coming of the railroad in 1889, however, transformed Dothan into a bustling town that quickly became known as the "Hub of the Wiregrass."

With fertilizers improving agricultural conditions and a timber industry developing, Dothan now had a stable economic base, and the railroad supplied an easy way to transport the goods.

Before 1889, products were taken by wagon to the Chattahoochee River to be shipped to available markets. Turpentine and lumber were the main exports, but as the original tree stands were cut, cotton and particularly peanuts, became the main agricultural products. The railroad, coupled with these new economic developments, created a suitable environment for industrial development. Peanut oil mills, lumber yards, fertilizer plants, and ice factories soon began to appear.

As the economy progressed, numerous settlers arrived to support the new farms and industries. By 1900, the population had risen to 3,275. In 1910, Dothan had 7,106 residents, and between 1910 and 1920, another 48% increase had occurred bringing the population to 10,034. Before long, Dothan became the largest city between Montgomery and Tallahassee, Florida. At least three railroads served the Dothan area and provided transportation for agricultural and timber products. Dothan became the commercial center of the Wiregrass region and thrived as the seat of Houston County.

The Atlantic Coastline Passenger Depot is a reflection of the growth of the town. The present building was constructed on the site of the old Alabama Midland Railroad Station, the first railroad company in Dothan. In 1902, the Atlantic Coastline Railroad acquired the "plant system." A freight station, located adjacent to the passenger depot, served passengers until the small building could no longer serve the growing number of passengers. The current structure was completed in 1907 and was the largest and busiest Atlantic Coastline depot between Montgomery and Thomasville, Georgia. In 1967, Atlantic Coastline merged with Seaboard Coastline which, in turn, was purchased by CSX in 1980. The depot, however, served Dothan until 1979 when the last passenger train came through. Future plans for the former depot include restoration and converting the building into a railroad museum.

The Railroad in the South

The railroad system came to the south in 1856 when a single track from Richmond to Danville, Virginia was laid with state funds. Although the states had controlling interest of the rails, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company controlled the extension and improvement of lines. Eventually, tracks were extended to Greensboro, North Carolina, and Atlanta and into South Carolina. The Southern Railway Securities Company was soon formed to control the Pennsylvania interests south of Washington. After 1877, lines penetrated Alabama to make Birmingham a stop on the rail.

Planters in Alabama had been using the steamboat to transport their goods on the rivers to the coast. They desperately needed some means of overcoming the exorbitant charges of the steamboat companies for transporting goods and bringing supplies. They wanted a facility to bring isolated sections in touch with each other and to promote an exchange of products. The railroad became the most attractive form of transportation with its cheaper construction, practicality, and speed, and inexpensive rates. Railroads brought population growth to towns, industrial expansion, and interstate trade.

At the turn-of-the-century, an estimated 40,000 depots were standing. Today, less than half remain.

Building Description

Located in the Dixie neighborhood of Dothan, the Atlantic Coastline Passenger Depot is a two-story, rectangular brick structure that was built in 1908. This hipped-roof building served as Dothan's passenger station from the date of its construction until 1979.

The depot, measuring 71 x 25 feet, has a central projecting bay with double windows facing the tracks on the northern elevation. The southern street side elevation is identical to the other except for the substitution of a door instead of the projecting bay. The depot has two stories which extend two-thirds of the way from east to west, and one story on the extreme western end. Large brackets, typical of railroad stations of this period, support the massive, overhanging hipped roof, which skirts the depot at the first level. Two interior brick chimneys are found in the center of the depot and at the western end.

The ten-bay facade contains double-hung, 2/2 sashes with rusticated granite sills and lintels. A row of four single windows extends across each side of the projecting bay on the second story. A door replaces one of those windows on the first story. The doors also have granite steps, sills, and lintels. One door led to the waiting room designated for whites on the eastern end, and one led to the room designated for blacks on the western end of the two-story section. The area at the projecting bay divides these two rooms and once served as the ticket booth. The baggage area at the western end has a large, central sliding door.

During the 1960s, the white waiting room on the east side of the building became the "common waiting room" when the Atlantic Coastline changed its policy on segregation. With the use of a common waiting room, the waiting room for blacks became the freight room. The restrooms for blacks, located on the west side of their waiting room, became "staff restrooms" during the 1960s. At some point, the red clay tile roof was replaced by a newer roof material. A wooden freight building, once located on the east side of the depot, has been removed. At one time, the Powell Street side of the depot was a city park that has since been paved.

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Track Facade, Looking West (1993)
Track Facade, Looking West (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Street Facade, Looking East (1993)
Street Facade, Looking East (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Street Facade, Looking Northeast (1993)
Street Facade, Looking Northeast (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama View of Entrance (1993)
View of Entrance (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama View of Brackets (1993)
View of Brackets (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Side Facade, Looking Northwest (1993)
Side Facade, Looking Northwest (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Side Facade, Looking Southeast (1993)
Side Facade, Looking Southeast (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama View of Window (1993)
View of Window (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Track Facade, Looking South (1993)
Track Facade, Looking South (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Interior, looking West (1993)
Interior, looking West (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Upstairs Interior (1993)
Upstairs Interior (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)
Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Looking East (1993)
Looking East (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Upstairs Office (1993)
Upstairs Office (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama West Waiting Room and Ticket/Office Area (1993)
West Waiting Room and Ticket/Office Area (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Downstairs West Waiting Room (1993)
Downstairs West Waiting Room (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)
Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)

Atlantic Coastline Railroad Passenger Depot, Dothan Alabama Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)
Downstairs, East Waiting Room (1993)