Seaboard Coastline Depot, Enterprise Alabama
- Categories:
- Alabama
- Railroad Facility
The Seaboard Coastline Depot is one of the oldest wooden structures in Enterprise, a town constructed in the late 1900's and is one of the oldest transportation landmarks in Southeast Alabama. The railroads had a peculiar significance in this section of Alabama. Nowhere else in the state were they so responsible for the development and new settlement of the area.
By 1895 a small community had grown up in the area and in 1896 the town of Enterprise was officially incorporated with a population of 250.
The Alabama Midland Railroad Company built a line to Enterprise in 1898 and the town began to grow rapidly at the expense of several smaller communities in the area. Later the railroad was sold to the Plant Railroad System, and in 1901 it was acquired by the Atlantic Coastline (now the Seaboard Coastline).
In 1898 fire broke out and nearly all of the business section of Enterprise burned. No time was lost in rebuilding the town and by 1900 the town had 610 inhabitants.
In 1903, shortly after the purchase of the line by the Atlantic Coastline, a station was built, and within 7 years the town had grown to 2,322. The rapid increase in population led to the expansion of the station and in 1916 the station was enlarged to its present size.
The Pea River Historical Society plans to purchase the station and restore it for city or organizational offices.
Building Description
The Enterprise Depot is a small one-story frame structure. Rectangular in shape, it measures 49 feet by 155 feet.
The east end of the building which now makes up the freight house was constructed in 1903, while the west end now the passenger depot, was added in 1916-17.
The east end measures 49' x 105' x 3" and is board and batten with a gabled roof. The gable end is decorated with wood trim, and the entire roof has wide overhangs supported by large brackets. The floor of the freight house extends to form a loading platform.
On the west end of the building, the roof terminates in a hip, but otherwise is an extension of the main roof. This section is constructed on a concrete foundation and is covered with clapboard. A small gable dormer with a louvered vent is located on the south side of this section of the building. Directly below is a small wing which contains the passenger agent's office. There are five entrances to the terminal area, one on the south side, two on the west end, and two on the north. These entrances are single wooden doors with a rectangular transom above.
There are five double-hung windows 6 over 6 and four half windows with six lites each.
