Stanford Railroad Depot, Stanford Kentucky
Constructed in 1911 at an original cost of $11,939, the Stanford depot must be seen as a vestige of a once prosperous operation of passenger service on the L & N railroad. This building allowed a new mobility for the local residents and was a central point of cultural activities for the county seat community.
The division of the railroad serving Stanford was completed in 1866. Prior to this, during the period of construction of the extension east of Lebanon, General Ambrose E. Burnside was in command of the Federal forces in Kentucky. He would make a contract between himself and the railroad for a supply of tools and labor to be used at stipulated prices. The Civil War would directly affect this arrangement, leaving the railroad to proceed with its construction as best it could without governmental assistance. Once complete, local residents were soon to witness thousands of tons of coal being hauled out of the eastern Kentucky coalfields and distributed throughout the county.
The Stanford L & N Depot remains as another of a quickly disappearing vestige of an earlier period on the Louisville and Nashville railroad and the culmination of rail passenger service in the State.
Building Description
Situated in the southern region of the Bluegrass, Stanford remains the county seat of Lincoln County, one of the three original counties of Kentucky. The community is located equidistant between Louisville to the northwest and Cumberland Gap to the southeast, each approximately one hundred miles away. The surrounding topography is most appealing; consisting of high, rolling tablelands.
Serving the community since 1911, the existing Louisville and Nashville Railroad Depot is located at Mill and Depot Streets. The structure is of frame construction and is basically rectangular in shape. Constructed on a gentle slope, the depot rests on a red brick foundation laid in common bond. The front side or that side facing the tracks is at grade, while the rear foundation wall extends upwards approximately eight feet from the pavement on Depot Street. The solidarity of this rear wall is broken only by openings for two doors and a window in the central section, and a third door at the eastern end of the structure.
The architecture of this one-story depot is characteristic of the more highly stylized L & N railroad depots constructed just after the turn of the century. Although somewhat longer, the design of the Stanford depot is basically similar to the Shelbyville L & N depot. The basic rectangular plan of the Stanford depot is broken only by the extension of the Stationmaster's office. Although not the typical bay window so commonly seen on railroad depots, this extension toward the tracks served the same function, that of allowing railroad personnel within the depot to obtain a better view of approaching and departing train operations.
The exterior of the entire depot has been treated uniformly on all sides with an attractive combination of narrow tongue-and-groove paneling and weatherboarding. The bottom portion of all exterior walls are covered with a relatively standard width of matchboard paneling which extends to the window sill level. Beneath this vertical paneling is a wide horizontal baseboard that extends the entire perimeter of the depot. Extending from the window sill level to the level of the window lintels, the structure is covered with standard weatherboarding. Above this vertical matchboard paneling resumes as a wallcovering. This is an interesting treatment requiring extra construction time for the sole purpose of appearance only. The lines of the sill and lintel are delineated along all four facades by decorative horizontal bands of moulding. The horizontal continuity of the central band of weatherboard is broken primarily by the placement of long, narrow windows. Doors for both freight and public access also cut through the weatherboard however. Windows are double-hung with lights arranged in a four-over-four pattern. The vertical lines of these windows are further accented by the placement of moulding strips which flank both sides of each. The central section of the depot is extended approximately one foot to the rear, and displays four pairs of such windows with two spaces independently in the middle. Two windows are placed at the eastern end, while the structures corresponding western end has both a door and a non-uniform window. The facing of the door is fashioned from narrow, tongue-and-groove paneling arranged at an opposing 45-degree angle from the central vertical axis, creating a herringbone effect. Superimposed over this paneling is standard flat trim arranged in a fashion that creates the appearance of four rectangular recessed panels. Unusual is the window at this end, for although it is framed from the standard sill-to-lintel level with vertical moulding, it extends only from the level of the lintels down to the level of the top of the aforementioned door. This window is divided into four equal vertical lights, which at the present remain broken.
The trackside facade displays more complexity than any of the other three as a result of its basic necessary functions. One must view this facade as the side where almost all activity took place, and where the depot was able to serve its primary objective. To the east of the advanced Stationmaster's office was the general waiting room, having interior dimensions of 22' x 26', and the ladies' waiting room, at the far eastern end of the depot, measuring 18' x 21'. The ladies' waiting room is currently used as an office and has a large freight door at the eastern end. Between this door and another further west is a single window, similar to those used throughout the rest of the depot. Two windows are present at the front of the Stationmaster's office, while two pairs flank each side of the panel door leading into what was originally the Negro waiting room. To the west of this section is the baggage room measuring 18' x 22'. A freight door and three independent windows interrupt the horizontal lines of the clapboard on this section of the facade.
Adding a great deal of charm and visual interest is the gable-on-hip red tile roof which is supported by stylized brackets under the eaves. The end gables are extended over the hip and contain louvered vents arranged in a semi-circular pattern and divided by a recessed rectangular panel. This characteristic also occurs over the hip on the Stationmaster's office but is not divided. Ornate red barrel tile is used on all roof angles and on the central ridgeline. Two brick chimneys break through the roof and are corbelled outward. The entire perimeter of the depot roof has a gutter that has been disguised to look like a fascia board. Downspouts drop from this gutter at five random locations.
Overall, the Stanford L & N Depot is very attractive; the railroad's buff color predominating, offset by the red tile roof and white trim.
(1977)
(1977)
