On the right track: Huntsville considers options for historic depot complex

The City of Huntsville will soon begin exploring possibilities for a parcel of downtown land that includes the Historic Huntsville Depot.

EarlyWorks Museums recently chose to turn control of the 6½-acre depot complex back to the City. The complex also includes The Roundhouse, an events center at 398 Monroe St. NW, though EarlyWorks is maintaining control of the facility to honor reservations.

The City is now considering next steps for the depot, which was converted into a museum and is currently closed to the public. Those plans include public listening sessions to consider ideas and suggestions on best uses of the land and the depot itself.

A schedule of public sessions will be announced in early 2025.

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"We will get public input on different things that they would like to see happen with the property," City Administrator John Hamilton said. "Our vision is that it remains public property that provides quality of life-type amenities. We're very open-minded to any idea that the public might bring to us."

The depot, a three-story brick building at 320 Church St. NW, opened in December 1860 - four months before the Civil War began.

"We're identifying any major structural issues with the building, making sure it's secure, and doing all we need to do to preserve the building," Hamilton said.

A storied history

The depot, originally part of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company, has a storied history as the oldest railway terminal still standing in the state. Huntsville was the Eastern Division headquarters for the railroad, a major thoroughfare that connected the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean.

"Huntsville's citizens were determined to have the railroad go through their city and campaigned to be part of it," said Katie Stamps, the City's Preservation Planner. "The City raised $50,000 to sweeten the deal."

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The railroad led to significant growth in Huntsville.

"Becoming a stop on the most important transportation line in the south made Huntsville an essential commercial hub that connected communities, incentivized business and fueled growth," Stamps said. "Huntsville would not be the city it is today without the depot.

When Huntsville was captured during the Civil War in 1862, about 200 Confederate soldiers were briefly imprisoned at the depot. The war devastated the railway financially and as a result, it was sold to the Southern Railway System in 1898.

The depot was remodeled in 1912 and in 1950, Wernher von Braun and his team of rocket scientists arrived in Huntsville at the depot, forever changing the face of Huntsville.

Passenger traffic ended at the depot in 1967.

More recently, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the depot park was the site of the popular WhistleStop BBQ Festival that attracted up to 20,000 people at its peak and featured musical acts such as Gin Blossoms, .38 Special and the Charlie Daniels Band.

"The green space will be nice before you even start talking about the potential uses of the building," Hamilton said. "I think it has potential."

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