Southern Railway Station, Garner, North Carolina
Posted by: 
PFF
N 35° 42.397 W 078° 36.223
17S E 716788 N 3954054
Just a sagging building with a leaking roof....until a local resident started a campaign to save a piece of history.
Waymark Code: WMJVP
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 07/31/2006
Views: 55
The railroad closed the station and donated the building to the Town of Garner in the mid-1950's. It was moved to a spot under a nearby water tower, where it was used as a storage shed. The circa-1900 wooden structure had fallen into disrepair, when, in 1976, a local resident named Harold Garner persuaded the Town to let him restore it.
It took twelve years to get permission from Norfolk Southern Railroad to return the depot to a spot alongside the track, which runs through the center of the Town's Historic District. That was in 1989. Then, for the next thirteen years, volunteers spent Saturdays restoring the interior and installing a new roof. During these several decades, Harold Garner never lost faith in the project. Today, the depot stands as a reminder of what one dedicated person can accomplish.
DIRECTIONS: From Interstate 40, Exit 306, proceed westerly on US-70 about a mile to New Rand Road. Turn right and cross the tracks. Go left on East Garner Road about 0.1 mile to the station, on the left, directly across from the Garner Senior Citizen Center.