Despite efforts by a local nonprofit to save the Gladstone Depot, the company that owns it is still planning demolition, although a date has not been set.
A spokesperson for CSX Transportation said in an email last week the company has worked with Nelson County officials for a year — and, more recently, the nonprofit Friends of Gladstone — about the interest in the depot.
CSX notified the county it wanted the nonprofit to pay $20,000 for the depot and land by the end of March, according to minutes from the Nelson County Board of Supervisors’ March 13 meeting. The board told county staff to send a letter to CSX asking it to donate the depot and land to the nonprofit, or offer the nonprofit more time to raise funds.
Most recently, CSX told The News & Advance last week it has decided to demolish the depot because it is 15 feet to 20 feet from active railroad tracks and has asbestos, which would have to be removed before transferring ownership.
“Unfortunately, an agreement could not be reached,” according to an email from a CSX spokesperson.
Joanne Absher, president of the Friends of the Gladstone Depot, said she told CSX at a meeting the nonprofit would buy insurance and keep the depot locked until they move it.
“I can’t write a grant for a building that is not in our organization’s name,” Absher said. “... So CSX has to concede a little bit; eight months is not enough. We need more time.”
The company also plans to demolish the former Gladstone YMCA building, which is nearby and also owned by CSX. The company had requested community members vacate the former Gladstone YMCA building by Jan. 1.
Absher said the nonprofit formed last year to save the depot by raising funds to move and renovate it to serve as a historical attraction and community space. The nonprofit has had three fundraisers, said Absher, who declined to say how much money has been
raised.
County Administrator Steve Carter said in an email the county has provided non-monetary support for the nonprofit to acquire, relocate and restore the historic depot building. The county has participated in meetings between the nonprofit and CSX.
Mike Pulice, architectural historian for Virginia Department of Historic Resources, said in an email last week he prepared a form last year evaluating the depot’s historic significance. The DHR and State Review Board approved the depot as eligible for the Virginia Landmarks Register and National Register of Historic Places, “which means the depot could now be officially nominated for the designations,” Pulice said in an email.
The depot was built in 1889 by Richmond and Alleghany Railroad Co., according to a DHR form on the depot, which also states the structure is the last remaining R&A-built depot. It was a “bustling” passenger and freight station until the 1960s. Passenger service ended around 1970, and the depot remained in railroad use as late as 1993. It has been vacant for more than 20 years.
Absher said that history is worth saving.
“It’s the last Richmond and Alleghany Railroad depot in the nation. For CSX to destroy their history and our community history, it’s just a shame,” she said. “I can’t even imagine a corporation not wanting to save this building.”