Join us in honoring Downtown’s history and explore the past with our series Museum Mondays!
Thank you to our friends at the Fuquay-Varina Museums for the historical images and information.
http://fuquay-varina-museums.org/
Head on over to their website or Facebook page to follow or arrange a tour to learn more!
This building is a combined freight/passenger station of frame construction used by the Norfolk and Southern and Durham and Southern Railroads. It has overhanging metal roof with large triangular brackets, clapboarded sides with sliding freight doors, three-sided bay on north elevation and novelty-sided addition to west end with matching freight bays.
The Varina Union Station depot was built in 1910 after the original depot was destroyed by a fire. The depot was known as a Union Station because it served both the Durham & Southern and Caraleigh to Charlotte trains.
The depot located at the crossing of the two rail lines was identified as Varina Station for the nearest post office in 1899. With the adoption of this railroad station as Union Station for both rail lines came the growth of Broad Street, residential areas, and a post office all know forever as Varina. Courtesy Betty Bruce Howard Hoover
Varina Union Station
Circa 1910
Rail section foreman, Stephen Brantley Adcock and crew installed tracks sometime after new 1910 was built. Courtesy Cheryl Adcock Clark
In 1911, John Eual Brown and his family came to town to manage the depot. John was the Durham & Southern agent and telegraph operator while his wife Beatrice was the office manager. John remained the agent until 1959 when he was replaced by his daughter Katherine. Katherine remained the railroad agent until the depot closed in 1977.
After 1977 the depot was abandoned. Several local organizations attempted to save depot. Evenually Akins Properties successed in moving the depot away from the tracks and closer to Broad Street. The depot was restored and is now home to Aviator Taphouse.
Source: National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Varina Commercial Historic District, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1989; A History of Fuquay-Varina, Shirley Mudge Hayes and Shirley Danner Simmons, 2009.