Southern Railway Freight Depot, Augusta, Georgia

“It is not the beauty of a building you should look at, its the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.”

David Allan Coe

When I look at this beautiful old brick building, that is now known as the Old Train Depot, I think of how things must have been in days gone by. Imagine the freight trains coming right through town and unloading their freight here. Well, not that much has changed as the train track is still there and the trains still go through town right in the middle of Sixth Street. Only difference is they are not unloading freight at the Old Train Depot anymore. It is an unusual site to see the train coming down the road for someone who is not from here. The track was used by the South Carolina Railroad which later merged with Southern Railroad which carried freight up the east coast.  

The Old Train Depot is the only building associated with the train business left from that era that is still intact. It is located on the corner of Fifth and Reynolds Street in downtown Augusta, Georgia. The building needs some work but you can still see all its character and charm. A part of this building dates back to the 1850's and the long freight section of the building was built later in the early 1900's. It is located a block from the Savannah River.

This building sits on six and a half acres and has so much potential. A developer, BLOC Global came to town and was planning to develop this building into offices, retail space, and living spaces. The city administrators are wanting this project to happen but changed some of the terms making it impossible at this time for it to happen. I hope they can work it out so this plan can move forward. It would be nice to see this great building brought back to life.