Station House Museum

This Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Station was in use at Stapleton in Amherst County, Virginia, from 1898 to 1937. It is the last remaining C&O “Standard Station” of its size and style.

The badly deteriorated station was carefully dismantled, board by board, and reconstructed in Old City Cemetery in 2001 to interpret local railroad history. Through employment, war, and accident, thousands of people buried in OCC literally lived and died by the railroad.

The furnishings and instruments in the Passenger, Baggage, and Station Agent’s Rooms are typical of the World War I era. Audio messages and exterior plaques explain each room, the history of the station, and the importance of railroads in Lynchburg’s history.

 

The reconstructed Station House, completed in April 2001, stands within easy view of an active railroad line. Although it does not face the tracks as it did for over one hundred years, its doors open once again to welcome travelers and visitors from all over the country.

 

 

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Stapleton

Stapleton Station was located at mile post 130.8 on the C&O line from Richmond, Virginia. The station was near Galt’s Mill in Amherst County, 15 miles east of Lynchburg. “Stapleton” takes its name from David T. Staples, who operated a flour mill nearby. Stapleton was an official post office since 1842.

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Station House Reconstruction

A combination of grants and generous donations allowed the Southern Memorial Association to reconstruct the 1898 C&O Stapleton Railway Station on the grounds of Old City Cemetery. In the spring of 1999 the station was dismantled, moved from its site at Stapleton in Amherst County, and put in storage. It was painstakingly reconstructed as a museum and gathering space in 2000–2001.

The restoration plans called for maintaining the original building configuration, as well as the exterior board and batten siding, bead-board wainscoting, intricately patterned vergeboard, and slate roof. Although much of the exterior was rotted beyond reuse, almost all of the interior remains intact, exactly as it was left when the C&O decommissioned the depot in 1937.