The Eastern Shore lost another historic piece of its railroad history this week when the Capeville Train Depot was removed via a controlled burn.
County Administrator Charles Kolakowski told the Mirror, “The owners had been sent a dangerous structure notice which required them to either demolish or repair the structure.”
The agricultural and industrial history of the Shore gave rise to the railroads that were used to send seafood and produce to the north.
The Lost Communities of Virginia by Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg noted that
The Capeville train depot was one of the many stations up and down the Eastern Shore where trains stopped to load crabs, oysters, potatoes, and other produce. Folks also used to board the trains in Capeville on their way to places north.
While the building was derelict, one has to think that more could have been done to save this piece of Shore history. In the end, it was deemed cheaper to burn rather than bring up to code.