CAPE CHARLES MIRROR

Reflections on Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore

Capeville Train Depot destroyed by controlled burn

by 36 Comments

The Eastern Shore lost another historic piece of its railroad history this week when the Capeville Train Depot was removed via a controlled burn.

Hollye Carpenter, Northampton’s Director of EMS told the Mirror that the structure was taken down by controlled burning.

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.”

Capeville Station (Photo courtesy of Hampton Roads.com)

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 Capeville was rural but economically pretty well off — a 150-person strong town with a general store, bank, auto garage, lumber mill and high school. At the time, the Eastern Shore’s Accomack and Northampton Counties were among the three most prosperous agricultural communities in the nation.

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.

Comments

  1. stupid is as stupid does , saver of 2 railroad buildings myself and I own the pot belly stove from the Capeville Station . It was and is a shame and how do I know because I didn’t even know it was to be BURNED ………………………

    Reply

    • I am assuming they didn’t even salvage items before the burn. Extremely sad. It is all local history that deserves some respect. We are restoring/renovating a depot in Edenton, NC currently.

      Reply

      • MOST of the come-heres don’t care about any Eastern Shore History. They just would rather tear things down and run people out just so they can have somewhere to house THEIR people and have THEIR business. Art gallery art gallery art gallery. Money money money. Its ALL THEY care about. And i quote, “DEEP POCKETS WITH MONEY”. Much respect to you with what you’re doing with the depot.
        Everyone
        Save
        Virginia’s
        Antiquity

        Reply

        • HEAR! HEAR!!!!

          They gave it away, one acre at a time. I was taught if you had something for sale and the person wanting buying it was a foreigner, particularly from up north, the price went up. No matter a shotgun, scow or a piece of land…the price went up.

          Reply

        • Those art galleries provide a nice living for LOCAL artists!
          Just saying!
          Btw,
          I was a come here but now I’m a been here….or so I’ve been told by locals!
          I too brought a business here and I needed local support. I frankly don’t think it’s fair or wise to clump all of the come here’s in the same basket.
          As a matter of fact, I believe I was the first to post pictures and ask what happened to this great structure last week!

          Reply

    • I agree Grumpy , the wood was a real thing and so is the county hire to say this building should have to go. HISTORY and that new Northampton County phrase tourism and how much it means ( nothing if it’s real history , oldest records , tear it down , burn it , rid us of it , and WHO NEEDS THAT OLD RAT TRAP ) we need tourist items to save a confused county ZONING line item . NO TRAIN , NO NEED , WHO CARES . So in closing that site better be cleaned up and not left to be more of a southern Highway trash pile than a very cool old building of Northampton County and Eastern Shore history , bye bye history . MIND YOUR OWN BUILDINGS ( sounds like a new tee shirt to me )

      Reply

  6. Pretty sure there was nothing really wrong with it. I’ve seen older building than that in worse condition still standing. Hell if anything a fence could have been put around it and fixed up little by little. But yall pissy city slickers want to destroy the eastern shore. Been trying to run the watermen out for years but that hasn’t worked for you so yall shut down the railroads completely. You’ve been running the locals away for years. I SAY WE TAKE A STAND AND RUN THESE CITY BITCHES BACK TO NEW JERSEY, FAIRFAX, ALEXANDRIA, AND WHEREVER THE HELL ELSE THEY COME FROM! COUNTRY RISING!

    Reply

    • LOL!!!! Yeah, twas us.

      Sorry chump but as is ever the case, it was GOVERNMENT that ruled it be burned.

      And Government that required a rehab that was economically unfeasible.

      But blame tourists.

      And enjoy your chains.

      Reply

  9. I have some of the wood its in very bad shape, as was the Building its self, they left the door unlocked and I trespassed right on in there, I know enough about construction and I can say No Way the cost would have been expensive. Any way I made a few directional arrows out of the scrap and if any of you want to pay for it Ill make you a Tourist that way out of town sign

    Reply

  10. I had asked several times to remove wood from the structure and was told “NO, BECAUSE IT’S a historical building.

    Reply

    • Yeah or another real estate office. Too bad it won’t be a Wawa or any other restaurant. Too close to royal farms for a Wawa and the land isn’t large enough for much of anything new. Should have just left the train depot. Could have been restored and used as a Bike Depot.

      Reply

  12. The Capeville depot is gone . Done . Over .

    Pare Valley on Wilsonia Neck remains in tact because some dedicated people took early and continuing action .

    Lesson learned ?

    Reply

    • No, this is when locals don’t give a shit. It’s not like this building fell into disrepair in a week. Locals passed by it for years. Can you image the uproar from the minions if the local government decided to invest money into fixing up and maintaining the building?

      There wasn’t any local “Save the Depot” organization, so please, the demise of this building and others like it fit squarely on the shoulders of the locals.

      Reply

          • As he is plagued with Liberal, Diarrhea of The Mouth (I mean Keyboard), I did not attempt to use proper reading comprehension to decipher it’s true meaning. I quickly scanned it and had no problem believing, from past piles he has left behind, that ‘minion’ would be his word of choice to describe the masses, as Liberals tend to do. I thank you for straightening me out. I would have been out of heart for weeks, not knowing it is you who showed the lack of intelligence to read my mind and understand what really went on. Thanks, I will sleep well tonight.

  14. The county should have researched possible grants to restore this building but it looks like it DID NOTHING but issue the owner an ultimatum. Should the Historical Society have been interested in preserving a structure like this? I think so…

    Building’s like these are rare gems.

    Reply

  15. Those volunteer fire fighters will do anything to fight a fire, they love it more than life. I remember a boy from weirwood started a fire just to fight it. he was the first one there. There have been many examples of this behavior over the years from the volunteers, not to mention washing their trucks and fire engines to the point of obsessiveness.

    Reply

        • To Clyde and Pat maybe you all should get your facts straight nowhere in the article dose it say a fire company or a volunteer firefighter had a control burn. But we were dispatched at 20 hundred hours to put the fire out do to hazard to the Highway .If you all can do any better .All fire companies on the shore doors are always open stop being a sideline quarterback. William Powell President of Cape Charles Vol Fire Company

          Reply

          • Most of the time, controlled burns are used for training for firefighters. What is wrong with you? Run along and wash that truck.

          • You do know that people talk about you all and laugh and tease you behind your backs, don’t you? I have heard it for over 50 years. They talk about the girls that hang around, the incessant car/truck/engine/ambulance washing. Usually people who do not fit in any other place hang around the fire house. They talked about you in every state I have lived in.

            They laugh at you all behind your backs. I figured you knew.

  17. dick says

    DECEMBER 31, 2018 AT 4:01 PM

    yes they are but not this one you smart a”

    ‘Watch your dress’….

    Reply

  18. Capeville Depot followed the demise of the country store on corner of Rt 600 and Townsend drive, my grandfathers store. Guess Bill Wilkins old store will be next to hit the chopping block. That’s the only store left south of Cape Charles. Shame all places we hung out as kids are going, going, gone. We need to save and find way to make something out of them. They made a country store in Saxis a museum. Looks great.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *