Southern Railway Depot

Our tour begins at the Southern Railway Depot, built by the Western North Carolina Railroad between 1910 and 1911.

111 Depot Lane, 1911

In the 1990s, the depot was re-located from the north side of the tracks to prevent its demolition. It was put on wheels and moved approximately 150 feet to its current location, which for many years had served as the Circus Grounds — a convenient location for the trains to unload their equipment and animals and set up the big top.

The one-story brick building has a heavily bracketed over-hanging roof for the protection of passengers from the weather. The windows have diamond-paned sashes that add interest. 

There was at least one murder on the property and at least one execution. It was near this location in 1868 that Iredell County Sheriff William Franklin Wasson placed a noose around the neck of Thomas Dula who had been tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to die. You probably know him as Tom Dooley. Legend has it that Tom rode to his execution sitting on his casket in the back of a brand new Illinois wagon. They left the jail on East Broad Street and turned south at the square, with guards flanking the wagon on each side. Some say that during his last ride, Dula sang the song made famous by the Kingston Trio, “Hang Down Your Head, Tom Dooley.” 

In early years there were actually two depots located here, one for each of the railroad companies serving Statesville, the Western North Carolina and the Atlantic Tennessee & Ohio.

In 2014 the depot was converted into a patrol division for the Statesville Police Department, preserving its’ historical elements.