The train depots of Taylors, SC


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A few times last year, I traveled around Taylors, SC photographing locations of the community's three historical depots.

The first depot was built in the early 1870s for the Atlanta and Richmond Railway, later Southern Railway, on land held by Alfred Taylor. The community that developed around this depot quickly became known as Taylor's Station, eventually shortened to just Taylors. The depot was located between present day Freeman Drive and one of several parking lots for Taylors First Baptist Church.


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The South Carolina Library's Railroad Photograph Collection includes a May 1975 photo of the depot.

1975 photo from South Carolina Library's Railroad Photograph Collection
Today, the depot is no longer there.


The only hint left a structure once stood here are the ruins of a driveway off of Taylors Road.

Current CSX railroad right-of-way
The depot was moved, possibly in the early to mid 2000s, and is now a private residence somewhere in Greer according to South Carolina Railroad Stations. Exactly where I'd be curious to know.

Former Southern Railway depot as of 2005
The second depot in Taylors was the Piedmont & Northern (or P&N) depot located near the intersection of North Adams Street and James Street.



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The P&N depot was built in the 1910s as a stop on their "interurban" line built to transport people and freight between the Upstate of South Carolina's big cities (Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg) and certain points in between.

The South Carolina Library's Railroad Photograph Collection includes a May 1975 black and white photo of the P&N depot.


1975 photo from South Carolina Library's Railroad Photograph Collection 

South Carolina Railroad Stations includes an 1987 photo in color, from the front left.


The property formerly occupied by the depot was sold to Taylors First Baptist Church in 2003, but I don't (yet) know what happened to the depot sometime between 1987 and 2003. When I visited the site in September 2011, I found no trace of the depot.

Location of P&N depot taken 2011
The third depot, and the also most obscure, was a small P&N depot built in the mid 1910s as a stop for the Chick Springs Hotel.


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 This depot was located where Current Tools is now where they keep some trailers.

Location of Chick Springs Depot
The plat for the depot right-of-way shows the depot and a wye.


Plat book C, page 215

I haven't found out what happened to the depot, but it's not unreasonable to assume it went away not too long after the hotel went out of business for the last time in the late 1930s.

References and further reading

Comments

  1. MarkApril 19, 2016 at 6:09 PM

    Yea, I noticed the listing too. The listing was withdrawn once or twice already, and now I see it's re-listed.

    I found out where the depot was after visiting Gilreath's Mill (on the other side of the street) and noticed the railroad signs. I kept quiet about its exact location since it's a private residence, but with a listing like that there's no longer a reason to keep quiet about it.

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