Built in the 1880s by the Manchester and Augusta Railroad, this depot in Pinewood, SC is the only railroad station still standing in Sumter County. The railroad soon became part of the Atlantic Coast Line and later the Seaboard Coast Line. In the 1990s, CSX sold the building back to the town. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pinewood was founded in 1888 when the railroad made this rural community a station on the line to Sumter. The Pinewood Depot was erected by 1889 in the center of the village and was the center of the community during the heyday of the railroad. It is a one-story gable end building with a metal roof and board and batten siding. The wide eaves of the roof are supported by curved knee braces and the ends of the rafters are sawn to form an ellipse. Though abandoned for use after passenger rail transportation ceased in the mid-twentieth century, the depot is still viewed by residents of Pinewood as an important landmark. It is symbolic of the importance of rail transportation in the rural agricultural communities of the state. The depot was a conduit not only for travel, but also for mail, the transportation of goods, and was a window to the outside world. Most importantly, the Pinewood Depot is the last train depot standing in Sumter County.
Photos taken in the Deep South--primarily Alabama and Georgia--from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Featured railroads include the ICG, the West Point Route, SCL, Southern, Frisco, and even KCS.
