THE WINNSBORO DEPOT

 

  Recently, the Heritage Society in Winnsboro graciously signed over the lease of the Depot to the city. The Depot, on the corner of Main and Broadway, has long been considered a perfect place to house the Chamber of Commerce and establish a Welcome Center, as well as provide office space for some of the other community organizations.

"We want to thank Maurine Lindsay and all the members of the Heritage Society for all they did to create the Depot as it is now," said Winnsboro Mayor, Carolyn Jones. "Without their efforts we would not even have the Depot. And we are so grateful to The Heritage Society for making it possible that the building can now be used for the benefit of the community."

Mayor Jones explained that back in the early 80's the Heritage Society appealed to the railroad to leave the building and grounds to The Heritage Society.  Over the next few years members of the organization renovated part of the interior to establish a museum and meeting room and landscaped the grounds. "They did a tremendous amount of work," Mayor Jones said. "And we have this wonderful building as a result of their efforts and dedication."

Work will begin soon to do further renovations to create a community room and office space, as well as bring the restroom facilities and entries up to ADA requirements. Some of the local organizations who may be using the building office space include the Music Festival and the Chamber of Commerce, and the community room will be available to other organizations for meetings.

What is really exciting to a lot of folks is establishing the Depot as an official Welcome Center. "Everyone feels the Depot facility can play a vital part in our ability to attract tourists," said City Manager, Ronny Knight.

Becky Pickett, whose late husband, Jim, did the legal work for the Heritage Society when they obtained the lease from the railroad, also mentioned a few other folks who were instrumental in acquiring the Depot and the early renovations, which, in addition to the interior work, included painting and a new roof. "There was Mary Jo Simmons. She was really the ramrod of the whole project and was the kind of person who could really get things done. Roger Beaty and Sue Hamm were also involved as was my mother-in-law, Lucille, and my sister, Karen. (Pendergast)

"After Mary Jo died, Maurine was the main driving force behind the Society and keeping up with the Depot," Becky continued. "She'd be out there all the time working on the landscaping or decorating for an event."

Becky explained that the Heritage Society was established to preserve old buildings, and the Depot is one of the few city landmarks left. "It's part of our history," she said. "The Heritage Society did their part in preserving it and now they are passing the torch to the city. That is a good thing for the whole town."