I made it by Eufaula today and was pleseantly surprised by the sight of the old CofG depot receiving a total renovation. The entire side of the building had new plywood and about 6 men were involved in various tasks including rebuilding the docks on both sides and the end of the depot, replacing rotted boards in the floor of the warehouse area, replacing/repairing the roof, removing both porch areas at the entrances to be rebuilt later, and numerous other tasks. It looks as though they are doing a very thorough job. I talked with personnel from the chamber of commerce and understand that the chamber will be moving into the depot upon completion and a museum will also be located in the depot.

Unfortunately the material on the front of the building that proudly proclaimed: "Central of Georgia/Freight Depot" has been removed. Hope you got them photos when it was there.

While the line itself may be in jeopardy with the loss of Louisiana Pacific at White Oak and dwindling business at Eufaula, at least the depot looks as though it will be getting a new lease on life.

Bryan Smith

-- Bryan Smith (bsmith3608@aol.com), January 09, 2001

Answers

I sincerely beleive that the renovation of the depot is a smack in the face of the afro-american community. That piece of real estate could've been used to house a recreation center for the youths of the "Bluff". Our children have no where to go and can't afford the pseudo-rec center built near the high school. This was intentional in the eyes of the afro-american community. This was a golden opportunity to provide something for this community that was wasted.

-- Dione Wilson (user7483@bellsouth.net), July 23, 2001.

I would remind and urge everyone who is around a railroad building like this to check with those doing the work to see if they may have found, and are saving, old records or artifacts. While most depots, etc., have been "cleaned out" long ago, either by the railroad or by fans, you never know what may have fallen behind a wall or what may have been hidden in a loft. Contractors carrying out renovation for a city may not have been told to keep such items as this, and the rail history community could otherwise lose some valuable items to the local trash dump.

-- Larry Goolsby (LGoolsby@aphsa.org), May 21, 2001.

Bryan, I was passing through Eufaula last weekend and stopped to check out the CofG depot. It looks like work is progressing rather well. The contractors had removed some old toilets and what looked like a bookcase that they were throwing out. Also the freight platform had numerous freight skids and floats left on it. I look forward to seeing it reopen with the museum. Justin Dzan

-- Justin Dzan (jbdzan@aol.com), May 21, 2001.