Herndon Depot Museum

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Herndon Depot
The former Herndon Depot, now the Herndon Historical Society Museum.
Location Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia
Coordinates 38°58′12.7″N 77°23′08.7″W / 38.970194°N 77.385750°W / 38.970194; -77.385750Coordinates: 38°58′12.7″N 77°23′08.7″W / 38.970194°N 77.385750°W / 38.970194; -77.385750
Area 3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built 1857
Governing body Local
NRHP Reference # 79003039[1]
VLR # 235-0001
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 18, 1979
Designated VLR April 17, 1979[2]

The Herndon Depot Museum, also known as the Herndon Historical Society Museum, is located in the town of Herndon in Fairfax County, Virginia.[3] Built in 1857 for the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad, the depot later served the Richmond and Danville Railroad, the Southern Railway and the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad.[4][5] The structure is located at 717 Lynn Street, at the intersection of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail and Station Street, north of Elden Street (signed nearby as Virginia State Routes 228 and 606).[6][7][8] The building is adjacent to Town Hall Square, which contains the Herndon Town Hall, built in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration project to house all of the Town's administrative offices.[4][8]

The museum houses railroad memorabilia, information on United States Navy Commander William Lewis Herndon, for whom the town was named, and artifacts from the USS Herndon (DD-198), from World War II, and from local residents.[9] The Herndon Historical Society operates the museum.[6]

The depot was the site of a raid that Confederate Army Captain John S. Mosby led on St. Patrick’s day in March 1863.[10] Mosby and his men surprised the Union Army picket guarding the station and captured officers, soldiers and horses with no Confederate casualties.[10]

The railroad was an integral part of Herndon’s agricultural history as large dairy farms surrounded the village.[8][11] Farmers would ship milk on the railroad daily to Washington for processing and distribution.[8] The railroad station became a center of the community.[8] Businesses sprang up around the station, attracted by the ready access to transportation.[8] With the advent of cars, trucks and better roads, the railroad became less of a necessity for Herndon farmers and residents.[8] The last major assignment for the railway was hauling sand to be used in the concrete mix for runways at Washington Dulles International Airport.[8] The railroad and the depot closed in August 1968.[8]

The depot building is a rectangular, one-story wooden vertical board and batten structure, measuring 70.5 by 20.1 feet (21.5 m × 6.1 m).[4] Victorian style buttresses under the eaves are the building’s only decorative feature.[4] The window and door framings and the two baggage doors are original, as are the semaphore and several pieces of hardware.[4]

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[4][12][13] Its site is marked as part of the Virginia Civil War Trails program.[10][14]

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2010-07-09. 
  2. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013. 
  3. ↑ "Herndon's History". About Herndon. Herndon, VA: The Town of Herndon. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 David, Elizabeth S., Historic Preservation Planner, Fairfax County Office of Comprehensive Planning (April 1979). "Herndon Depot". National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. National Park Service. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  5. ↑ Harwood, Herbert Hawley, Jr. (2000). Rails to the Blue Ridge: The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad, 1847–1968. Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. ISBN 0-615-11453-9. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Herndon Historical Society". Herndon, Virginia: Herndon Historical Society. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  7. ↑ "Google Maps". Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Herndon Virginia". Herndon, VA: The Town of Herndon and Herndon Dulles Visitor's Center. January 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  9. ↑ "Herndon Depot Museum:: Herndon, VA". www.PlacesDiscovered.com. 2009. Retrieved 2010-10-04.  Website contains a video that shows the interior and exterior of the depot museum.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Mosby’s Herndon Station Raid Marker". Virginia Civil War Trails Markers series. HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. March 10, 2006. Retrieved 26 Jul 2010. 
  11. ↑ "Herndon Station Marker". Washington and Old Dominion Railroad Markers series. HMdb.org: The Historical Marker Database. March 10, 2006. Retrieved 26 Jul 2010. 
  12. ↑ Greenberg, Ronald M., Acting Chief, National Register of Historic Places (March 18, 1980). "Department of the Interior: Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service: National Register of Historic Places; Annual Listing of Historic Properties". Federal Register (United States Government Printing Office) 45 (54): 17484. Retrieved 2011-08-18. 
  13. ↑ "Herndon Depot". National Register of Historic Places: NPS Focus. National Park Service. June 18, 1979. Retrieved 2010-07-23. 
  14. ↑ "Virginia Civil War Trails". CivilWarTraveler.com. 2007-2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 

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