Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/19/1994
NRHP Listing Date 02/08/1995
NRHP Reference Number 95000025
This turn-of-the-20th-century depot in the Smyth County town of Marion provided passenger service, express freight, and telegram service to the area for 67 years. Marion was a hub of regional transportation as early as the 1840s. In 1903 the Norfolk and Western Railway Company chose Marion as a site for a new passenger and freight station, and contracted with J. C. Nesbit of Harrisburg, Pa. to build the facility. The carefully detailed structure, with its spreading hipped roof and wide dormers, illustrates the high standards of design for N & W Railway facilities. Such stations were usually designed by railroad company architects. Passenger service was continued here until 1971. In 1993 the building was sold to a developer and converted to office and retail use, a project that preserved a handsome relic of a fast-disappearing aspect of the American scene.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: February 27, 2021
