Strasburg Passenger Depot

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In 1878 the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad completed this passenger depot in Strasburg Virginia. It replaced an earlier station constructed by the Manassas Gap Railroad in 1854 near the current site of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. The new structure was designed by famed architect E.F. Baldwin who was responsible for the majority of B&O depots along the Valley line.

At the time the town of Strasburg was booming because of the presence of the railroad. The connection between the north to south B&O with the east to west Southern Railway line west of town brought expanded rail service.
This factor led to the growth of local industry. Over 20 lime kilns, numerous textile mills, potteries, lumberyards, and other industrial concerns provided employment to the majority of the town and caused the town to grow. The B&O allowed these businesses to ship their products to buyers and for local stores to import goods to sale.

This growth would lead to the demise of this building. By 1915 the railroad had outgrown the structure. So B&O expanded operations by purchasing the former Strasburg Steam Pottery building in town and renovating it to serve as a depot. Once that site opened, the former building was demolished. Passenger rail service would be based there until the railroad ceased providing passenger service to the Valley in 1948.