History of the L & N Train Station
There has been railroad business in Clarksville since 1860, when the first train came into town from Bowling Green. Passenger service from Bowling Green to Memphis began on April 14, 1861, with the completion of the Tennessee River Bridge at Danville.
There were two other lines that served Clarksville & Montgomery County, the C & P Branch, connecting Clarksville to Hopkinsville, and the L & N Line, connecting Hematite to Pond where it connected to the N. C. & St. L railroad.
The first Clarksville depot was at Depot Street, close to Cumberland Drive. There was also a freight depot and a hotel there. Ground was broken in September of 1881 for the present depot. Further renovations were in 1901, 1916, 1924, 1948 and 1960. In 1916, the 320 foot long butterfly shed was added. This helped protect the passengers from the elements.
Passenger service was brisk until the advent of the automobile. There was resurgence in passenger traffic during the World War II years. A lot of trains pulled out with passengers standing in the aisles.
The most famous train on the Memphis Line was the Pan American, which had it’s beginning in December of 1921. This train was discontinued on November 15, 1965. This was due to the drop in passenger business. The Monkeys came out with the song, “Last Train to Clarksville” due to this discontinuation. But that was not the last train to Clarksville. Night trains 101 & 104 ran on until February 28, 1968 when C. W. Harrison, night ticket agent, sold the last passenger ticket in Clarksville.
P. O. Bledsoe, day ticket agent, was known by a lot of Clarksvillians, as he worked at the depot for over 30 years.
After years of neglect, the train station was brought back to life for the State’s Bicentennial in 1996. It is now home to the Montgomery County Historical Society.
We were fortunate to receive the locomotive to grace our home.
We thank Tony Smith for his contribution of this history of our home station.
We would like to invite you to a tour of our MCHS home and to purchase either online, by phone or by mail any of the many pictures, books, post cards or replicas available.
