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Businessman restores old train depot on Woodford in hopes of using it for art space Date published: 8/7/2008
BY JIM MASON
FOR THE FREE LANCE-STAR "Trains used to stop here for passengers and freight all the time," John W. Burke III says of the Woodford train station that his family owns and has renovated. And now it could be available for use by artists to display or create their artwork. "We just painted the station--and also the roof--to preserve it," Burke said. "We are currently just using it for storage, but I'd love to see some other use for it, possibly by a community of artists." The Woodford landmark is the last combination passenger-and-freight train station still standing in Caroline County. In Milford, the century-old freight station has been renovated and remains in use by a business, but the passenger station was torn down years ago. Once a thriving little Caroline County railroad town off State Route 2, about 15 miles south of Fredericksburg, Woodford is described by James Franklin Taylor, who grew up there, as "a little town that was." A post office is there, beside the renovated train station, but what used to be the general store is boarded up and little else remains as a reminder of its heyday. Named in honor of a native son and Revolutionary War hero Gen. William Woodford, the village once had an excelsior mill, a feed and grain store, a pickle factory, a car dealership and a loading platform built to car height. Woodford nestles along the CSX Transportation tracks that were once part of the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad line. (CSX acquired RF&P in 1991.) The tracks at Woodford date from 1836, according to RF&P Historical Society President Bill Sheild of Fredericksburg, who has posted a brief history of Woodford on the Internet.
Read more stories about Caroline Date published: 8/7/2008
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