JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
Located in the nearby town of Bridgeport, Ala., lies a historic train depot which houses a vast collection of artifacts and memorabilia x of the community’s history going back centuries.
From spearheads dating back thousands of years to equipment used during the town’s big boom in the railroad industry, Bridgeport’s Depot Museum serves as the community’s hub for historic preservation. Alan Payne, the museum’s docent, explained the museum came into fruition by the now defunct Bridgeport Area Historical Association (BAHA) in the 1990s, converting the once empty Spanish Revival style train depot on Soulard Square into the museum it is today.
“The building was built in 1917 when the Spanish Revival style was really big in the United States,” said Payne. “At that time period, that’s what we got.”
Bridgeport was founded in 1845, originally at the time named Jonesville before being renamed in December 1854. The town boomed and growth became eminent in the 1850s with the introduction of railroad into the community. Payne explained Bridgeport served as a major stopping ground for incoming trains travelling into Tennessee, in addition to a local hub for transports done by riverboats.
“There was opportunities for a lot of cross-freight type situations,” said Payne. “They had the boats that would come to the docks on the river, and you had the train station here.”
The museum houses two floors worth of memorabilia from generations of families, workers, and entrepreneurs who helped shape Bridgeport into what it is today. Many of the artifacts on display were donated to the museum, ranging from a pipe organ and piano, to a cigar famously left unused by former Prime Minister Winston Churchill. An assortment of photos, paintings, and cards are also on display to further showcase Bridgeport’s deeply rooted history.
Among the collections organized is outfits and photos from Bridgeport High School, which in 1989 was consolidated alongside Stevenson and Hollywood high schools to make North Jackson High School, while Bridgeport High was converted into today’s North Jackson Middle School. Payne explained many of the photos, school band uniforms, and other pieces of memorabilia were donated directly to the museum upon the high school’s closure, all of which are on display for guests to observe.
The museum’s newest exhibit, the Jack Crabtree Civil War Research Library, was dedicated last month on Nov. 8 and features a collection of Civil War novella donated to the museum by relatives of Jack Crabtree, a collector of Civil War based books from Arizona who passed away.
“His brother went on a crusade, travelling about back in this area to see who he might want to donate the items to. And this is where he decided to donate them,” explained Payne.
The museum is open year round every Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tours can be arranged on any day of the week via over the phone at (256) 495-4020 for those seeking to explore deeper into Bridgeport’s vast history.