The Montpelier Train Depot: In the Time of Segregation

The Restored Montpelier Train Depot

As you approach Montpelier from the north, you will see a yellow building on your left, just before turning in to the main entrance. his small train depot and post office was originally built by the duPont family in 1910. Pursuant to existing laws in Virginia and across the South, when designed and initially constructed, this building was segregated, thereby physically separating black and white passengers into two waiting rooms, one marked "white" and the other marked "colored." James Madison's Montpelier recently restored this segregated building to its original 1910 layout, to document this unjust period of legalized segregation in American history.

Open from 9-5 daily, the exhibit In the Time of Segregation is self-guided. Interpretive panels found in and outside the depot address the local African-American community who lived in this area throughout the period of segregation, the codification of laws which dictated that blacks and whites be given "separate but equal" accommodation, a look at those who worked in the depot as agents and postmasters, and the operation of passenger, freight and mail service by rail.

Today, the Montpelier Station Train Depot is home to the exhibit described above, while it continues to house an active U.S. Post Office, located in the restored freight room.

Further Reading

For information on the logistics of sending mail via the railway, please see the National Postal Museum website.