The U.S. state of North Carolina is one of the largest states on the Atlantic Coast. What is the state famous for? The Hunger Games movies were filmed there. The most visited national park, the Smoky Mountains Nation Park, is partially located in the state. (The other part is in Tennessee.) You have the beaches on what is called the Outer Banks, and it was in the town of Kitty Hawk where the first flight of an airplane took place by two brothers. The state has some of the most popular universities in the nation to include the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University, and Duke University which have had some of the best basketball teams in the country. With so many things in the state, you also have numerous railroad sites as well. One of the sites is in the small town of Sanford.
Welcome to the Depot Park in Sanford, North Carolina. What is Depot Park?
Some of you are saying, “Well, duh! It is a park built around a depot.”
That is true, but what is special about the Depot Park in Sanford? Yes, it is the centerpiece of the town, but it is more special than that. The town was designed at the crossing of two railroad lines. The man who engineered the crossroads was a man named O. C. Sanford, and the town is named after him. The Depot Park is located at the crossroads of these two rail lines. Yes, it features an old train station, but it also features the Railroad House, a fountain, the Depot Park Walk of Fame, Steam Locomotive Number 12 of the Atlantic and Western Railroad, and a concert pavilion and event space. The park pays tribute to the town’s railroad heritage.
The Sanford Depot Park is located at 601 North Fifth Street in Sanford, North Carolina. The park is free to visit, and parking is on site. The park is entirely wheelchair accessible. You can get more information at https://www.sanfordnc.net/697/Depot-Park.
John Cowgill: Stories of the Railroad 