Montpelier Train Station
In the Time of Segregation
"We tend to shy away from our past...we should face up to it, live with it, otherwise it will live with you, and haunt you, and distort you, for all your days."
John Hope Franklin, historian,
Speaking at the Montpelier slave descendants reunion, 2007
William duPont built the Depot to upgrade passenger and freight service for Montpelier, which he purchased in 1901. The Depot was constructed in 1910 from Southern Railway plans with two waiting rooms - one for "colored" passengers and one for "white" passengers - as required by racial segregation laws in force in Virginia and across the South from the 1890s until the 1960s.
The Montpelier Foundation has restored the Train Depot to its appearance in the 1910s to document this time of legalized segregation in American history. This exhibit is just one part of a broader effort at Montpelier to explore the historical experiences of African Americans from the early 18th century to today.
When the post office opened here in 1912, "Montpelier Station" became the official name for the neighborhood. A vibrant black community called Montpelier Station home. With endurance and fortitude, they endeavored to build a better world for themselves and their children, in spite of a landscape littered with "white only" and "colored" signs and the discrimination those imposed.
While the Montpelier Depot bore witness to the racism that led to segregation and disenfranchisement laws, today it serves to foster the discussion of citizenship and equal justice in American society.
Marker is at the intersection of Constitution Highway (State Highway 20) and County Route 693, on the right when traveling east on Constitution Highway.
Courtesy hmdb.org
