The Niota Depot is the oldest in Tennessee  I can remember crossing the train tracks and seeing the old Niota Depot as a small child when we would visit relatives in Niota. My paternal grandparents, my dads sister, and one of his brothers lived a few blocks from the old depot. His other brother and my maternal grandparents lived across Highway 11, but not too far from the depot. Even though it has been 50 years, those memories still remain. Many of my kin and the ancestors in this study lived in this area and I'm sure used the Niota Depot.

The Niota Depot, once known as the Mouse Creek Station, still sits on Main Street. Part of the building is now the Niota City Hall and another part serves as a community center where craft shows, entertainment, and other social gatherings take place.

The Niota Depot, a brick building, is the oldest standing depot in Tennessee. It was built in 1854 by residents at a cost of about $4,100 and provided passenger and freight service. The structure is 120-by-40 feet and had a 90-foot freight room that was used by farmers to store grain waiting to be shipped. During the Civil War, some of the bricks were removed from the 16-inch thick walls to allow rifles to be used in case of a battle. It never happened and the holes were later bricked and mortared closed on the outside.

          Old Train Caboose at the Niota Depot/City Hall For decades the East Tennessee & Georgia Railroad made four passenger stops and multiple freight stops at the depot. The building was later inherited by the Southern Railroad. The last passenger train stopped at the depot in August 1970, and the last freight train stopped there in July 1972. The building deteriorated until negotiations with the railroad allowed the city to purchase the building and rent the land the depot sits on for $1 annually.

In the 1980's, a movement began to restore the building. A new roof was put on in 1991 and the building was later renovated. All of the original building is still standing and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

              Old sign on the wall of the freight room As mentioned above, the Niota City Hall uses one end of the building for offices. The old freight room remains as it was in days past. The doors and areas of the walls have names of former employees written on them. From the inside, some of the holes where the bricks were removed for gun holes during the Civil War are still visible.

Sign on front of the Niota Depot	Writing on one of the double doors	More wall grafitti
This was signed over 120 years ago!	There was a familiar last name on this door	Wouldn't it be interesting to know the first name?
One of the old gun holes from the Civil War days	Close up of a gun hole with outer bricks replaced	Back view of the depot next to the train tracks