MIDLAND — The historic Midland Train Depot was destroyed in a fire early Monday morning, according to authorities.
Firefighters were dispatched to the depot, which would have been approximately 104 years old this year, on a report of a working structure fire. Crews battled the fire for a couple of hours, according to the Blanchester Marion Township Fire Department’s Facebook page.
U.S. Route 68 South at the railroad crossing was closed for a time.
Chief Sandy Wisby of the Jefferson Township Fire Department, the first department that responded to the scene, told AIM Media Midwest the fire was under investigation and the State Fire Marshal’s office was involved.
No injuries were reported. The cause and origin of the fire have not yet been released.
Following is an article written by Melinda Danenbergs about the depot. It was published by AIM Media Midwest in January 2022:
The beginning of passenger service by train in Wilmington occurred when the Cincinnati, Wilmington and Zanesville built the line entering Clinton County at Clarksville and ran through Wilmington to Sabina.
According to late historian Bernie Quigley, it was also known as the Sheepskin Railroad. The year was 1853. A second railroad was completed in 1884. This railroad, known as the “Midland”, would eventually be part of the B&O Railroad.
It’s southern terminus was Midland City, or in those days, Clinton Valley. The northern terminus was Columbus.
The Midland connected with the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad and the passenger could then transfer to that line for Cincinnati, or points east. Progress of the construction of the Midland line was reported periodically in the Wilmington News Journal from 1882 to 1884.
Soon after its opening, there was a grand excursion train run over the line from Columbus to Cincinnati on Nov. 13, 1884. The railroad’s president, Orland Smith, organized the excursion train, which consisted of nine new coaches, his private car, and a baggage car. The management of the “road” were invited as well as the merchants of Wilmington and various dignitaries.
A first-hand account by an unknown journalist in the Highland Weekly News in Hillsboro, dated 1885, wrote of his travels to the state capitol in Columbus from Hillsboro. He boarded the Hillsboro Accommodation on a Wednesday morning and traveled by rail to the Blanchester depot.
The Hillsboro Accommodation was a spur of the Marietta & Cincinnati, taking passengers to Blanchester through Russell’s Station, Lynchburg and Westboro. “After a wait of only seven minutes passengers could take the morning train to Columbus via connection at Clinton Valley, or later Midland City just four miles east.”
At Clinton Valley, there was “a commodious new depot built and that a number of new buildings were going up. He theorized that Clinton Valley would soon be a future town, rivaling Blanchester.”
From Wilmington to Columbus, the Midland Road had a station every 3.5 miles; some of them were Pleasant Corners, Morgans, Jasper and Rattlesnake.
The Midland was the 14th road to enter Columbus and it passed through the counties of Clinton, Fayette, Madison, Pickaway and Franklin — a distance of 71 miles. Thus from Hillsboro to reach Columbus, it took the author of the Hillsboro article about 4.5 hours.
The Midland was first named the Cincinnati & Columbus Midland Railroad, but soon the name was changed because of another railroad line’s similar name which caused confusion in shipping, billing, etc.
In 1956, due to discontinuation of passenger service, train rides were sponsored by the Clinton County Historical Society and these were the last passenger runs on the lines going through the town, designated to commemorate the occasion of almost 103 years of passenger service by train.
Bookings could be made by phone and available seats went quickly when notice of the sign-up was opened to the general public. It was estimated that there were 400 passengers, including standing room only.
One of the trains was driven by a veteran engineer named E.E. McCoy, who had previously completed 50 years of railroading on June 12, 1956. McCoy was from Newark and had been running trains in the Wilmington area for nine years. This was to be his final run before retirement.
Along with the special train rides, a series of articles giving historical information on the railroads was created by Dusty Miller, who wrote “The Daily Grist” column on a regular basis for the News Journal in Wilmington.
miller was born in Marshall, Ohio and was of Quaker descent, attending Wilmington College to secure his education. He and wife Grace settled in Wilmington after he completed a stint of teaching.
Due to the number of reservations made for the last ride, an extra coach was ordered by B&O agent of the day A. M. Perry. The two trains running that day in 1956 were the last regular passenger trains scheduled to pass through Wilmington after 102 years and 11 months.
