Camp - Railroad Depots of Central Ohio

The initial growth and prosperity of many small communities in central Ohio was dependent on the railroads built through this region in the mid- to late 1800s. Shelby welcomed its first passenger train in 1846 along the Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad; by 1851, trains of the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad were stopping at Shelby Junction. The first lines to enter Columbus were the Columbus and Xenia Railroad in 1850, the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad in 1851, and the Central Ohio and Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroads in 1853. The Springfield, Delaware and Mount Vernon Railroad served Delaware and Marysville by 1854. Mansfield and Newark were connected by the Columbus and Lake Erie Railroad in 1852. By 1857, the Cincinnati, Wilmington and Zanesville Railroad reached Bremen. These lines eventually came under control of the Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and Pennsylvania lines and were joined in the later 1800s by predecessors of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway; Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad; Norfolk and Western Railway; and more New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroad precursors.

The railroads were responsible for the platting of a number of towns including Brice and Summit Station. At each town, a depot was eventually erected to handle passenger and freight business. Depots were also necessary at railroad junctions to provide a means of interchange. It is estimated that during the heyday of railroad travel, some 265 depots dotted the central counties of Ohio.

The first depots were often small utilitarian structures, sometimes a mere roof over a wood or gravel platform. Others rather looked like barns through which the trains ran, for example the 1862 Columbus union station. If a community already existed, a hotel or inn might have served as the initial depot. As railroad travel became the fashion, depots evolved into a standard three-room structure with space for the agent and staff, a passenger waiting room, and a freight room. Beginning in the late 1800s, railroad construction crews modified some depots by lengthening the freight and or passenger ends to fit the local needs. In larger towns and cities, for example Delaware and Mount Vernon, separate passenger, baggage, and freight depots were erected; while in smaller communities like Pickerington and Ostrander, combination passenger-freight depots were the rule. As towns grew in population and importance to the railroad, the original combination depot may have been converted to freight use and a new passenger depot constructed; such was the case at Delaware on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Big Four) line. A union depot or station was a design serving two or more railroads, often constructed at junction points, for example Lancaster and Mansfield, or in major rail hubs, like Columbus.