April 20, 2004
Restored Depot gets statewide honor
By Lucy Schultze
The Oxford Eagle
The newly restored Oxford Depot has been named to a list of
14 outstanding preservation projects from across Mississippi.
The Mississippi Heritage Trust, a nonprofit historic
preservation advocacy group, will award its 2004 Heritage Awards
Friday at the Experience Mississippi Historic Preservation Conference
in Hattiesburg.
According to MHT, each project on its list demonstrates
"excellence in the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and
interpretation of our architectural and cultural heritage."
The winning projects range from the rehabilitation of an
abandoned lumber company headquarters in Hattiesburg, to the
restoration of the Woodworth Chapel at Tougaloo College to the
restoration of a historic theater in Biloxi.
Built in 1872, the Depot was badly worn and partially
crumbling by the time it was acquired by the University of
Mississippi in 1993.
Under the leadership of Gloria Kellum, vice chancellor for
university affairs, UM sought Mississippi Department of
Transportation funds for the renovation and completed it last fall.
Crews used as much of the original materials as they could in
rebuilding the structure. They took apart and rebuilt the south wall
brick-by-brick, and individually restored and relaid the original
cypress floor planks.
Great care was taken in preserving the original windows and
freight doors and many original light fixtures. Outside, paint colors
from the era grace the eaves, and a historically appropriate cedar
shingle roof is now in place.
The landscaped area on the depot's western side substitutes
seating-level brick planters for the benches where students and
travelers once waited for their trains. A pair of gravel walkways
echo the tracks that once ran alongside the train station.
The building now contains a community meeting space to seat
60, a rear boardroom to seat 14, a small office, restrooms and
kitchen.
The Depot is designated a Mississippi Landmark.