Restoration of the platform canopy of Wilson’s historic railway station began in May of this year. The ornamental ridge cap and copper gutters will be faithfully restored, as will the slate roof. These lustrous, deep gray shingles might look familiar to the keenly observant eye — they were sourced from the recently replaced roof of the Samuel H. Vick house!
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, August 2024.
As discussed here, the Atlantic Coast Line’s handsome passenger rail station was the point of departure for many African-Americans leaving Wilson during the Great Migration. Now an Amtrak stop, the station was restored and renovated in the late 1990s.
Here’s the station’s main waiting room today. Through a doorway, a sign marks a second room for baggage.
Into the 1960s, though, the baggage area was the train station’s “colored” waiting room.
Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, June and September 2021.