Chipley station

Chipley station is a former intercity railroad station in Chipley, Florida. It is currently the headquarters of the Washington County Historical Society. The grounds include two former train stations: the Louisville and Nashville Depot and Bill Lee Station. The station was served by Amtrak's Sunset Limited train until service was suspended after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. Amtrak has proposed reopening the station as part of a restored Sunset Limited route in the future.

Chipley, FL
General information
Other names	Bill Lee Station
Location	675 7th Street Chipley, Florida
Coordinates	30.780748°N 85.53763°W / 30.780748; -85.53763
Other information
Status	Closed
Station code	CIP
History
Opened	March 31, 1993[1]
Closed	August 28, 2005 (service suspended)[2]
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Crestview toward Los Angeles Sunset Limited (1993–2005) Tallahassee toward Orlando or Miami Preceding station Louisville and Nashville Railroad Following station Bonifay toward Myrtlewood Myrtlewood – Chattahoochee Cottondale toward Chattahoochee
Location

History

Chipley, Florida, named for William Dudley Chipley, came into existence as a stop on the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad around 1882. The P&A was absorbed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, who built the Louisville and Nashville Depot in downtown Chipley. Later, rail service was moved to a smaller building close to the tracks, Bill Lee Station. This served as Chipley's stop on Amtrak's Sunset Limited until 2005, when Amtrak suspended the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The old L&N depot became a farmers' market and the headquarters of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. In 2010, the Washington County Historical Society acquired the site, including both buildings, and adapted them as a museum and headquarters.^[3][4][5]

Notable places

• Falling Waters State Park

References

1. Wagster, Emily (April 1, 1993). "All Aboard! Sunset Limited on a Roll". The Clarion-Ledger. pp. A1, A11. Retrieved November 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Trains". The Tallahassee Democrat. August 29, 2005. p. 2. Retrieved November 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "The Museum". www.washingtoncountyhistoricalsociety.org. Washington County Historical Society. 2011. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
4. Friend, Sandra; Wolf, Kathy (2012). Explorer's Guide North Florida & the Florida Panhandle. The Countryman Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0881509656.
5. Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia. pp. 84–89. ISBN 0881509655.

External links

Media related to Chipley (Amtrak station) (category) at Wikimedia Commons

• Chipley, FL – Amtrak
• Chipley, FL – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Amtrak Stations Database