HAMILTON, Ohio – From industry tycoons to presidents to soldiers of both World Wars, the Hamilton train depot has seen nearly every kind of passenger imaginable in its nearly 150 years of operation, but Tuesday, for the first time, it became a passenger itself.
Carefully sitting atop a hydraulic dolly system, part of the building slowly made its way down Martin Luther King Boulevard to its new home, to what the city hopes is a place in the city’s future redevelopment district.
Built in the mid-1800s, Dan Finfrock, a local historian, said the depot always seemed to be at the center of Hamilton history.
“The major industrialists, when they came to Hamilton, they came on the CH&D train, they got off here, this was the first thing they saw,” he said.
Over its decades of operation, Finfrock said the building served thousands of passengers, hosted a campaign speech from Abraham Lincoln and served as a vital connection between Ohio and the rest of the rapidly industrializing Midwest.
“It’s probably the most historic building in Hamilton. I’m including the courthouse, city building, and everything because this means more to Hamilton right here.”
Finfrock himself said he’s taken dozens of rides out of the station, but as time went on, ridership took a precipitous drop until the depot closed in 2005.
The building, left abandoned, started to fall into disrepair and its new owners CSX told the city it would have to be moved or demolished.
Finfrock was at the forefront of efforts to preserve the place.
“I never thought it would happen,” he said.
In 2021, Hamilton City Council sided with the preservationists and agreed to set aside $2 million to relocate and restore the depot in the hopes a new tenant would take it over and turn it into a museum or business.
“This is a big step in the celebration of our history,” Mayor Pat Moeller said. “This is going to be a repurpose and relocation that’s going to open up Maple Ave. for redevelopment.”
Tuesday, the relocation got underway. Wolfe House Movers were contracted to rig a hydraulic lift system to the building and carry it down the block to its new location.
Dozens, including Finfrock, lined the streets to see the massive piece of history parade through the street.
Finfrock said he’d like to see at least part of the depot become a museum dedicated to Hamilton’s industrial history, but however the city decides to preserve the building, he considers it a massive investment in Hamilton’s future.
“I think city council is really looking forward and doing the right thing for Hamilton right now,” he said. “I think there’s more historians in Hamilton than Hamilton realizes.”
There is a second building in the depot complex which will undergo a similar relocation process in January. From there, the city will begin the restoration process and search for potential new tenants.