WC Rowe Park and the Chuckey Depot Museum Ribbon Cutting Event

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – The Town of Jonesborough will be holding a ribbon cutting for WC Rowe Park and the Chuckey Depot Museum 11 a.m. Oct. 2 at 110 South Second Avenue. 

WC Rowe Park is named in honor of WC Rowe, a life-long resident of Jonesborough and the area, who made great contributions to the Town of Jonesborough. He worked on a positive partnership between the Town of Jonesborough and Washington County.

The Chuckey Depot’s original home was just down the road in Chuckey, Tennessee and now sits within WC Rowe Park in Jonesborough. Sitting on the railroad’s right of way in Chuckey, the depot was threatened with demolition. Due to railroad policy, the building could not stay in its original location.  The depot was privately owned by the Babb family who requested to relocate the building to Jonesborough, and Jonesborough was eager to have the structure. Jonesborough discussed the possibility of creating a railroad museum because of the Town being instrumental in bringing the railroad into East Tennessee. The Chuckey Depot created a perfect venue for such a museum. 

The job of moving the Depot from Chuckey to Jonesborough was undertaken by the Town of Jonesborough and the Heritage Alliance of Northeast TN and Southwest VA, beginning in August 2011. The Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society also partnered in the project, providing the restoration of a red caboose which sits adjacent to the Depot in addition to numerous artifacts and photos. Watauga Valley, the Town, and the Heritage Alliance are overseeing the process of developing the museum to interpret the use of the Depot when it was in Chuckey, as well as the history of the railroad in Jonesborough.

For more information call 423-791-3869.

# # #

*Photo by Whitney S. Williams