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(rshsdepot) Vienna, IL
from the Southern Illinoisian=2E=2E=2E
BACK TO THE DEPOT: PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK TO THIS OLD RAILROAD DEPOT IN
JOHNSON COUNTY=20
BY CLAIRE O'BRIEN=20
THE SOUTHERN=20
[Fri Jan 17 2003]=20
VIENNA -- Trains don't pull into the Forman Depot in Vienna anymore=2E
Whistles don't sound, and farmers don't line up wagons piled with corn and=
peaches destined for Chicago markets=2E=20
But people are once again using the last original railroad depot in Johnso=
n
County -- which was built more than a century ago, served as the county hu=
b
for many decades, then sat on a farm for a long time before finally findin=
g
a new home in the Vienna city park=2E=20
Today, the town that loves its depot will sponsor a grand opening, invitin=
g
the public to help celebrate the restoration of Forman to its original
condition=2E=20
Vienna has a lot to celebrate=2E=20
It wasn't easy for this spunky small town to undertake a major $200,000
historic preservation project -- in fact, the project took more than five
years to complete=2E But Vienna dug in its heels and stayed the course, an=
d
on Saturday the community will proudly show the world the results of years=
of hard work and commitment=2E=20
"We succeeded only because we stuck together and wouldn't give up," said
Mayor Chesley Williams=2E "Quite a few people said it couldn't be done, bu=
t
we just kept on going=2E Some groups that had never worked together before=
came together for this project=2E"=20
Those groups include the city of Vienna, the Johnson County Chamber of
Commerce, the Vienna Civic Club and the Johnson County Genealogical and
Historical Society=2E=20
For years, the depot sat on the property of Clarence Allbritten, a farmer
who lives south of Vienna=2E Five yeas ago, Allbritten contacted Phil Morr=
is,
a local railroad buff, and Gary Hacker, who is the president of the
genealogical and historical society=2E Allbritten told the two men that he=
was willing to donate the depot to Vienna, and hoped that the town would
restore it to its original condition=2E Morris and Hacker were thrilled to=
have this chance to save an old treasure, but it took quite a while before=
the town was able to move the depot=2E In the meantime, the Vienna Civic C=
lub
promised to donate the land designated for the depot, which was adjacent t=
o
the city park=2E=20
People got busy trying to raise money for the restoration=2E The project
eventually received state and federal grants from both the Illinois
Department of Transportation and the U=2ES=2E Department of Agriculture, a=
mong
others=2E Three years after being moved to the city park, the depot was
finally restored, with the exterior returned to its original colors and th=
e
interior completely renovated=2E=20
Best of all, the depot is being used=2E=20
It houses a railroad museum, a tourism center, chamber of commerce offices=
,
and offices for the Southernmost Illinois Delta Empowerment Zone=2E=20
Williams said he thinks the depot will remain a source of community pride
forever=2E=20
"History matters here=2E Our traditions are important to us," he said=2E
"Restoring our depot really brought us together -- and we are still
building on that=2E Most of the items in our railroad museum came from loc=
al
families, because so many of them had a family member who worked for the
railroad=2E=20
"Another benefit of this project is that now that we have the ball rolling=
,
we aren't going to stop now," Williams said=2E "We are planning our next
project, which is to beautify our town square, all around the courthouse=2E=
We have received calls from neighboring communities who are interested in
doing restoration projects too, and we pass on what we learned to them=2E
This will only help the tourism industry in our region, as well as bring
our communities together=2E"=20
claire=2Eobrien_@_thesouthern=2Ecom 618-529-5454 x15076=20
=20
=20
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=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
------------------------------