(rshsdepot) Madison, TN

["J. Henry Priebe Jr." <root_@_net.bluemoon.net>]

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051229/NEWS01/512290376

Old depot Cash saved given back to Madison 

Group needs $35,000 for move

By KATE HOWARD
Staff Writer


HENDERSONVILLE — Madison's community leaders see a glimpse of their town's
future in a little gray building out on Johnny Cash Parkway.

The paint is peeling on the nearly 100-year-old structure that was once the
center of Old Madison, built between Louisville & Nashville Railroad's tracks.
The Amqui Station was out of commission and near demolition when the late
country legend Johnny Cash bought it in 1979 and relocated it to his 2.5 acres
in Hendersonville, dubbed the House of Cash.

Halo Properties, the developer that purchased the property after Cash's death,
is now donating the train station back to Madison through the Madison
Rivergate Area Chamber of Commerce. Many see it as a way to restore some of
the town's old glory by putting a piece of its history back at the center.

"For many years, we had generations of the same families and everyone knew
each other," said Nathan Massey, president of Discover Madison Inc.'s board of
directors. "The demographics have changed, and since then Madison has lost
some of its identity."

Discover Madison Inc., a nonprofit formed by the chamber of commerce to
revitalize Madison's downtown area, is handling the relocation.

In Amqui Station, Debbie Pace, chamber of commerce president, sees a chance to
make a name for Madison with a museum highlighting its past within the
station's own historic walls.

If the agency can secure a spot near the railroad tracks, Pace also would like
to see the transplanted building as part of the commuter rail system in the
works by the Metro Transit Authority.

"Madison never incorporated and didn't get its own government," Pace said of
the Metro Nashville community. "We don't want to get lost in the shuffle."

The station has sat idle for several years, since June Carter Cash fell ill
and died.

A smiling picture of her hangs on the wall above dusty furniture, leftovers
from the inventory she sold out of the station.

Johnny Cash said in 1979 that he was buying the station because of his love of
trains and wanted to display all his memorabilia, but a sign resting behind
the door declares it "June Carter Cash's Antiques."

A pile of old vinyl records and train log books sit near the switch that used
to move the tracks for the trains chugging through Madison.

Discover Madison needs to raise at least $35,000 just to have the station
moved, not counting any costs to set up a museum and securing land to put it
on.

The hope is to put the building at 301 Madison St.

The organization plans to hire the same company to move the station back to
Madison that Johnny Cash had hired to relocate it to Hendersonville more than
two decades ago.

With the building back in town, Massey hopes to see a renewed sense of
community in Madison.

With so many families moving away and new families coming into Madison, Massey
said, some of the pride in the community has been chipped away.

"We hope that by bringing this icon back, we can restore some of that pride,"
Massey said. •


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1277
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org