Here's a photo that I find interesting for personal reasons. Growing up, I always found trains somewhat interesting. Then, when I got married, my wife and I bought a house near some train tracks, part of the same CSX line that runs from Chattanooga to Nashville's Radnor Yard as the Smyrna Depot. The trains didn't particularly keep me awake, but the time I spent thinking about trains made me want to learn more about them.
One evening when we went to eat dinner in Smyrna, I stopped for a moment and got a picture of the depot, not knowing that almost a year to the day later I would be moving to Smyrna about a mile from here.
I've never put much thought into how towns get started. In the heyday of railroads, trains connected the big cities, and smaller cities sprouted up every 10 miles or so along the major rail lines. A depot was first built in 1851 with this replacement being built in 1873, and the town of Smyrna grew rapidly around it, whereas other cities created as train stops like Rucker and Fosterville are still quite rural.
When this picture was taken, the historic area around the depot was being revitalized, as a roundabout was about to be built on Front Street behind where I am standing. Also, in the hopes of creating a new tradition, 2007 saw the first Depot Days festival held at this location.
Recommended website: Historic Smyrna
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