By Vince Verrecchio

Imagine you’re at the side of railroad tracks, looking left, southward down the new rails toward where they appear to converge between slopes of tall trees. It’s a summer morning of 1878 in the Blue Ridge Mountains and the first train is on the way. Not just the first of the day but the first ever to reach this point. You hear a child ask once again, “When’s it coming?” The impatience is understandable since you’re as eager as the rest of the gathering for the big arrival. “I heard we could feel it in the rails before we could see it,” a friend comments. “Big day for Pearson,” says someone else with a tone that hopes for success.

Everyone present knows the story. Captain Charles Pearson had been named chief engineer for building a railroad through the daunting terrain of the Green River Gorge. With faith in technology and muscle, he bypassed the route of old trading paths and took the shortest distance. Brave men hammered up the treacherous side of Melrose Mountain from Tryon. You’re standing at the 2,097-foot crest of their labors, the steepest, standard gauge mainline railroad in the United States. You see smoke and raise the first of many cheers on this July 4th, a day of long and high celebration in Saluda, N.C.

Almost 138 years later, no whistle shrieks in the canyons and no smoke rises above the forest. The rails in downtown are still and silent. Of all that remains of the railroad, only the depot stirs with activity and an enthusiasm reminiscent of the day the Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad opened for business. The energies of many volunteers have combined to preserve the walls around them as a non-profit corporation, the Saluda Historic Depot. All see their mission as championing and saving a historic treasure. A few of the volunteer board members have gathered today in the main waiting room to answer the questions of “Why they each invest an average 30 hours a month? What’s the personal motivation in such a diverse group?”

3-business entrepreneur

Judy Ward, board chair, is partner/owner/manager of Thompson’s, the oldest grocery store in North Carolina; Ward’s Grill, serving neighbors since 1959; and the Boarding House Venue from 1890 now available for events and meetings.

“From Hendersonville, I worked in Saluda many years as a banker…moved here in 1996 to marry Charlie Ward, proprietor of Thompson’s. After Charlie died, Clark Thompson and I partnered to preserve the history and keep the store in the family. The store, the boardinghouse where railroad workers stayed, the depot — they’re all part of the same history, the same memories of life along these tracks.”

Realtor and publisher

Cathy Jackson, co-chair, is a local realtor and publisher of Saluda Lifestyles.

“I was the listing agent when the depot came up for sale and had only known it as a retail establishment. These original walls and ticket windows, all this history, had been hidden behind displays and merchandise. When I came in to appraise the space, it was so blank, so quiet, I almost cried imagining the voices of those waiting for trains, the hustle and bustle, the anticipation. All would be gone with remodeling…forgotten. I had to do something.”

Retired commercial banker

Bruce Hunt, board treasurer, former BB&T senior vice president in Atlanta, brings more than 35 years of commercial banking experience to the depot effort.

“Visiting my mother-in-law’s summer home year after year, we fell in love with the area and people, and retired here. We frequently heard praise for the beauty inside the depot. Something about this place, the warmth, the wood, appealed to me. Long ago I graduated as a history major and here was history that I could help preserve.”

Former Texas highway engineer

When Mary Meyland, board secretary, moved with her husband to Saluda about two years ago she came with anticipation. From her career as a highway engineer, she knew the Saluda Grade as an engineering feat that had helped determine the contours of America’s roads.

“Highway design and construction grade standards originated with the experiences of the railroads and Saluda was the extreme. When I went into the depot, my first reaction was to smile. There’s a positive energy I feel especially on nights when I’m here alone tidying up. I don’t want to lose that.”

Enthusiasm across the Board

Mark Ray, owner of Dad’s Collectibles in Hendersonville and model train enthusiast, saw the depot as a historic jewel, “an original, an authentic presentation without compare in the region.”

He wandered into Thompson’s store and found Judy Ward behind the counter. “I asked who I could talk to about how special that building was.”

Corinne Gerwe, mystery novelist in her historic Saluda home, speaks of the pleasure in meeting railroad enthusiasts who cross the depot threshold. For example, the 50-year-old man who hiked the rail bed from Spartanburg to Saluda to experience the famed grade.

Carolyn Ashburn, retired speech pathologist and a city commissioner, recalls how the passion of Cathy Jackson pulled her into the cause of preservation and helped her to see the economic potential for the community with the depot as a museum and cultural center.

“Preservation needs donation,” says Cathy.

Judy elaborates, “We’re trying to raise $275,000 through tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships. We’re trying to entice more visitors to town with railroad history and artifacts, art exhibits, Train Talks, and a gift shop.

Mark adds, “In May, our Saluda Grade diorama premiers.”

Every depot volunteer would say the wood structure is the heart of what Saluda has been. It helps keep alive memories. Many throughout the town believe that if the depot closes, it would be more than the loss of a building, but a loss in the spirit of what Saluda has become: a vibrant destination of events, restaurants, B&Bs, galleries, and shops; a getaway for outdoor adventurers; a retreat for nature lovers to discover the secluded falls named for Pearson.

In all of that, the depot at 2,097 feet is a historic high point of any visit.

For more information, visit historicsaluda.org.