(By Stephen Kelley from the People’s Defender 1983)
As we have mentioned in past columns, the railroad first entered Adams County in 1877. It was then that the Cincinnati and Eastern Railway was built into Winchester having been extended from the hamlet of Macon in Brown County. Winchester remained the terminus of the railroad until 1881 when construction resumed to stretch the rails into Portsmouth.
During this period of construction, the railway company constantly sought sites on which to build depots. The company reasoned that the more depots or stations constructed the easier it would be for area farmers and businessmen to ship their produce and products via the rails. In the long run, this would increase the railroad’s business and therefore gross more profits.
By the turn of the century Adams County had major depots at Winchester, Seaman, Newport (Lawshe), Peebles and Jaybird (Mineral Springs). Of these five stations, only one remains today, the old board and batten structure at Peebles.
Peebles was platted in the Fall of 1881 by Isaish Custer where the railroad was to intersect with old Zane’s Trace. It was Custer who deeded land to the railroad upon which was constructed the depot that was named Peebles Station. This structure was apparently finished and ready for use by 1882 when the first locomotive steamed into the tiny settlement growing up around the new station. John Story as the stationmaster who met that first train.
The Peebles Station was used until 1906 when it was destroyed by fire that swept through several other businesses on North Main Street. Undaunted, the Norfolk & Western Railway which had bought the line in 1901, quickly rebuilt a new station, relocating the site to the south side of the tracks away from other buildings. It is this depot that stands yet today. After faithfully serving the N &W for seventy six years, the station was closed late last year and its future is unpromising. No doubt, it will soon pass into history unless preservation efforts are initiated.
