By Vanessa Overholser - Staff Writer
After standing erect on 130 East First Street more than 100 years, the Freight Station building may be torn down soon. Many local residents said the building should not be demolished.
“It is a historical building,” said Jim Brockman. “It is 100 years old. It is right there where the trains came through and the depot is right there. In my opinion they should keep it.
“There is some historical value there. I would hate to see something happen to it. Nothing ever stays the same. If counties and the state and everybody put out money for this event I don’t know if it is beneficial for the government to buy the building and keep it. If someone would keep it there because of the historical value and it is a big part of this city and this town. It ought to be preserved if it can. That costs money sometimes. In this economy, I am not sure we have enough money to do a lot of things like that.”
Morehead resident Mike Price said he understands the need for obtaining the building and its value.
“My perspective is I’d like to see it stay,” Price said. “If I owned it, I don’t know how I would look at it. I’d like to keep it as long as I could but I don’t own the building so I don’t know. It is up to the owners of the building what they do with it.”
Price said it is imperative that people remember the past.
“History is important to me,” Price said. “I think part of society has lost the value of history. There is historical value there and history is very important to me. Whatever happens today and whatever happens tomorrow people forget about history. History tells us about ourselves and our society. Then, if we forget about it, how are we going to know where we came from and where are we going to go?”
Colleen Peigler lives on the Rowan-Carter County line. She was 10 years old when she lived near the Freight Station.
“It’s been there too long for it to be torn down,” Peigler said. “I wouldn’t approve it at all.”
She said she used to live in a house across from the freight station. She shared some of her fondest memories of the building.
“We used to catch the train to go to Haldeman and back and forth,” Peigler said. “I remember the fun we all had going to the movies and getting in for 15 cents and buying candy and popcorn for 5 cents.”
Peigler has one piece of advice for the people who are considering on tearing the building down.
“Leave it like it is,” Peigler said. “It’s been there too long for it to be torn down now.”
Haldeman resident RoseMary Johnson said she does not like the idea of tearing down the freight station.
“I think it would be a great loss to the city and to the town.”
“It is one of the last pieces of heritage of that era of the train station and depot and everything else,” Johnson said.
She said the city and the county are making a mistake getting rid of the historical building and other important buildings in town.
“I think it will be a loss,” Johnson said. “Just like it is a loss that they are taking the library out of town and moving it way out. I think they are trying to do too much and losing a lot doing so. I think they should’ve thought about all the parking spaces they would need before they built the conference center.”
Linda Mullins now lives in Georgetown but used to live in Morehead several years ago.
“I think they should keep it,” Mullins said. “Because it is history. It has been here for so many years.”
She said her best memory is shopping for furniture.
“My mother bought a cedar bedroom suit from the Big Store that was down the street from the freight station,” “I still have that cedar bedroom suit now.”
Mullins remembers admiring it as she went shopping on First Street.
“It has been here for plenty of years,” Mullins said. “It needs to stay.”
The owner of the Freight Station Building Jeff Barker could not be reached for comment.
