Ponchatoula Depot
Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
Ponchatoula Depot. Original depot built c. 1854 by New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad (later Illinois Central). Burned when Union forces captured town in March 1863. Rebuilt c. 1865. Present depot built in 1894 and remodeled in the 1920's. Erected by Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, 1982.
Erected by Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism
The Story
Ponchatoula's first depot went up about 1854 for the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad, later part of the Illinois Central. Union forces burned it when they captured the town in March 1863, and it was rebuilt around 1865. The present depot dates to 1894, remodeled in the 1920s, and was placed by the state tourism department in 1982.
Why it matters
The depot's cycle of building, burning, and rebuilding mirrors how the railroad — and the Civil War fought along it — shaped the fortunes of small Southern towns.
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