Success message
Error message
As of the spring of 2026, Our contractor, CFH Contracting, has put the finishing touches on the exterior. They have done meticulous work, above and beyond our expectations. We especially love the way the original bricks on the boarding platform were reset into a nice flat sidewalk we can use for events. There's also a safety fence and vintage-style lighting (the depot didn't have electricity when it was built, but let's face it, it comes in really handy!).
Our next challenge is to coordinate fundraising, volunteers, and contractors for the interior. We're planning for a meeting/event space, kitchenette, office area, and handicapped-accessible bathroom in the old passenger & crew areas, plus a good cleaning of the freight area.
As of September 2025, the Depot is back to wearing its original 1899 red & cream color combination. It has new windows and doors, except for the sliding doors in the freight area which were refurbished. It's surrounded with new sidewalks and is soon to have the original bricks re-set in its boarding platform. Other improvements in the works for the next month: period lighting, safety fencing near the tracks, and gutters.
We're a bit biased, but we've looked far and wide and we think this is the best-looking vintage depot you'll find in Ohio!
As of April 2025, our beloved depot is under construction. The Board of Directors has entrusted CFH Contracting of Bainbridge with the site upgrades and exterior renovation. Funding for this project was primarily provided by the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission through a matching funds grant. We thank our major donors, the Valero Energy Foundation, the South Central Power Company Foundation, Modern Woodmen of America (Clinton/Highland County Chapter), Southern Hills Community Bank, Merchants National Bank, Huhtamaki, the Tom E. Dailey Foundation, and Greenfield Historical Society, and of course all our individual donors!
We are indebted to McCarty Associates for generously sharing their engineering, architecture, and construction management expertise.
Leesburg’s Train Depot follows the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s standard “combination depot” design. It was constructed to serve both passengers and freight, and inside it still is divided into two separate areas with only the passenger side heated.
Its construction was announced in June of 1899. Its masonry foundation was completed in July, and it was first used in October of that same year. Its original color was a deep red called India Red, and it was repainted in that color twice, in 1916 and 1929. Electric lights were installed in 1914.
Mr. Louis A. Pausch, a well-respected Leesburg citizen, was the first station master of the new depot. He would retire in 1903 with 51 years of service to the railroad company.
The original blueprints for the combination depot shown here are courtesy of the B&O Railroad Museum.
In the depot’s early days, trains came through Leesburg daily on their way to and from Cincinnati. The United States did not have an interstate highway system, so the railroad was the fastest way to move people and materials from place to place.
Leesburg was fortunate to be located near the main line of the B&O railroad, because the commerce and traffic it brought helped the town to thrive in those years. Many people will be surprised to learn that Leesburg once had three hotels, a theater, and its own fairgrounds!
The mail was delivered to and picked up from Leesburg each day by a train. On days when no large parcels needed to be picked up, a railway post office clerk on the train could grab a mail sack from a hook near the tracks without the train stopping. There was also a telegraph office inside the depot, so short messages could be sent along the telegraph lines.
The April1900 daily departure schedule shown here is courtesy of Kert Larkin.
After World War II, in 1946, the depot was painted a light tan color called Depot Buff. Its trim was painted black until the 1960’s, when it became brown. The depot finally received indoor plumbing in 1973!
The late 1960’s brought an end to the passenger era and the rail line shifted to carrying all freight. The B&O Railroad merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and Western Maryland Railway to form The Chessie System in 1972.
The Chessie System purchased two other companies and was renamed CSX in 1986. This large corporation chose to paint all its depots a plain gray color, as seen in this photo.
The photo at right was taken in 1981 by John Pjorklund.
CSX decided in 1987 that the Midland City rail line which passes through our village was not profitable enough. They began to tear out track, but the city of Greenfield stepped in and bought the Midland City line in 1988 to help some of their businesses.
Greenfield hired the Indiana & Ohio Central Railroad to move freight. This company too went through several ownership changes. It was known as Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. until July of 2019, when it was purchased by two foreign investment companies called Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC.
The Leesburg Depot was last used and maintained in 2003. In the following years several individuals and groups attempted to purchase the building from CSX to preserve it, but these efforts fell through. By 2017 the roof was failing.
The photo at left appeared in the Hillsboro Times Gazette in 2017.
In a 2017 letter to our state representative, neighbor Alice Teeters asked if there was any state funding available for historic preservation. This led to a matching funds grant offer of $100,000 from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Alice quickly rounded up a group that would help raise the $50,000 needed for the project.
The Village of Leesburg got the attention of CSX and the newly formed Leesburg Area Historical Society was able to prevent imminent demolition of the building with a quick purchase in 2018. Grant writing and fundraising proceeded through the pandemic.
A new roof was installed in 2021 and the grant fundraising goal was met in 2023.
The Historical Society's vision is that the depot will be restored to service to its community. We plan to host educational and cultural programs for schoolchildren, railroad enthusiasts, and the general public. We also plan to adapt the interior of the depot for modern purposes and make it available to the public for meetings and events.
