The depot served as the primary entry point for excursion trains during the Florida Chautauqua assemblies lasting from 1885 to 1928. As many as 4,000 passengers a day arrived at this station during the height of the Chautauqua era. Performing bands welcomed arriving passengers before guests advanced to the ticket gatehouse which stood next to the original depot (no longer standing) to purchase their daily pass or season ticket to be on these historic grounds.
This is not the original structure built as a depot on or near this site. The original 1885 depot sat in the middle of what is now Circle Drive (directly in front of you.) That structure was torn down and replaced on the site of the current structure. No records today conclude whether the second structure was remodeled or replaced with the current one, but evidence shows that the structure before you was remodeled in 1910 to accommodate the enormous crowds arriving by excursion trains at the height of the Chautauqua era. Source: DeFuniak Springs Train Station
This is not the original structure built as a depot on or near this site. The original 1885 depot sat in the middle of what is now Circle Drive (directly in front of you.) That structure was torn down and replaced on the site of the current structure. No records today conclude whether the second structure was remodeled or replaced with the current one, but evidence shows that the structure before you was remodeled in 1910 to accommodate the enormous crowds arriving by excursion trains at the height of the Chautauqua era. Source: DeFuniak Springs Train Station
