The depot is within the Rapidan Historic District, encompassing 35 contributing buildings and 3 non-contributing buildings within 182 acres. It’s been designated a National Historic District and is on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.
The station was built for the Orange & Alexandria Railroad in 1876and later moved away from the tracks, on Rapidan Road (615) at Locust Dale Road (614). There once was a caboose adjacent to the depot, but according to locals that I talked to, nearby Nelson County had said it was on loan from long ago and took it back.
The town in which the station lies began as a small milling community called Waugh’s Ford. With the coming of the Orange and Alexandria in 1854, the settlement was renamed Rapid Ann Station, reflecting the customary name of the nearby river (a fast-moving stream named for Princess Ann).In 1886, the village and station were renamed Rapidanafter the Charlottesville-Rapidan Railroad.
The Rapidan Passenger Depot is located at the junction of VA 614, VA 615, and VA 673 in Rapidan, Virginia. For your GPS the address is 28298 Rapidan Road, Rapidan, VA 22733. The town is approximately 80 road miles from Richmond andalso 80 miles from Washington DC.
