Why restore an old deteriorated depot instead of building an entirely new one? The answer comes from the community's desire to preserve its history and heritage. Unlike many forgotten old buildings that exist in many towns across America, railroad depots hold a special place in the memories and experiences of the people that used them. Railroad depots were often places where the lives of people changed or significant events occurred -young soldiers went off to war, families reunited, loved-ones said goodbye, immigrants first saw their new town, some left home for good, and others started long-awaited journeys. People came to the depot to see trains come and go and to dream of travel to far-away places. Railroad depots also represented significant milestones in the development and growth of a town. The coming of a new railroad and the construction of a new depot often meant the expansion of trade and commerce for the region and opportunities for convenient travel by train. By restoring and reopening the Centerville depot for active use, the community preserves a landmark structure from Fremont's history and the place where a generation of citizens created memories and experienced changes in their lives. For the new users of the depot who enter its waiting room and board its trains, the depot's restoration provides an historic location for the creation of new memories and experiences. 

The people involved in the plans for the restoration of the depot endeavored to recreate, wherever possible, the appearance of the depot as it existed during its heyday between 1910 and 1920. Their efforts involved not only researching and critiquing structural details and plans, it included activities such as determining the depot's original exterior paint colors, researching archival photographs, locating the original blueprints for the waiting room bench, obtaining the railroad's standard drawings for the depot's roof signs, and even searching for two antique terra cotta chimney pots to top off the depot's patent metal chimney. Today, the historic depot is Centerville's most visible and significant surviving historic landmark structure and is the focal point for the revitalization and continued prosperity of the Centerville business district. 

For more information on restoration of depots and revitalization of railroad stations, visit the web site for the non-profit Great American Station Foundation.