(The Associated Press circulated the following on September 8.)
RAINELLE, W.Va. — Rainelle officials say the city had no choice but to tear down a historic train depot.
City recorder Pete Adams says that while the city owned the building, it didn’t own the property it sat on.
The property owner recently sent a letter to the city asking that the building be removed, and Adams says the city couldn’t afford to move it.
As of Friday, one section of the old depot had already been demolished. Adams says the structure was made completely of pine, and will be burned after it’s torn down.
The depot was at least 80 years old and was one of the last remnants linking Rainelle to the peak of the Meadow River Lumber Co. operations. The city bought the building from CSX about two years ago.