Thrift P&N Depot

Charlotte/Western Mecklenburg County

Currently for sale

P&N Depot in Belmont, N.C. Restored as a museum for Gaston County
P&N Depot in Mt. Holly, Gaston Co., N.C. Currently being restored

Former Piedmont and Northern Station -- Charlotte Former Piedmont and Northern Station -- Gastonia

The Piedmont and Northern Railway Station just outside Charlotte in the Paw Creek Community is a well preserved example of an early twentieth century train station. Charles Christian Hook, a leading Charlotte architect, designed it and its sister stations along the line.

The Piedmont and Northern Railway was first proposed in 1909 by William States Lee, vice-president of Southern Power and Utilities Co., as an "electrically powered interurban railway system linking the major cities of the Piedmont Carolinas."  There were seven stations along the eleven-mile run from Charlotte to Mt. Holly.  Only three of the distinctive stations survive, and  the Thrift Depot is the only P&N station that survives in Mecklenburg County.  Hook's 1911 design combines simple forms with careful detailing to give the Thrift station a look of functionalism and dignity.

Piedmont & Northern Station -- Greer, S.C.

Piedmont & Northern Station -- Pelzer, S.C.

On April 3, 1912, the P & N began service on the Charlotte - Mt. Holly run with eight trains each way daily, which took about 35 minutes one way. Tickets were available from Blake's Drug Store on the Square or the Mint Street depot for 20 cents per one-way. On the first trip from Charlotte to Mt. Holly were fifty some dignitaries and invited guests, which included William S. Lee, the "father" of the road and later president of the P & N; Zebulon V. Taylor, president of the Charlotte Electric Railway; and representatives of the Charlotte newspapers.

This Boxcab locomotive pulled freight and passengers from Charlotte to Gaston County

Through World War I, the 1920s, the Great Depression and World War II, the Piedmont and Northern remained profitable, primarily due to the carrying of freight.   With the widespread ownership of automobiles passenger business began to fall and was discontinued in 1951.