Renovations to old train depot begin

The gleaming green roof doesn’t just keep out the rain. It freezes time.

Renovations to the Havelock railroad depot on Miller Boulevard will preserve the 1940s-era train station and shield it from rust and rot as a historic group plans the future of this monument to the past.

“It was going down fast,” remembered Harold Rawls, newly elected chairman of the Havelock Historic Preservation Society. “Part of the roof was gone and it was leaking inside. It was really giving us a fit.”

The historic society partnered with the city of Havelock to secure almost $200,000 in grants from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The money is being spent on exterior renovation that will keep the structure sturdy while volunteers plan an overhaul of the building’s interior.

Atlantic Builders of Newport was hired to replace the train station’s roof and refurbish its original wood siding, and Rawls said the project could be finished by early January.

Volunteers from the historic society will paint the railroad depot and begin landscaping. Plans call for a historical conference center to complement the neighboring Hugh Trader Store museum, but Rawls said details — and dollars — still need to be nailed down.

“We’re going to have to look for more grants and more money before we look at finishing this thing off,” he said. “It’s not a short-range project at all.”

The project has helped revitalize the historic society, which added several prominent Havelock natives to its membership rolls recently, Rawls said.

George Griffin, Havelock’s first mayor, and Eddie Ellis, the city historian and author of a book on Havelock and Craven County history, have joined other historic-minded residents in the group.

“We’ve got some new blood in there,” Rawls said. “Two of them are original Havelock people, they were born here. I came here in 1944, so I’m not a native, but I’m close.”

The original Havelock Station railroad depot built in the 1800s had burned, and the current depot was built as a replacement in the 1940s, Rawls said. It was moved to its present location behind the Trader Store on Jan. 30, 2006.

Diane Miller, Havelock’s city grant manager, worked closely with DOT to secure a supplemental grant when bids for the exterior restoration exceeded the project’s budget. Ron Mewborn, an ex-officio member of the historic society’s board and its former chairman, credits her with helping ensure the renovation’s success.

“The historical society did a lot of work getting it all put together, but she was the catalyst who gave it a push and got it pushed through the state,” he said. “She was just wonderful in getting it all done.”

Mewborn said the society will focus on fundraising and increasing public awareness to build momentum from the first phase of restoration as members plan for the second.

“We’ve got a wonderful board right now, and it’s going to make things really start happening,” he said. “The structural integrity of the building has been shored up. The interior of the building is yet to be financed.”

Rawls said a fundraising dinner is being planned for sometime early next year. He said the historic society is still recruiting members and is asking for volunteers with knowledge of construction to advise the board on future projects.