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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (June 27, 2014) — A piece of Milligan College history is being revived along the Tweetsie Trail, a Rails-to-Trails project that links Johnson City and Elizabethton using a stretch of the abandoned East Tennessee and Western North Carolina (ET & WNC) railroad line.
This week, volunteers began installing the Milligan Depot rest stop, a replica of the original Milligan Depot that once stood about a half mile from campus along the Tweetsie line from Johnson City to Elizabethton.
Hikers, bikers and runners will begin using the recreated Milligan Depot when the first portion of the Tweetsie Trail opens on Aug. 30, 2014.
The rest stop will have a shaded bench area under the structure, a bike rack and a sign detailing the history of the Milligan Depot. But for those who are familiar with Milligan, one of the stop’s most important features is its location.
“When selecting the location, we tried our best to ascertain the original site of the depot,” said Dr. Charlene Thomas, adjunct instructor of humanities at Milligan. “What we think is the original site is now more residential, so we chose a spot nearby with trees and shade, overlooking a horse farm.
“Best of all, if you look through the trees you can see Milligan’s Seeger Chapel.”
Thomas and her husband, Ted, are spearheading the depot project. The couple share a passion for cycling and have biked rails to trails all over the United States, including a trip this summer to the Great Allegheny Passage.
Next stop: Milligan
Construction of the first 4.5-mile section of the Tweetsie Trail is under way now. This section, between the trailhead at Alabama Street in Johnson City and Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton, is slated to open with an inaugural Walk/Run called the Tweetsie Trek on Saturday, Aug. 30 (Labor Day weekend).
When all sections are eventually complete, the 10-mile trail will be the longest Rails-to-Trails project in Tennessee.
When the Thomases heard about the Tweetsie Trail in their local community, they wanted to contribute.
“We thought of the other trails we’ve ridden where there are wonderful depots with benches and bike racks,” Charlene said. “We wanted to create a rest stop that also has a Milligan connection and significance to the history of this trail.”
They discussed the project with Milligan President Dr. Bill Greer, and with his support Ted drew up plans for the project. Some elements from Ted’s depot design are now being replicated in other areas of the Tweetsie Trail.
“They are using our basic ideas throughout the trail,” Charlene said. “For example, the entrance way to the trail was initially all brick, and now it will have columns containing the same stone as the columns on the Milligan Depot. We also helped pick out the brick to match.”
The Thomases pre-fabricated the depot at their home. The City of Johnson City and the Milligan Physical Plant are assisting with installation.
“What motivated us to do this is our love for Milligan,” Charlene said. “Bicycling and Milligan are two of our favorite things.”
Greer, who helped choose the site for the rest stop, is grateful that they have undertaken this project.
“It’s good for the community, our alumni and for Milligan,” Greer said. “Milligan has a long connection with the railroad, so we’re excited to once again have a presence on the Tweetsie Trail. We were founded in the same year—1866—and Hardin Hall, a building on campus, was named for George Hardin, one of Milligan’s first graduates and general manager of the ET & WNC Railroad. Mr. Hardin was a philanthropist who served as the college’s treasurer and chief benefactor. His commitment to Milligan moved it forward in many ways.”
The other obvious Milligan connection to the railroad was the Milligan community’s use of the depot just a half mile from campus.
Another Milligan professor, Dr. Ted Thomas (not related to the aforementioned Charlene and Ted Thomas), has researched the history of Milligan’s original depot and is preparing historical content for the sign that will be installed at the spot. He has found several details about the depot in Johnny Graybeal’s “Along the ET&WNC. Volume III.”
“By 1896, a small depot, a ‘flag stop,’ stood within half a mile of Milligan College,” said Professor Ted Thomas. “Milligan students could flag down a train at the flag stop and ride westward to Johnson City, a trip that would take 10 or 15 minutes, depending on whether one boarded at 9:20 a.m. or 3:25 p.m. Or they could ride eastward toward Elizabethton — a 38-minute ride.”
In 1940, the ET & WNC terminated regular passenger service, but freight continued to roll. According to a 1950 article in Milligan’s student newspaper, The Stampede, as late as 1950, Milligan College Postmaster Cad Price would load up the college’s outgoing mail twice a day in a wheelbarrow and walk down to the flag stop.
Today’s Milligan students will not only have the opportunity to enjoy hiking and biking the Tweetsie Trail, but they also intend to help maintain it. Milligan’s cross country and track and field teams were among the first groups to request to adopt a section of the trail for its maintenance and upkeep. The section they hope to maintain spans the portion of the trail that includes the Milligan rest stop.
“I’m pleased that Milligan College’s name will mark this spot on the trail again,” said Professor Ted Thomas. “From the new shelter, hikers can see the spire of the college’s Seeger Chapel and imagine how often students, before the automobile age, used this convenient rail connection to get to Elizabethton and Johnson City.”
To find out more about the Tweetsie Trail, visit www.tweetsietrail.com. To learn more about Milligan, visit www.milligan.edu.