Lee Hall Depot | History

A look toward Yorktown Road from Lee Hall Village with early automobiles and trucks parked in the median of present day Elmhurst Street.
Naomi Hoover.

s passenger and freight activity became significant, the village of Lee Hall began to grow. Numerous services and places of business sprang up to support the activity generated by the depot including a schoolhouse, Dozier’s dairy, H.M. Clements’ Store, Emma Curtis’ cafe, and S.R. Curtis’ house and post office.

H.M. Clements’ store provided residents with a meat shop, a grocery, dry goods, and other materials, as well as a home to salesmen renting upstairs apartments. Buildings erected on either side--a bar, bowling alley, and barber shop--supported his business and added entertainment. Emma Curtis’ cafe and the tavern next door fed residents and travelers.

S.R. Curtis’ home, now The Boxwood Inn, served throughout the years as his home, a small grocery, Warwick County’s treasurer’s office, a post office, and hotel.

H. M. Clements store across from the Simon Curtis house.
Naomi Hoover.

A view from Lee Hall Village toward Lee Hall Mansion's main driveway. The school house is the distance in the woods, and the grove of trees on the far left marks the old Confederate redoubt. The three houses are still standing today.
Naomi Hoover.

The size of the village fostered a close-knit feeling of community. Vada Curtis opened her home as a hostess house and dance hall during World War I to welcome returning soldiers, while Dozier’s farm and dairy provided milk and meat for residents. As the village expanded, a tomato packing plant, pickle factory, Esso station, telephone exchange, and D.P. Pender chain store became part of the community.

During World War I and II, the depot enjoyed heavy military traffic from nearby Camp Eustis, now Fort Eustis. For Lee Hall residents during World War II, it became almost commonplace to see POWs being sent to camps at Fort Eustis.

THE DEPOT'S FUTURE

Project Timeline

2007

Stabilization and Moving of the Depot

2008-2009

Restoration and Special Events

Lee Hall Village Concept Plan.
CLICK TO ENLARGE

he relocation site of Lee Hall Depot will be an approximate two-acre portion of a thirteen-acre property to be purchased by the City of Newport News. The CSX railroad tracks are west of the site while south, across Elmhurst Street, is the historic c. 1896 Simon Read Curtis House, now The Boxwood Inn.

The station has been the subject of community
interest and planning
focus for several years.
Two city planning pro-
cesses featured the
relocation and preser-
vation of the Lee Hall
train station to act as a catalyst for Lee Hall

City of Newport News Department of Planning & Development.

Village’s economic development and maintenance of the community’s integrity. The area is envisioned to become a historic district featuring speciality shops and restaurants that will support nearby Civil War and Williamsburg area tourist attractions.

The restored depot will provide an area for a light rail transit
stop, a gift shop/admissions area, and two exhibit galleries. The exhibits will include “Lee Hall Village: A Railroad Community” and a children’s hands-on exhibit entitled “Rails Across America.” Both exhibits fulfill the Commonwealth’s Standards of Learning requirements for school-age students.

Additionally, the station will be named to the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia Landmarks Register as it has already been decreed eligible for listing.

Total estimated project cost for relocating, preserving, and interpreting the depot is $2,000,000. Once restored, the station will be maintained and operated by the City of Newport News’ Division of Museums & Historic Services. Additionally, The Friends of the Lee Hall Depot will support the station financially through membership, special events, and programming.