HISTORY

The Niota Depot is a significant building representing the antebellum industrial history of Tennessee and the impact of the Civil War on rural Tennessee. Built in 1854, it is the state’s oldest extant train depot, noted for its fine brick construction and its antebellum railroad design. Known as the Mouse Creek Depot until the city changed its name to Niota in 1897, it was built by the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad (later the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad) and acquired by the Southern Railway in 1894. The depot remained in continuous passenger and freight use until 1972 when the Southern Railway deeded it to the City of Niota. When it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, the Depot still had a terracotta tile roof dating to circa 1900. In 1990, the tiles were removed and the roof replaced with sheet metal. At this time the City Hall's offices are in part of the building.

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