Secretary Byrd Announces the Designation of the Fort White Depot in the National Register of Historic Places

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. -

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced today that the Fort White Depot in Fort White, Columbia County, has been listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places.

"I am pleased to announce that the Fort White Depot has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places," said Secretary of State Cord Byrd. "This property represents Florida's early transportation history and the development of the town of Fort White."

Located in the north-central Florida town of Fort White, the Fort White Depot is a simple one-story, frame vernacular building with a metal gabled roof, vertical board and batten siding, and brick pier foundations. It is one of the few remaining original depots associated with the Florida Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The railroad played a crucial role in the establishment and development of Fort White. A typical "railroad town," the community of Fort White moved to its current location in 1883 to be closer to the railroad, and the town's commercial and residential core developed around the depot. It was constructed around 1900 as the primary access point to the community for new arrivals and travelers. The rail stop at Fort White made the town a vital commercial, industrial, and transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural, timber, and phosphate industries. Within a few years of opening the railroad, Fort White grew into the second largest community in Columbia County.

Fort White Depot, 2026

The depot features a historic station master's bay window, folk Victorian wood jigsaw patterning, decorative wood brackets near the roofline, and a reconstructed full-length platform. The interior has two rooms that function as public gathering spaces. Interior finishes include original wood flooring and wood beadboard walls and ceilings. This building has undergone many changes during its history and was moved twice since being decommissioned in 1979. It was first moved to be an agricultural shed in Suwannee County, near Branford, approximately 15 miles away. In 2003, the town of Fort White purchased the depot and relocated it to Mayor's Park, less than a block from its original location, and restored the depot to its historic condition.

The Fort White Depot is the best remaining historic resource in Fort White that is directly associated with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. In the 1980s, the depot became a stop along the Florida Rails-to-Trails program. The Fort White Depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association with transportation history and early community planning and development.

Fort White Depot, 2026

###

About The National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is a list maintained by the National Park Service which includes historical or archaeological properties including buildings, structures, sites, objects, and districts, that are considered worthy of preservation because of their local, statewide and/or national significance. Nominations for properties in Florida are submitted to the National Park Service through the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources. Florida has over 1,700 listings on the National Register, including 295 historic districts and 175 archaeological sites. There are more than 50,000 sites contributing to the National Register in Florida. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation/national-register. For more information about the National Register of Historic Places program administered by the National Park Service, visit nps.gov/nr.

About The Florida Department of State's Bureau of Historic Preservation

The Bureau of Historic Preservation (BHP) conducts historic preservation programs aimed at identifying, evaluating, preserving, and interpreting the historic and cultural resources of the state. The Bureau manages the Florida Main Street Program, and under federal and state laws, oversees the National Register of Historic Places program for Florida, maintains an inventory of the state's historical resources in the Florida Master Site File, assists applicants in federal tax benefit and local government ad valorem tax relief programs for historic buildings, and reviews the impact that development projects may have on significant historic resources. For more information, visit flheritage.com/preservation.