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Project seeks to preserve town’s rail history
Photo by Shane Gilreath
The Town of Oneida continues to work toward the development of a museum at Oneida City Park to be located in the old depot structure. Workers recently gutted the building and continue to repair the building’s roof, as the park awaits a multitude of historic exhibits, many of which currently reside at Black Cat on Main Street. The store’s proprietor, Moe Mullis, will be in charge of telling the town’s history with items with provenance dating to Scott County’s pioneer past.
By Shane Gilreath
“Whether focused on history, science, or art,” says the Smithsonian, via its monthly publication, “museums can put the past and the present into context and allow people to make connections to their lived experiences.” That’s the objective in Oneida, as the town and its volunteers seek to create a railroad museum from the old depot at Oneida City Park. While the structure is not the original town depot, it is a nearly century old replacement, the consequence of a fire, and part of the town’s cultural undertaking is to make Scott County’s history, including stories of the depot, spring to life for visitors and tourists alike. It’s an ideology that the Smithsonian, perhaps America’s most important system of museums, knows well: “It is important to share the stories of everyday people because these stories make up the American narrative of our shared diversity and humanity.”
Much thanks to current leadership, in November 2024, the City of Oneida announced that it had received a $100,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Tourism through the Tourism Enhancement Grant program to rehabilitate the historic railroad depot.
“This grant is a tremendous opportunity for Oneida,” said the Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones. “Revitalizing the railroad depot will not only honor our past but also attract more visitors to our city, boosting local tourism and supporting our economy.”
According to the American Alliance of Museums, a 1906 foundation that represents all American museums, the historic preservation industry, ie museums, can do just that. Not only do museums play a pivotal role in the cultural preservation of American towns, they are also economic juggernauts, annually generating over $12 billion in tax revenue across the nation, with one-third of it going to state and local governments, and with each job created by the museum sector, $16,495 in additional tax revenue is generated.
While the Oneida depot has its eyes set on long-term success, the process will be a slow roll out. First, according to Virginia Bruce, the Community Development Coordinator for the Town of Oneida, the city has to first oversee a complete renovation of the historic structure. “The inside is completely gutted,” she told SCN, “ and we have to get the roof fixed.”
The completion of the project, like much else, has been held up by seasonal weather, a problem confirmed by Moe Mullis, who will oversee the museum’s eventual exhibits.
Once the exterior is complete, the interior, says Bruce, should move more quickly. That’s where Mullis steps in. “The museum is currently in Black Cat,” he said, referencing the Main Street business that houses many of the artifacts visitors will encounter in the completed project. Others are in storage, according to Mullis, who said the museum does not have a board, per se, but is, for now, a private endeavor, hoping to house exhibits dating back to Scott County’s pioneer past.
“By transforming the depot into a vibrant community hub, the town hopes to foster greater engagement among residents and visitors alike,” the town said in November. “Oneida is taking a significant step toward preserving its history while paving the way for a brighter future.
