MONCURE

Former Seaboard Air Line Depot in Moncure

Art Peterson Collection

The former Seaboard Air Line Railroad depot in Moncure, in Chatham County, North Carolina has been demolished. The following pictures and report were submitted by Paul Folmsbee: I visited the site on December 6, 2005, looking for a government survey marker (a benchmark) which was described as being 82 feet north of the depot. When I arrived at the indicated location, I found a pile of rubble, in which was a long board labeled MONCURE. I assume this was affixed to the building, while it was standing.

According to local residents, the building was dismantled a few months prior. The lumber was hauled off by someone who said he would use it for a building project, elsewhere. The lady who runs the Moncure Post Office, which is about 100 yards north of the site, is now in possession of the MONCURE sign. She asked for it, because she comes from a family of railroad workers.

Positive identification of the rubble was further enhanced by the following sources:

*A plat dated 1877, in the Chatham County Registry;
*A map of Moncure, dated in the 1930's;
*An aerial photo taken in 1988, showing that the depot existed at that time.

At one time, the Moncure station was busy, and Moncure was the origination point of a spur which ran to Pittsboro. The old rail bed is still visible between Pittsboro and Moncure--including a cement bridge over US-1.

The 1887 Chatham County plat


The 1930 Moncure map


The 1988 aerial photo showing the depot


Where the depot once stood.


All that remains of the Moncure depot, one badly weathered sign.

The abandoned railroad bridge over US Hwy. 1


Another view of the bridge


The roadbed of the bridge