Bristol, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Bristol Union Railway Station

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

1. Bristol Union Railway Station Marker

Inscription. The Rev. James King donated land for railroad facilities here in 1848, before the town of Bristol took root early in the 1850s. The first passenger train arrived on 1 Oct. 1856 on the railroad later known as the Norfolk and Western (N&W). In 1858, the line later known as the Southern Railway was completed from here to Knoxville, TN. Bristol became a manufacturing and commercial center. The N&W built the present station, the fourth on this lot, in 1902-1903. It served both railroads until passenger and postal service ended by 1971. The station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, is among the last of its era on the original N&W line.

Erected 2018 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K-124.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1902.

Location. 36° 35.721′ N, 82° 10.818′ W. Marker is in Bristol, Virginia. Marker is on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (Virginia Route 113) north of State Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

is located along the sidewalk on the west side of the Bristol Train Station, just north of the Tennessee/Virginia state line (State Street). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 101 Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard, Bristol VA 24201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Historic Bristol (within shouting distance of this marker); Vance Klondike Derby (within shouting distance of this marker); Confederate Hospital (within shouting distance of this marker in Tennessee); Bristol (within shouting distance of this marker in Tennessee); Birthplace of Bristol (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line in Tennessee); First Country and Western Recording (about 300 feet away in Tennessee); Mississippi Country: The Bristol Sessions (about 300 feet away in Tennessee); Jimmie Rodgers (about 400 feet away in Tennessee). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bristol.

Regarding Bristol Union Railway Station. National Register of Historic Places #80004173 (1980)

Also see . . .
1. Bristol Station (Wikipedia). The station was built in 1902 by the Norfolk and Western Railway at a cost of $79,000 (equivalent to $2,290,000 in 2018). Stylistically, the station fits into the pattern of early 20th-century American eclecticism, combining Romanesque with various European vernacular modes.
Several N&W trains served the station into the late 1960s:

Bristol Union Railway Station Marker (<i>tall view • Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd on left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

2. Bristol Union Railway Station Marker (tall view • Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd on left)

• Birmingham Special --New York City to Birmingham, and branch to Memphis
• Pelican --New York to New Orleans
• Tennessean --Washington to Memphis (Submitted on May 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Bristol Railroad Station. The stone-and-brick structure is one of the last surviving examples of a series of depots built before World War I by Norfolk and Western Railroad employees for the company’s rapidly expanding system. The station stood unoccupied for several years after the termination of passenger service and was converted to a shopping mall in the 1980s. (Submitted on May 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Bristol Union Railway Station Marker<br>(<i>wide view • marker visible along sidewalk</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

3. Bristol Union Railway Station Marker
(wide view • marker visible along sidewalk)

Bristol Union Railway Station<br>(<i>northeast corner • view from railroad tracks</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

4. Bristol Union Railway Station
(northeast corner • view from railroad tracks)

Bristol Union Railway Station<br>(<i>south entrance • view from State Street</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

5. Bristol Union Railway Station
(south entrance • view from State Street)

Bristol Union Railway Station detail<br>(<i>doorway and baggage cart</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

6. Bristol Union Railway Station detail
(doorway and baggage cart)

Bristol Union Railway Station (<i>southeast corner • view from State Street</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 13, 2019

7. Bristol Union Railway Station (southeast corner • view from State Street)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 432 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on May 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 2. submitted on May 17, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on May 16, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.