SEBASTIAN – The original train depot of Sebastian has returned home from Ft. Pierce and is situated behind the Dunkin’ Donuts near U.S. Highway 1 on Cleveland Street.
What surprised me about this structure is how awesome it is. This is a piece of Sebastian history that was almost lost.
As I walked up to the train station, I couldn’t believe the detail. The structure is still strong after numerous hurricanes.
The Sebastian train station returned to the city on Sunday after leaving Ft. Pierce. It was a long haul that took about 3 hours.
There’s a city proposal for the structure to become a gift shop in Sebastian. It’s in the early stages, and we’ll have all the details soon.
The city of Sebastian decided not to take ownership of the old train station because of the cost of moving it. The building was moved to Sebastian by a private individual who intends to restore it and put a business in it.
“We were offered it free of charge, just had to move it up here, and three council members didn’t see any value in it,” Sebastian City Council member Jim Hill told Sebastian Daily. “I’m just happy to see the building wasn’t demolished and that it’s back home in Sebastian.”
When the City of Sebastian gave up the train station, it went to a group of train enthusiasts in Fort Pierce and they never did anything with it.
When the City of Sebastian wouldn’t pay for the cost to move it back, a man named Tom Haines decided to become its custodian. So far, it’s been a pretty significant investment to move it back to Sebastian.
While there are new structures being built in Sebastian, it’s great to see a structure like this returning near the waterfront. It has character, and probably thousands of stories if only the walls could talk.
The Sebastian Chamber of Commerce only found out about it on Saturday. Let’s all hope that whatever will be inside of this precious gem will not be an auto parts store.
