Editing Ashford, Alabama (section)

==History==
[[File:Ashford-depot.jpg|thumb|left|Ashford Depot 1920's]]
In March 1888, the Alabama Midland Railway built a small [[train station|depot]] of Victorian railroad architecture in Ashford to be a waystation along the [[Bainbridge, Georgia|Bainbridge]]-to-[[Montgomery, Alabama|Montgomery]] route. The depot was the only building to survive the 1915 fire that destroyed the rest of the town. The original depot received additions at least twice—an enclosed warehouse and open loading dock were added to the east, followed by racially segregated passenger waiting rooms on the west side. The depot faced two sidings that served for loading [[turpentine]] from the Adams Company [[still]] one block away, and [[pulpwood]]. Cotton bales, fertilizer, and a single [[sweet potato]] crop were loaded from both sidings.

[[File:8c10277r.jpg|thumb|left|Old Planters Cotton Warehouse 1930's]]
The depot changed hands as railroads consolidated. The Alabama Midland was absorbed by the [[Atlantic Coast Line Railroad|Atlantic Coast Line]], which merged in the 1980s with the [[Seaboard Air Line]] to form the [[Seaboard Coast Line]]. [[CSX Transportation]] later bought the Seaboard Coast Line. Ashford Depot had fallen into disrepair after it closed in 1978. In the 1980s, concerned citizens founded a [[historic preservation|preservation]] committee, led by Jimmy Burgess, and received a grant to add a new roof to the building. This committee also placed the depot on the Alabama Register of Historical Places. It remained active into the 1990s. Former Mayor Bryan Alloway revived the depot preservation committee after his 2000 election. This committee planned to incorporate and seek tax-exempt status in 2005. It received two US Department of Transportation grants ($850,000), two Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs grants ($290,000), and one Alabama Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) grant ($7500) to thoroughly renovate the depot. Construction began in fall 2004. The committee and Ashford City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 17, 2005, to mark the end of Phase I of the reconstruction. Now the depot can be used for reunions, birthdays, and social events that the city might sponsor.

On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael's western eye wall passed thru the City of Ashford causing major damage and left 100% of the city without power.  No injuries or fatalities were associated with the storm.