8th and Broad Street Railroad Depot

A railroad depot once stood on the north corners of East Broad and Eighth streets in Richmond, Virginia. The location is one block away from Capitol Square. The train station was associated with the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad lines in the mid-nineteenth century. This also was the train station associated with the journey of Henry "Box" Brown who traveled from Richmond to freedom in the North. When Henry Brown arrived at the train station the morning of March 23, 1849, he would not have seen the station from his position in the shipping crate. The 8th and Broad Street terminal had been built in the 1830's. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, & Potomac railway line was established in 1836. This was the line that would take Henry Brown on the first leg of his journey to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The railroad tracks, which used to run down the center of Broad Street from east to west, were removed by the 1890s. The former 8th and Broad St. railroad freight depot and offices were no longer here by 1895 and never returned to this spot; the corners were redeveloped in the twentieth century with an office building and the Library of Virginia.

Henry Brown was taken by wagon from the shipping office seven blocks away to the railway station at 8th and East Broad Streets. This railway station is no longer standing but the intersection is an important site for this tour as it is the initial point where Henry Brown started his rail journey north. It was at the train depot in this intersection that the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (RF&P) was chartered in 1834 to run from Richmond to Aquia Creek port. Henry’s journey from the shipping office was a short but very difficult one. Despite the box lid's instructions stating, 'This side up with care,' the box was set on the wagon upside down by the employees of the freight company. This ended up putting Brown on his head. According to accounts, “as the wagon bumped to train-side he felt strange pains but gave no sign. The box was roughly loaded from the wagon to the train freight car.” Fortunately, when loaded on the train it was placed right side up. Following the train leaving, Samuel Smith wired Miller McKim in Philadelphia to inform him that the package was due to arrive the following morning.  

If you review the 1863 map (see below), it shows the location of the 8th and Broad Street depot of the RF&P line, on the northeast corner of the intersection. The train tracks ran down the center of Broad Street, from east to west. By the year 1877 (see the map below), the RF&P offices were on the northeast corner of the intersection and their freight depot was on the northwest corner. By the year 1895, the railroad tracks were removed from Broad St. (see the Sanborn insurance map below). The former 8th and Broad Street railroad freight depot and their offices were no longer here by 1895 and never returned to this spot. The Library of Virginia building was later constructed on the northeast corner of 8th and E. Broad and remains there today; the northwest corner of the intersection contains a modern office building now.

In 1917, a new train station was built for the RF&P much further west of this location (2500 W. Broad Street) and was called the Broad Street Station. The 1917 train station building still stands near the Fan District of Richmond and has housed the Science Museum of Virginia for many years; this building is not yet on Clio. The Main Street Station that was built in 1900-1901. This replace the 8^th and East Broad Street Station as the primary train depot for Richmond. In the early 1900’s it was the main line for the Chesapeake and Ohio and Seaboard Air Railways. This stations had damage in the 1970’s and 1980’s but in 2003 Amtrak service did return to the location. The Richmond Union Station is located next to the historic Main Street Station. The clocktower on the Main Street Station is an iconic view of Richmond for those passing through on Interstate 95. More can be learned by visiting this site, also in Clio.

Beers, F. W. Illustrated Atlas of the City of Richmond. Richmond, VA. Southern and Southwestern Surveying and Pub. Co., 1877.

Sanborn Map Company. Insurance Maps of Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, VA. Sanborn Map Company, 1895.

Sneden, Robert Knox. Map of Richmond Virginia, AD 1863. watercolor map from Sneden's Civil War diary. Richmond, VA. original at Virginia Historical Society, 1863.

https://www.richmondrailroadmuseum.com/railroad-history. Accessed 4/6/2024.

Brown, Henry. Narrative of the Life of Henry Box Brown. Manchester, England. Lee and Glynn, 1851.

Ruggles, Jeffrey. The Unboxing of Henry Brown.

Richmond, Virginia. Library of Virgnia, 2003.

The Journey of Henry “Box” Brown TEACHER’S GUIDE, Dickinson.edu

Still, William. The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts. Garden City, New York. Dover Publications, 2007.