Anniston, AL (ATN)

126 West 4th St
Anniston, AL 36201

Station Ownership

Facility:
City of Anniston

Parking:
City of Anniston

Platform(s):
City of Anniston

Track(s):
Norfolk Southern Railway

Amtrak Contact

Todd Stennis

Routes Served:

• Crescent

History

The passenger station in Anniston is a brick classical revival structure built in 1925 by Milo R. Hanker for Southern Railway. Restorations for this station have been underway since 2001 when the city of Anniston purchased the facility for $55,000 from Norfolk Southern Railway. Partial renovations have been completed, using $430,000 in state and federal transportation grants. Long-term plans are to turn the station into a multi-modal facility also housing an intercity bus depot and taxi services. The building has been on the Alabama’s roster of National Register of Historic Places since 1994.

Anniston is the seat of Calhoun County, Alabama and is in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Though the surrounding areas had been settled earlier, in 1872, the Woodstock Iron Company, organized by Samuel Noble and Union General Daniel Tyler, built a large iron furnace in Anniston, where a Confederate iron furnace was destroyed in 1864 by Union troops. They also created a planned community that was innovative for its time. Chartered in 1879 as a “company town,” Anniston’s name reportedly came from “Annie’s Town,” after Annie Scott Tyler, the wife of railroad president Alfred L. Tyler. The town was not open for general settlement until 12 years later. Planning and easy access to the railroad helped Anniston become the fifth largest city in the state between the 1890s and 1950s. Anniston today is still an iron mining and cotton growing area, and produces appliances, pipe, chemical, machine parts, industrial castings, yarn, and clothing.

In 1917, the United States Army established a training camp at Fort McClellan, then just outside of Anniston. While it was in operation, Fort McClellan was home for an average military population of about 10,000. The Fort was home to the U.S. Army Chemical School, U.S. Army Military Police School, and other military schools. In 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission decided to permanently close Fort McClellan and it was officially closed in 1999. In 2003, the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge was established on 9000 acres of undeveloped land that was formerly part of Fort McClellan.

The Women’s Army Corps School was founded at Fort McClellan in 1952, and Fort McClellan became the Corps’ permanent home until the Corps was disestablished in 1977. Its last director, Major General Mary E. Clarke, went on to become the Commanding General of Fort McClellan and the first female officer to ever command a major Army Installation.

On the other side of town, the Anniston Army Depot opened in during World War II as a major storage and maintenance site, and continues. The Army Depot still remains, and is also a major incineration site for stocks of chemical weapons.

Anniston’s downtown, Noble Street, continues to undergo a revival as a shopping and dining district, taking advantage of the historical character of the locale, in contrast to large modern shopping centers in nearby Oxford.

This station is unstaffed, though a caretaker opens the waiting room at train times. Amtrak provides neither ticketing nor baggage services at this facility.

Anniston is served by two daily trains.

ADA Compliance

Federal law requires compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by 2010. The following is a list of items typically required for transportation and public facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please check the regulations for guidance or contact us for more information.