The city of Niota, Tenn., is celebrating its first National Train Day by hosting a model train show, in part, in its historic railroad depot that harks back to 1850s.
The show will be held Saturday and Sunday at the Niota Depot, the oldest standing railroad depot in Tennessee, and at nearby Niota Elementary School, according to a news release from Niota Mayor Lois Preece.
Model train lovers, vendors and train enthusiasts are welcome to join in activities taking place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
In addition to the displays and activities, the depot itself is worthy of a visit as the only surviving Civil War-era depot along the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad line.
According to historical information posted on the property and local officials' descriptions in Times Free Press archives, the community called "Mouse Creek" in 1858 that would eventually become Niota first appeared in official war records when a Union spy reported that a Confederate company was stationed there in January 1862. Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside occupied East Tennessee in September 1863 and troops later occupied the rail line, including Mouse Creek.
Although Confederate troops in the last year of the war tore up the tracks for miles north and south of Mouse Creek, the depot remained in Union hands until the war ended.
To get to Niota from Interstate 75, take exit 56 and turn east on Union Grove Road and continue to a right onto U.S. Highway 11/Wilson Street. The Niota Depot, which doubles as City Hall, is at 201 West Main St., two blocks west of Highway 11/Wilson Street. Niota Elementary School is at 418 Burn Rd. off the west side of Highway 11.