{"nrhp_refnum":"79003039","name":"Herndon Depot","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Elden St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Herndon","county":"Fairfax (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":38.96995219200005,"lon":-77.38578349399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-06-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story board-and-batten railroad depot on Elden Street in Herndon, Fairfax County, Virginia, built in 1857 as a stop on the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire railroad. It is owned by the Town of Herndon.","why_significant":"The depot was the center of a large dairying area and a shipping point for milk to Washington. It also served some of the earliest commuters to the capital. The railroad linked the town's economy and population to the larger Washington area, and the depot remains a simple example of a small-town railroad station.","narrative":"Built in 1857 as a stop on the Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire railroad, Herndon Depot is a rectangular, one-story wooden station of board-and-batten construction on Elden Street. Its decoration is limited to Victorian-style buttresses under the eaves, and the window and door framings, semaphore, roofing and baggage doors are original. Inside, two waiting rooms once separated by a ticket master's room, formerly divided white and Black passengers. The station anchored a large dairying region, and by 1907 no point on its railway line was reported to ship more milk. It also brought some of the first commuters to Washington, 21 miles away. The town's first council meetings were held there after incorporation in 1879. Passenger service ended in the 1960s, and a restoration begun in 1970 by the Herndon Historical Society and the town was finished in 1974. Today it houses public works offices and serves as a symbol of the town.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular building tradition with Gothic Revival elements in board and batten siding (per reviewer notes); Victorian style buttresses under the eaves","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored by 1974 and in excellent condition; used as offices for the town's Public Works Department, within the Herndon Town Square complex.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.580914-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/6804/41680477/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/79003039.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003039/926978ca1a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003039/926978ca1a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cecouchman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herndon_Depot1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Cecouchman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herndon_Depot1.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90002121","name":"Herndon Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/herndon-historic-district-90002121/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41680477","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herndon_Depot_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5742294"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/fairfax/herndon-depot-79003039/"}