One of Alex City’s favorite buildings located smack in the middle of town was the depot. This architectural gem was constructed of red brick in 1902 after the fire and demolished in 1955 when a smaller depot was built where the fire station is now located. The front was faceted with a pointed roof. There was a sign in the front which proudly proclaimed “Alexander City.” The depot was located on the other side of the railroad track from Carlisle Drug. The passenger ticket offices plus waiting rooms were located in the front of the building. Behind this was the telegraph office, the office for small parcels and a long warehouse for heavy freight. The depot was owned by the Central of Georgia Railway and its station manager from 1920 until his retirement in 1950 was Mr. M.E. Rawls who arrived from Goodwater. Two of Mr. Rawls’ three children, “Buck” and Wanda, were born in Alex City and it is to Wanda (Mrs. Floyd Knight) that I owe a great debt. Mrs. Knight furnished almost all of the information for this article. While Mr. Rawls managed the whole operation, Mrs. Rawls was in charge of railway express which involved smaller parcels; for example, boxes to and from Frohsin’s and The Fair Store.

There were directly under Mr. Rawls, the administration and ticketing supervisors, and the ones there during my childhood were Mr. Ralph Blythe and Mr. Paul Walls. The telegraph operator was Mr. Clifton “Click” Segrest. The porters who supervised the really heavy freight were Mr. Charles Burns and Mr. Ed Russell. A Mr. Mitchell was warehouseman.