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historic downtown
DISCOVER THE WARM AND FRIENDLY TOWN OF CULPEPER, as unique and alive as ever.
A drive down Main Street is like a drive through history, where everything
from historic mansions to a 1950's style drive-in diner still has their
place in the Town's 21st century life. Explore our town center and
Historic District, including Davis and East Streets, and you'll discover music and
book stores, antique and vintage furniture stores, coffee shops and
wine shops, quaint cafes and fine restaurants, and
antebellum neighborhoods dating to the early 1800s.
Begin your visit at the Visitors Center, housed in Culpeper's historic train Depot. In 1852, the Orange and Alexandria Railroad built two depots at this location, one on the east side of the tracks for freight and one on the west side of the tracks for passengers.  Although these buildings survived the Civil
War, including the Battle of Culpeper Courthouse on September 13, 1863, the occupation and fighting took their toll. In 1874, a new Culpeper town depot was built, which later burned in 1903. A year later, the present building was completed to replace it. Years of use followed by a period of decline led Norfolk and Southern Railroad to request permission in 1985 to demolish a portion of the Depot. A committee formed to save the building, and Norfolk and Southern agreed not to tear it down. The Town
of Culpeper and Culpeper
Renaissance began restoration work, and the project was completed in 2003. Today, the beautifully restored Depot houses the Visitor's Center, the Chamber
of Commerce,
and the Department of Tourism, as well as space for meetings and conferences.
Everyday, Amtrak's Cardinal and Crescent trains
make their stop at the Depot in Culpeper. And there is still a caboose,
though no longer in service.
 After
an extensive renovation in 2001, the Red Caboose is covered in a shiny
new layer of red paint on the outside, and retains many of the original
interior fixtures as well.
From the mid 1800's until the late 1900's, every train had a caboose hooked up at the end. While the engineer would operate the train from the front, the conductor, signalman, and brake man would operate the train from the caboose. There used to be thousands of cabooses in the country, but most of them were scrapped for the metal value. Caboose X543 was saved from being destroyed when Norfolk Southern Railway donated it to the Town of Culpeper in 1998. Today, the caboose has been replaced by an EOT (End of Train device), an electronic box, which monitors the train from the last car. Although the little red Caboose belongs to the past, it still brings joy to locals and visitors alike who are fascinated by trains and transportation history. We invite you to stop by the Depot to admire the little red Caboose and watch the trains roll by.
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Location: The Caboose is located at The Depot/Culpeper Visitors Center.
Hours: Call for hours of operation
Contact Us: 1-888-CULPEPER
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 "In & Around Culpeper", a free
walking and driving tour guide featuring three 30-60 minute walking tours and one 30-minute
driving tour, includes the central business district and adjacent
residential neighborhoods,
and is available at the Visitors Center or through this website.
This unique guide describes all of Culpeper's Historic Homes and Landmarks,
and contains a detailed Architectural Glossary. Included in each tour
are suggestions for
parking and connection points to one or more additional tours. |
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The tours
have different starting points.
Please check with the Visitors Center at the Train Depot, 109 Commerce Street, Culpeper
Hours: Weekdays 8.30am-5pm, Sat 10am-3pm, Sun 1-4pm.
Contact Us: (540) 825-8628 or 1-888-CULPEPER
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