Hewlett, according to the 1937 Side Track Record, had 3 sidings. One was
a 545' house track (track number 846). The other two were a 3210' passing siding (track number 844,
located across the main from the depot) and a 1044' commercial loading track (track number 845).
The station was located near the Hewlett family home and dairy farm known as Ingleside. It lost its telegraph
office in 1931. Tracks 844 and 845 were removed in 1942. In April of 1956 was converted to a non-agency
station. The C&O stopped handling LCL freight at Hewlett in 1961 and retired the station building. As
of 1963 the C&O still listed a cattle pen here along with the 545' house track.
Car-load freight continued to be handled at Hewlett as late as 1985.
I believed that the Hewlett station was still standing, but had been moved away
from its original location. There is a little shed near the station site with a
Hewlett station sign on it. However, one of the local residents I talked to and an
email correspondent, Mrs. Marjorie Moore, have both reported that the Hewlett station
had been a larger brick building. Possibly the little shed pictured below was a
freight station in use after the brick building was torn down or maybe the farmer
just hung the old station sign on his shed. Can anyone provide more info or a photo
of the brick station?
The house track was still in place, though clogged with weeds and nearly buried in the
soil, in 1998. When I visited in the summer of 2002, though, it had been removed.
Photos
One of the most exciting moments of my first research trip to the Piedmont
was when I sighted this building hidden among the weeds. It stands
about 50 to 60 feet from the tracks and it looks as though it may be
in use as a storage shed. Because of the station sign I thought it was the
Hewlett station, but that now appears to be incorrect. According to Andrew Smith
this building was built as a store when the original store, which stood between
this building and the tracks, burned. The station sign was hung by the current owners.
(1998 photo)
This is where the Hewlett siding diverged from the main. I’m facing
east here. (1999 photo)
This is the end of the Hewlett siding. If you look carefully, you
can see the pile of dirt that, I guess, acted as a bumper. The
station once stood between the siding and the main. Photo facing
west. (1999 photo)
Maps
These maps were prepared from C&O Side Track Records dated 1937 and
1938, U.S.G.S. maps, and C&O track charts dated 1963.
Please note that, due to a huge volume of spam coming in on my email account, I’ve had to change my email address.
The new address is lzdaily@nospam.piedmontsub.com (but remove the nospam and the dot before piedmontsub.com).
All materials on this Web site are protected by United States
copyright law. This includes, but is not limited to, articles and graphics. Unless
otherwise indicated, these materials are the property of Larry Z. Daily and may not
be used without prior written permission of Larry Z. Daily
