GROWTH ON CAMPUS THE FITZPATRICK DEPOT

Lots of changes are happening here on our campus aimed to improve the student and family experience at Keswick School.

Since 1994 Keswick School has used the historic Depot as a central place for welcoming new families and nourishing our students with healthy foods, meaningful relationships, and unique learning opportunities. It has served us well for 25+ years, but the infrastructure and interior were badly in need of repairs and updates.

We are thrilled to show you these images of an exciting total renovation of the Depot. This project was supported by a generous $1.5 million gift from Neil and Gaillee Fitzpatrick, parents of a former Keswick student. We know you will be as proud as we are of the results.

A Community Icon

Likely the oldest railroad depot in Albemarle County, the Keswick Depot was constructed in 1850 and was the beginning of the village of Keswick. The original wood-framed Depot was destroyed by fire in 1865 by Union General Philip Henry Sheridan to disrupt communication and transportation near the end of the Civil War. It was quickly rebuilt. In 1899 Edward Mead wrote that Keswick “now contains a large brick depot and reception room,” along with “a drug-store, mail service, and a telegraph station, with telephone connection with Charlottesville and other points … all the modern improvements of a first-class station for the benefit of the neighborhood.”

In 1909, a full modernization and expansion of the building transformed it into a “T” plan Victorian-style Depot. After World War II, however, the railroad tracks were realigned to provide a curve reduction. They no longer passed the beautiful Depot, so it was sold for non-railroad use in 1947, and the tracks were removed in 1960. Bob and Libby Wilson purchased the Depot property in 1994.