The 1854 depot was burned by Union forces in 1864; its replacement was destroyed in an 1890 derailment that killed a 17-year-old opera singer — Civil War soldiers and the young woman's spirit are both reported here
1 Middlebrooks Avenue, Staunton, VA 24401
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Train platform publicly accessible; no admission charge
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved train platform; accessible station facilities
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1854 · Virginia Central Railroad depot — 1854 · Burned by Union General David Hunter — June 1864 · 1890 train derailment destroyed rebuilt depot · Death of Myrtle Knox, age 17, opera singer — 1890
Staunton's first rail depot was built in 1854 to serve the Virginia Central Railroad, placing the city at a functional hub for Valley travel. The structure survived a decade of the Civil War before Union General David Hunter targeted it during his June 1864 Shenandoah campaign. Hunter's forces burned the depot as part of a systematic destruction of Confederate infrastructure; the building was reduced to ashes along with several other Staunton landmarks.
A replacement depot was built after the war, serving Staunton's railhead through the Reconstruction era and into the Gilded Age. In 1890, a train derailment at or near the station destroyed the rebuilt depot and killed at least one passenger: Myrtle Knox, a 17-year-old opera singer whose death at such a young age has anchored the haunting tradition at the site. The Southern Spirit Guide, which documents Shenandoah Valley paranormal history, specifically names Knox and the 1890 wreck as the origin point for the depot's reported phenomena.
The current Amtrak station continues to operate as an active stop on the Cardinal and Crescent routes. The platform and station facilities are publicly accessible to travelers and visitors.
Sources
The haunting tradition at Staunton's train depot divides into two distinct threads: phenomena attributed to Myrtle Knox, killed in the 1890 wreck, and phenomena attributed to Civil War-era presences tied to the burning of the original 1854 depot.
Myrtle Knox's connection to the site is the more specific claim. Female travelers waiting on the platform have reported having their hair physically pulled by an unseen presence — a phenomenon that recurs consistently enough to appear in multiple independent sources documenting Staunton's haunted history. Visit Staunton's official haunted tourism coverage and the Southern Spirit Guide both attribute this to Knox.
The Civil War thread involves apparitions reported in period clothing on the platform and its approaches. Investigators using electronic voice phenomenon (EVP) equipment have documented recordings of unexplained voices at the site, which they attribute to presences connected to the 1864 burning. The depot's layered history — burned in wartime, destroyed in a civilian accident, rebuilt, and now an operating rail station — gives it an unusually dense dark history for a single location.
Notable Entities
The current Staunton Amtrak station sits near the site of two earlier depots: the 1854 original burned by Union General Hunter in 1864, and its replacement destroyed in an 1890 train derailment that killed a 17-year-old opera singer, Myrtle Knox. The platform remains active for Amtrak service and is publicly accessible.
The train depot is a featured stop on Staunton's official ghost tour circuit. Guides cover the 1864 burning, the 1890 Myrtle Knox derailment, and documented phenomena including hair-pulling reported by female travelers and Civil War soldier apparitions on the platform.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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