Can Yemassee's train depot return to its former glory days?

Paula Flowers has no desire to see downtown Yemassee become a miniaturized version of Beaufort or Charleston, brimming with shops and restaurants and buzzing with thousands of tourists.

But a little more hustle and bustle in the heart of the town -- something akin to the activity of its heydays in the 1930s and 1940s -- wouldn't be so bad, either.

"We're sitting here at the foot of all these counties, and we've kind of been forgotten," said Flowers, a 26-year Yemassee resident and owner of downtown antique shop Fletcher's Finds. "But that's OK, because now is our time to shine."

Flowers is board president of the Yemassee Revitalization Corp., a nonprofit organization formed by citizens last year. The group is on a mission to restore downtown and stimulate the local economy -- starting first with a full renovation of the Amtrak train station in the center of it all.

"We're not creating something; we're not trying to develop something," Flowers said. "We're going back to something that already existed."

Though 12,000 people got on and off of the Amtrak Palmetto and Silver Meteor trains at the Yemassee depot in 2008, the station has little more than a bench-less platform and awning. Doors are padlocked. Windows are boarded over. Paint is chipped away.

The trains travel between New York and Miami, stopping seven times in South Carolina. Riders board or exit the trains four times daily but don't linger for long at Yemassee. Few even give a backward glance to the station -- the sixth-most frequented in South Carolina, netting Amtrak more than $1.2 million in 2008 -- or the shells of historic buildings that surround it.

But where some see a dying relic, the corporation and executive director Susan Sledz see a diamond in the rough.

"We are on the edge of a huge renaissance for train travel to come back," said Sledz, a Murrell's Inlet resident who spends several nights a week in Yemassee working on corporation projects as its only paid staff member. "How fortunate are we to have this depot right in the middle of our town?"

In addition to a grant from the Donnelley Foundation to cover two years of its operational costs, the organization has received $93,000 in donations since its start, with $55,000 set aside for the depot project.

An additional $30,000 will be used, Sledz said. She hopes that money will come from a U.S. Department of Commerce community grant already applied for or from pledged donations.

The plan is to restore the station building to its 1940s look of elegant wooden benches, a pitched roof, board and batten siding and a revamped canopy.

Alongside the station would be a mix of businesses, such as stores and restaurants, and public attractions, such as a bicycle path.

In a recent presentation to the Beaufort County Council, Sledz said the corporation has received approval for the project from Amtrak and CSX, the rail company that owns much of the surrounding property, including a proposed parking area and the depot structure.

The design has been completed and plans have been reviewed by the Yemassee Town Council and other players.

"Children these days don't know about riding the train," Flowers said. "Train travel just went away. Now, there's such a push on rail. It really is a great experience."

Corporation members envision the depot also becoming a hub of transportation in the area, with a stop on the Palmetto Breeze bus line run by the Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority, taxis and car rentals. They've sent a letter asking for a Greyhound bus stop there.

If the group has its way, the revamped train station will be only the beginning of positioning Yemassee as an ideal stop for history buffs, nature-lovers and rail riders.

"Everybody, no matter where you go, has heard of Yemassee," Flowers said. "They go through here on their way to somewhere else. We want them to spend some time and some dollars, then be on their way."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Upcoming Yemassee Revitalization Corp. events:

• Oct. 17: Community cleanup

• Dec. 12: Holiday home tour

• Dec. 18: Christmas party at Harold's Country Club in Yemassee

For more information or to get involved, call the corporation's office at 843-589-4100.