Starting in 1889, the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, also known as the Birmingham Mineral Railroad, began freight and passenger service to Oneonta when the rail line from Boyles Railroad Yard near Birmingham to the Champion Iron Ore Mines was completed. By 1905, the railroad through Oneonta ran to Attalla and Gadsden to the northeast, connecting with the Alabama Mineral Division of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The line provided passenger and freight service to Oneonta, and the depot served as the passenger ticketing and waiting area while also giving the railroad’s agent space to handle freight billing and railroad-related operational work. Passenger service ended in 1951. The depot stood in downtown Oneonta behind the Garner Hotel until it was moved in 1975 to its present location, where it has since been used as a meeting site for various functions.