Before the Civil War, the 1845 Adairsville Depot was at the center of a major Western and Atlantic Railroad repair facility. During the war, it played an important part in the Great Locomotive Chase on April 12, 1862. Captain William A. Fuller was forced to abandon the engine William R. Smith, which he had commandeered outside Kingston, when he ran into a track destroyed by the raiders. Fuller and his crew traveled the last three miles to the Adairsville Depot, running on foot. At Adairsville, the raiders on the General were forced to wait for the southbound engine, the Texas, to pass before they could continue. When Fuller arrived in Adairsville, he commandeered the Texas by standing in the middle of the tracks and brandishing a pistol. He and his men unhitched the freight card, letting them off at a siding, and continued their pursuit of Andrews’ Raiders. However, they had to spend the rest of their northward chase traveling in reverse, mostly at full throttle.
The Adairsville Depot is at the center of Adairsville’s annual Great Locomotive Chase Festival held on the first weekend in October.