The historic train station was built in 1871 to serve the city. The depot was built by a predecessor of the Southern Railway, part of today’s Norfolk Southern Corp., and was one of several constructed in the area in 1871, according to information provided by the city. The railroad primarily served the cotton trade, which was cultivated on a reported 50,000 acres in the area. Since Forsyth and Milton counties had no rail service at the time, the addition of the passenger station at Duluth made the city a center for shipping and commercial activity.

Rail travel also offered convenient access to Atlanta for conducting business and shopping. The evening arrival of “Belle,” one of the daily passenger trains to and from the city, became a popular gathering time for local residents.

Declines in passenger service and changes in rail freight led to the closing of the Duluth depot by the early 1950s. Eventually, the Southern Railway, which then owned the property, encouraged the city to find a use for the building. The city lacked the resources to do so, and in 1975 the depot building was moved by the late Scott Hudgens, a local developer, to a site on Pleasant Hill Road where the Joan Glancy Rehabilitation Center is located today. The depot was used as an office for a major development project in progress at the time.