Ludowici Depot The former Atlantic Coast Line depot at Ludowici features the large open-air freight platform and board-and-batten siding found on other ACL depots in south Georgia. In 2006, Georgia DOT provided $200,000 in Transportation Enhancement funds to rehabilitate the building. Ludowici (pop. 1,780) is the county seat of Long County, near the Georgia coast. Called Johnston Station in the 1800s, it was renamed in 1905 after the Ludowici family of Chicago made a large donation for a new school in town. A Ludowici-Celadon roofing tile factory operated here until 1914, producing orange clay "Dixie Tile" in large quantities. Although not found on this depot, the tiles were used on many railroad structures in the first decades of the twentieth century. In his 1898 American Railway Bridges and Buildings,* Walter G. Berg noted its advantages: "There is another roofing with strong indorsements, the Ludowici Roofing tile; these are interlocking clay shingles at $6 per square. It is claimed neither wind nor storm, nor vibration of building: will break them; there are no nails to rust and they are not affected by smoke." * Online at Internet Archive here. For more information, see the Ludowici article at New Georgia Encyclopedia. A view of the covered freight platform. (Photo by Carmine Fischetti.) RailGa.com. Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. © Steve Storey Railroad History | The Depot List | Locomotives On Display | Odds & Ends | Sources & References | Home