Camden, SC (CAM)

1060 West Dekalb Street
Camden, SC 29020

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $333,604
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 2,862

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: CSX Transportation
• Parking Lot Ownership: CSX Transportation
• Platform Ownership: CSX Transportation
• Track Ownership: CSX Transportation

• Silver Star

Todd Stennis
Regional Contact
governmentaffairsnol@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Camden
• Historic Camden Foundation

The Seaboard Air Line depot used by Amtrak was built in 1937 by the Wadesboro Construction Company as a combination depot, meaning that it included passenger and freight functions under one roof. Construction was necessitated by the need for a larger facility to accommodate increased passenger volumes.

The $30,000 structure was modeled after the railroad’s Williamsburg, Va., depot, which was designed in the then quite fashionable Colonial Revival style. Camden’s version features red brick construction, quoins at the corners, keystones over the windows and doorways and a gabled roof. Each gable features a pediment with inset medallion. Trackside, a projecting bay with windows allowed the station master to monitor traffic up and down the rail line.

In 2000, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its design integrity and importance to the development of the community. Amtrak invested $2.48 million for ADA and state-of-good repair improvements in 2015 to restore the depot. The work included the station and canopy roofs, doors, windows, sidewalks, signage, waiting room, rest rooms, new exterior lighting, and resurfacing of the parking lot. At the same time, the city resurfaced and streetscaped the driveway and installed new lighting leading to the parking lot.

Camden, seat of Kershaw County and the oldest existing inland town in the state of South Carolina, was originally part of a township plan ordered by King George II of England in 1730. The frontier township, once called Fredericksburg, did not really take hold until Joseph Kershaw established a store there in 1758, renaming the township Pine Tree Hill. Kershaw later suggested that the town be renamed Camden, in honor of Lord Camden, a champion of colonial rights.

May of 1780 brought the American Revolution to Charleston, and after Charleston fell, Lord Cornwallis and his troops marched to Camden, and routed the forces of General Horatio Gates about six miles north of the town on August 16, 1780. The Battle of Camden was the worst American defeat of the Revolution. This allowed the establishment of the main British supply post for the Southern campaign. The second battle of Camden, between General Nathaniel Greene’s 1,400 soldiers and 950 troops under Lord Francis Rawdon, on April 25, 1781, led to British withdrawal from Camden.

Camden was not directly involved in the American Civil War, though its native sons participated: six Confederate generals came from Camden.

In the early twentieth century, Camden became a place where wealthy northern families wintered. The town became associated with equestrian activities, and is home to the third oldest active polo field in America. Camden also hosts two large steeplechases every year, the Carolina Cup and the Colonial Cup. Thus, Kershaw County styles itself the “Steeplechase Capital of the World.” The Carolina Cup was organized in 1930 and has been held every year since then, except for 1943 and 1945.

The Historic Camden Foundation maintains a Revolutionary War battlefield and museum. There are also over 60 antebellum historical sites as well as a Camden Archives and Museum, which is housed in the Carnegie Library. Built in 1915, the library provides a fine example of Greek Revival architecture.

Station Building (with waiting room)