The village of Barnesville was platted in 1808 by James Barnes, who took advantage of a Drovers' road that ran through the area from the Ohio River.

A railroad line was laid out through Barnesville in the middle 1850s and a wooden freight house was built close to the current location of the depot.

The depot was opened in 1916 and was heralded by the local newspaper as "long needed and greatly desired.

Besides the railroad tunnel west of the site, the depot is the only building in Barnesville relating to the important era of rail in the town.

The building is a rectangular one-story structure built with buff red bricks in flemish bond with a stone watertable.

The roof is protruded by a Mission-style dormer, the window is surrounded by a pillar topped by a stone ball.