Cambria Depot Museum, Cambria Historic District, 630 Depot Street, NE, Christiansburg, Virginia

How to Find Us

(A map in which we attempt to prove that, in fact, Cambria is the center of the known universe)

Dorsett Publications

Cambria (Christiansburg) Depot

Cambria Historic District (Cool Places in the Neighborhood)

Environmental Footprints and Sustainability

Creative Play

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Toy Safety
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Supplier Information

Corporate Philosophy

The Cambria Toy Station, the museum store for the Cambria Depot Museum, started in response to the question "What do you do with a 140 year old railroad depot?" The Cambria Depot has been the corporate headquarters for Dorsett Publications, publishers of the Cabinetmaker's Guides to Dollhouse Furniture, The Scale Cabinetmaker, and The Best of TSC series. In 2007, Dorsett Publications branched out and started the Cambria Toy Station to help fund ongoing restoration of the Cambria Depot. Earlier this year, we opened the Cambria Depot Museum, which shares space with the Scale Cabinetmaker workshop and which features exhibits about the restoration of the depot, the history of Cambria, and the prototype models from The Scale Cabinetmaker and The Cabinetmaker's Guides.

The Toy Station is located in the historic Cambria Depot (built in 1868 by the Virginia-Tennessee Railroad and listed in the National Register in 1985) in Christiansburg, Virginia.

The Cambria Toy Station specializing in:

• Wooden Toys (rattles, pull toys, vehicles, and animals);
• Wooden Trains, Construction Toys, Blocks, & Building materials;
• Wooden Puzzles and Games;
• Cooperative Games and Jigsaw Puzzles;
• Puppets and Stuffed Animals;
• Educational Toys that spark the imagination and inspire creativity;
• Hands-on Project Books and Toys,
• Childrens Books, originally published during the hayday of the Cambria Depot (1870-1940)
• Require no batteries, other power sources (other than kid powered muscles), or objects with circuit boards.

Featuring toys from Maple Landmarks, Imagiplay, Montgomery Schoolhouse, Haba, Goobi, Folkmanis Puppets, Klutz books, The Toymaker Paper Toys, Selecta, Small Animal House, Family Pastimes, White Mountain Puzzles, Ravensburger Puzzles, Edushape/Hallilit and others. We carry toys which are eco-friendly and come from companies with small environmental footprints and sustainable approaches. In non-planner speak, most of our products are made of locally-harvested wood or other renewable resources, although there are exceptions for toys which are too cool to pass up.

Check out our "Buy Safe" Pages
& Supplier pages
to get to know our manufacturers.

Miniature Exhibit and Workshop

Originally, Jim and Helen Dorsett's prototype models from The Scale Cabinetmaker were slated to travel west to the National Toy and Miniature Museum in Kansas City. While some of their models are on display at the museum, the museum decided not to follow up on the remainder of the collection in 2006. Dorsett Publications decided to retain ownership and open a small "inhouse" museum. The small exhibit includes, among other things, the Victoria store building (Helen's final opus) and a recreation of her workshop area and Jim's rolltop desk and pedal car. The exhibit is open on the weekends and by special appointment.For more information, visit Historic Cambria on the web or call Carol or Meghan at 540.382.6431.

Hours:

Regular Hours:

Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and
Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Other times by request.

Winter Hours (November 15 - January 1)

Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and
Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Others times by request.

The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays and on holidays. It is also open by request. If you are traveling through the area and would like to visit the museum during other business hours, give us a call and we'll open up the exhibits.

Contact Information

Canbria Toy Station
Dorsett Publications, LLC
630 Depot Street NE
Christiansburg, Virginia 24073
540-382-6431
dorsettpublications1@verizon.net