The 1883 building of the railway and construction of the station at Blackwood directly influenced the development of the area providing a relatively quick transport link with Adelaide for both residents and produce. The Station soon included a Booking Office, Ladies Waiting Room, Earth Closet, Urinals, Porters Room, Signal Cabin and a Station Master's Cottage as well as a pedestrian footbridge, cast iron water tank and water column for steam trains. Two cottages were also built for railway employees - today private residences. A 1930 advertisement shows - 'Ganger, Blackwood; wages 16s 5p per day first year...the successful applicant must occupy a 5 roomed railway cottage, rental 17s 3p per week, inclusive of water and electric light, public school and doctor in town' .
It was in 1887 that it was first possible to travel from Adelaide to Melbourne, by the 1920s there were 24 passenger trains to and from Adelaide daily as well as trains to the east of the state while today there are 40 passenger trains daily plus freight trains. Blackwood is one of the busiest stations on the Belair line and is the only station on the line to have a bus interchange.
A stockyard siding was located on the eastern side of the line which later was used for firewood and today is the bottle recycling depot. A siding off the northern end included a three-ton crane - erected in 1914 and lasting until 1944 - to load local produce. 'Nov 1920 COOL STORES FOR BLACKWOOD. The fruit growers of the Coromandel district which extends from Belair to Kangarilla are erecting cool stores near the Blackwood Railway Station, to hold 16,000 cases of fruit. The structure will cost between £13,000 and £14,000; and the growers are receiving financial aid from the Government under the Loans to Producers Act'.
In the 1970s the station buildings were severely damaged by fire but restored by considerable community effort. The station was given a facelift in 2009 and the following year volunteers restored the Station Master's garden and the heritage landmark Blackwood Station Sign located at the 5 ways roundabout. The purchase of the property north of the station by the train buff Dicker family (who are restoring the original water tower and locating two Red Hen carriages onto the property) has been a recent addition to the precinct..
Today the buildings include the signal cabin with many of the original mechanisms, a modern toilet, the main waiting room building, the Station Master's Cottage and a modest landscaped courtyard. DIPTI has allowed this State Heritage listed building to be used by the Blackwood Action Group (BAG) who also maintain the gardens.