Clarksville (also known as Clarksville Junction) is a small township located three kilometres southwest of Milton in the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

region of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

of New Zealand. State Highways 1 and 8 meet in Clarksville. The town was also once the location of a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

junction, where the

Roxburgh Branch The Roxburgh Branch was a branch line railway built in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island that formed part of the country's national rail network. Originally known as the Lawrence Branch, it was one of the longest construction pr ...

left the

Main South Line The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railway line that runs north and south from Lyttelton, New Zealand, Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the ...

. Construction of this

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

began in the 1870s, and Clarksville acted as the junction until 1907 when an extension of the branch was built alongside the Main South Line into Milton to improve operations. This led to Milton being the junction until 1960, when the extension was removed, and Clarksville regained its status as a junction until the branch was entirely closed in 1968. The station opened on 22 January 1878 and closed on 24 May 1970. In 1898, there was a 5th class station, passenger platform, cart approach to the platform, stationmaster's house and, urinals. In 1936, it was proposed that the ladies' toilets be removed, and in 1968, the shelter shed, loading bank and, men's toilets were also removed. The station building was sold for $50 in 1970. The settlement was originally named Clarkesville, the first "e" being officially dropped in 1896. It was named after early settler Henry Clark.Reed, A.W. (1975). ''Place names of New Zealand''. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 80.

References

Populated places in Otago {{Otago-geo-stub