In the early 1870s Dedeağaç (The grandfather's tree) was an insignificant fishing village. The Ottoman authorities decided to establish a railway station as part of their campaign to modernize the empire and its military infrastructure. Dedeağaç was ideal since the port facilitated the transportation of building materials, while the terrain on this side of the Maritsa river was better suited to the construction of a railway line to Edirne. The two-storey Chemins de fer Orientaux railway station was among the first buildings of Dedeağaç when it was built in 1871. The frame consists of plinths with an exterior cladding of oak wood, a material readily available in the surrounding countryside. The railway played a pivotal role in the development of the city. It facilitated the migration of workers and merchants and the establishment of European consulates that transformed the forlorn beach into a modern and prosperous city. Additionally, the direct rail link of Thessaloniki with Constantinople and Alexandroupoli via the cities of Serres, Drama and Komotini and other financial centres of the mainland was responsible for the development of Alexandroupoli as an important transport hub of European Turkey, having a crucial role to the organization of the trade in Balkans.