[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

(rshsdepot) Nacogdoches, TX

From The Daily Sentinel.
 
Link to photos and story at:
_http://www.dailysentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/12/09/railroad_de
pot_121008.html_ 
(http://www.dailysentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/12/09/railroad_depot_121008.html) 
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Nacogdoches collecting railroad artifacts for transportation museum
 
By MATTHEW STOFF
The Daily Sentinel
 
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
 
When the Nacogdoches railroad depot burned after a lightning strike in  1910, 
citizens clamored for a new building. With strong backing from the city,  
plans for a new, fireproof design were complete within the year, and  
construction was complete by 1912.
 
For years a stop along the Houston East & West Texas railway, the  
Nacogdoches depot was, in the decades that followed, witness to wartime  departures, 
civilian passenger trips and bustling commerce between Houston and  Texarkana. As 
the years passed, the depot fell into disuse by the Union Pacific  and 
Southern Pacific railroads, which also controlled it at various times.  Eventually, 
the railroad company gave the building to the city in exchange for a  piece of 
land on the south side of Main Street.

The depot is the only surviving example of a HE&WT railroad depot  in the 
state, according to Brian Bray, the city's historic sites manager.
 
After a thorough restoration in 2006, the re-dedicated depot exists today  as 
an office for the Columbia Regional Geospatial Service Center. But the city's 
 historic sites department is actively collecting artifacts and memorabilia 
from  the railroad with the hope of opening a transportation museum in part of 
the  building.
 
The current plan is to document and exhibit the history of local  
transportation, Bray said.
 
"There will be the history of transportation in our area, from the Caddo  
Indians using foot, to horses, wagons, trains, automobiles, airplanes \—  
everything basically from the dawn of time here up to today."
 
The city already maintains a collection of lanterns, wrenches and  
maintenance tools for the train cars. Historic passenger tickets and railroad  bond 
certificates round out the collection.
 
But Bray said he's waiting for more artifacts to tell a more complete and  
compelling story of local history.
 
"There's a very broad range of items that we're looking for. In general,  
anything related to our depot or the lines that passed through our city," he  
said. "Anything directly relating to the transportation, through the railroad  
line here is what we're looking for, whether its a conductor's uniform, tickets, 
 photographs of soldiers being sent off to war."
 
Once enough artifacts are collected or donated, talks will begin on how to  
secure funding for the exhibits. Bray said he could not estimate how much the  
museum will cost.
 
"It's going to all be determined by what artifacts we acquire," he  said.
 
In the meantime, the building, with its penciled graffiti from the turn of  
the century and elegant wainscotting lining its walls, is its own kind of  
artifact, reminding passersby of its past, waiting to share its  story.
**************Make your life easier with all your friends, email, and 
favorite sites in one place.  Try it now. 
(http://www.aol.com/?optin=new-dp&icid=aolcom40vanity&ncid=emlcntaolcom00000010)

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
To Unsubscribe: http://lists.railfan.net/rshsdepot-photo/unsub.html

------------------------------