(rshsdepot) Rogers, AR

["Bernie Wagenblast" <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

From The Rogers Hometown News.

Original article and photo at:
http://www.nwanews.com/rhtn/Editorial/5065/ 

Bernie Wagenblast

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Remembering Rogers: Tragic end of the Frisco Railroad depot

JAMES HALES

Posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The passenger depot at the southeast corner of First and Cherry streets was
completed in 1914 at a cost of about $20,000. When passenger trains were at
their height (13 passenger trains per day), the Rogers depot was a bustling
center of activity for the town. 

People came to the depot to see the trains pull in or to meet friends and
relatives. The depot waiting room was large and well lit by elaborate
chandeliers. There was a newsstand and a "sanitary drinking fountain." There
was a colored waiting room but, as one of the early newspapers stated, "It
is hardly probable there will ever be enough colored people around here to
use their quarters and it is likely it will be more often used as a smoking
room for the gentlemen." The women had a separate waiting room with, of
course, separate toilet facilities. The platform along the tracks, 16 feet
wide and 600 feet long, was made of pressed bricks and stone trim. (Ruth
Muse, Dec. 28, 1977, Benton County Pioneer, Winter 1995) 

Railroads reached their peak during World War II, both for transportation
and for shipping freight, because of the gasoline and tire shortage. After
World War II, automobiles and planes replaced passenger trains as the
popular mode of travel. By 1965, in spite of the Frisco Railroad spending
millions of dollars to upgrade the passenger service, ticket sales in Rogers
was down to only about $200 per month. In 1963, the Frisco Railway Company
lost $3 million on its passenger train service. The Frisco dropped its
passenger service to concentrate on the more profitable freight business: On
Sept. 18, 1965, the last passenger train came through Rogers. (Rogers Daily
News, 3-15-65 and 9-12-65) 

Many lovers of Rogers' history, including this author, wondered why the
depot was allowed to be destroyed. Ironically, the depot was accepted on the
National Register of Historic Places in August 1977 and was torn down in
December 1977. From research and interviews of several local citizens that
remembered the episode, this is the story as best as the author could
determine: Passenger use of the depot ended in 1965, but the building was
owned by the railroad and continued to be used by its freight hauling
service, the Frisco Transportation Company. The depot fell into disrepair
and needed, by one estimate, about $50,000 to repair the roof and restore
the building. The Frisco officials decided that it was not financially
feasible to repair the building, so the company built a small metal freight
depot just to the south of the depot. The railroad planned to tear down the
old depot but were willing to give it to any group for free, including the
city of Rogers, if they were willing to spend the money to restore it to the
safety standards of the Frisco. 

In spite of the efforts of a few groups to save the historic structure,
including the staff of The National Register of Historic Places and the
Rogers Historical Museum, no one was able to raise the money. At the time,
there was not as much interest in saving the depot as there would be today.
The city leaders of Rogers would not, or could not, raise the money
necessary to restore the structure. The Frisco officials from the home
office became irritated with Rogers, so the company had the building
demolished without any warning on Dec. 17, 1977. 

According to an article by Ruth Muse from Dec. 28, 1977, in the Benton
County Pioneer, only the ticket window, some wood trim and a few bricks were
saved by Al Morsani, Herman DeKoatz, Porky Wenzel and members of the Rogers
Historical Museum, Ruth Muse and Virginia Clark. 

There is good news for the site at First and Cherry streets, formerly
occupied by the old depot. Main Street Rogers is working with a volunteer
landscape architect, Geanie Kelly, to develop a butterfly and hummingbird
park on the site. This will be another beautiful addition to historic
downtown Rogers. (All data from the book, The Fabulous 1960s in Rogers,
Arkansas by James Hales.) 

James Hales is a retired homebuilder and historian who has written two books
about the history of Rogers. His latest book, The Fabulous 1960s in Rogers,
Arkansas, chronicles the exciting changes that occurred in the decade of the
1960s. 

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1881
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org