Santa Fe Railroad Station
Washington Ave. between E. Depot and E. Adams Sts., Brownwood, TXThe Santa Fe Railroad Passenger Station in Brownwood, Texas, is one of the few large depots remaining intact in the state. Built at a time when rail travel was at its peak in the Southwest, the station represents an outstanding example of the Prairie style from the first decade of the twentieth century. Despite its present deteriorated condition, the building represents excellent adaptive use potential which could alleviate a socially declining neighborhood as well as restore a vital link with the Santa Fe Railroad's illustrious past in Brownwood.
The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad initiated passenger service to Brownwood on December 31, 1885. Crowds lined the tracks as engine No. 27 pulled a string of wooden coaches into town. This historic event put an end to the dependence of the community on a horse, mule, and ox-drawn wagon trains for supplies.
The first depot was built in 1885 on a site directly opposite the present station. This building burned on November 23, 1892, and was replaced with a wooden freight station, which was transported on ten flat cars from Paris, Texas. The freight station remained on the site of the original station until 1909 when it was moved two blocks to the east to make room for the new facility.
The present station was completed in 1909 to meet the demands of a growing passenger business in Brownwood. Selected from several designs submitted by the architectural department of the Santa Fe Railroad, the structure represents an outstanding example of the Prairie style in Texas. Original design proposals are filed in the Santa Fe headquarters office in Chicago.
In the pre-dining car era of railroad passenger travel, patrons depended on restaurants near the station for meals. The first restaurant across from the station was built in 1885 with the advent of passenger service in Brownwood. This popular establishment was operated by Mrs. Bertha McDermott until a new facility was added to the station in 1911.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.