The Santa Fe Depot: A Baldwin City Treasure
(photos below article)
In 1906, the Santa Fe Railroad announced that the town of Baldwin City would receive a new train depot. While the town’s population was rather small – only slightly more than 1000 – the Depot would be designed for the needs of a much larger city. The Baldwin Ledger reported that the Depot would be built of brick and have “futuristic conveniences” such as gas, electricity, and water cooling! A landscape gardener, provided by the railroad, was to work with the city council to beautify the vacant lots east of the Depot (currently Allen Park). The cost was $10,000 (over $360,000 today) which indicated that this depot was very important to the railroad line.
This new depot was built at its current location on the southwest corner of High and Main Streets (currently 1515 High Street). It was placed on the east side of the railroad tracks and completed in January 1907. The new depot provided passenger transportation, mail delivery, and freight service. Two notable arrivals included President Roosevelt in 1910 and President Taft in 1911.
A description of the original floor plan of the building comes from the building’s National Register of Historic Places paperwork:
“The plan was quite a common one for depots of this size. The entrance under the porte cochere [covered porch] was located directly in front of the ticket windows. To either side of the entrance were a ladies’ rest room and a mens’ [sic] rest room that could be entered only from the respective waiting rooms. The northeast end of the depot was the women’s waiting room, the station master’s office was in the center, and the men’s waiting room was on the southwest side of that. The freight room was at the extreme southwest end of the building.”
Several changes later occurred to this original plan. At some point the men’s waiting room was converted to additional freight space, so the two rooms became one. The fireplace in the men’s waiting room was also removed at an unspecified time. Much of the original trim, cabinets, and other features remained in place, however, including the doors and windows.
Originally, the Depot had a unique “drinking water fountain” feature. A coiled pipe water cooling system was located beneath the floor of the women’s waiting room. A block of ice was lowered into this area to cool the water in the pipes. The pipes were attached to a water dispenser located next to the ticket window. Travelers used the water dispenser to get a cold drink. The cooling system was covered by a piece of heavy metal on the floor. (This metal cover can now be removed so visitors can see the pipes.) The original drinking water dispenser was removed at some point.
Train use of the Depot ended in 1965. Historical renovation of the Depot was completed during the 1970s and 80s. Since then, it has been primarily managed and maintained by Santa Fe Trail Historical Society of Douglas County (SFTHS) with generous assistance from the city. The Depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in April 1983.
A full history of the Depot, including its renovation, is available in The Kansas Room of the Baldwin City Public Library.
— M. Jardon, Jan. 2024, Updated, Jan. 2025
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- First printed in The Maple Weekly, (Baldwin’s weekly newspaper).
- Reprinted with permission.
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Photos:
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Ticket Window looking into Station Master’s Office – 2024. Originally, the Ladies’ Waiting Room and restroom were to the right (north). Men’s Waiting Room and restroom were to the left (south). The south wall of the Men’s Waiting Room and its fireplace were removed at some point to expand the freight room.
Ladies’ Waiting Room with fireplace looking west toward train tracks. Ladies used this door to exit to the tracks. 2024
