Texas & Pacific Railroad Freight Depot
Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Founded in 1873, the town of Terrell was located on the route of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Robert A. Terrell, for whom the town was named, was a surveyor and landowner in Kaufman County. Portions of land were given to the Texas & Pacific by the Terrell Family, Judge W. D. Irvine, C. C. Nash, and John G. Moore, with the condition that a permanent depot be established within the donated land here. The first depot, a 20' x 60' frame structure, was completed by June 1873. The depot nearly doubled in size by 1884 to a 20' x 102' structure with an office, waiting room and freight room, surrounded by a freight platform of 8,360 square feet. By 1892 a separate passenger depot was built across the street. This freight depot was constructed in 1911, in an era of infrastructure expansion of the national rail system. This utilitarian building retains most of its original features, including three bays on its primary facade, a broad hipped roof, and freight doors on the north, south, and east sides. Once an integral part of the region's economy, this depot was closed in 1977. It remains a significant element of the town's railroad past.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Terrell was born in 1873 along the route of the Texas & Pacific Railroad, its land donated by local families on the condition that a depot be built here. The first frame depot rose that year and quickly grew as freight traffic swelled; this brick freight depot replaced it in 1911 during a wave of national rail expansion. It served the region's economy until closing in 1977, retaining its broad hipped roof and freight doors.
Why it matters
The depot embodies how railroads created and sustained Texas towns, standing as tangible evidence of the freight commerce that once powered a community.
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Related people
- · Robert A. Terrell
Themes & tags
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