Railroad Depot

Farmers Branch Railroad - The Story

In 1874, to help bring the railroad to Farmers Branch, Dr. Samuel Gilbert, John H. Longmire and other local landowners sold rights-of-way through their land to the Dallas and Wichita Railway Company (D&W) for $1 per acre. For them, the railroad signaled progress – quick transportation and communication, access to goods and services from coast to coast and a stimulated local economy. Around 1877, the Dallas and Wichita Railroad built this depot

In 1881, Jay Gould and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad purchased the rail line, which runs from Dallas to Denton. The Interurban Railway electrified the line in 1924 and until 1931 ran as many as 50 scheduled trains per day. The Depot was relocated to the Historical Park and restored in 1985. The Depot displays artifacts that demonstrate how different modes of transportation impacted early Texas. The 1890s all-wood Caboose right next door includes the original bunks, sink, icebox, hardware and potbelly stove.

Building the Line

The D&W planned to lay over 100 miles of track when it began construction in 1872, but by 1873 the railroad stopped construction due to financial considerations. Work resumed in 1877, only after Dallas citizens approved $100,000 in bonds for the project, and in 1878, twenty miles of track had been built from Dallas north to Lewisville. 

Because of inconsistent schedules and frequent breakdowns, local residents called the D&W, the Dallas and "which a way." In 1880, the Texas and Pacific Company bought the line, which completed an extension from Lewisville to Denton. On December 15, 1881 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway (MK&T) Company of Texas, or as locals called it, the Katy, bought the D&W.

Constructing the Depot

Around 1877, the D&W built this depot in Farmers Branch located near the intersection of Valley View Lane and Denton Drive where the first railroad line reached the Farmers Branch and Carrollton area. The exterior of the Farmers Branch Depot is made of board and batten – vertical planks with wooden strips or battens covering the seams. The deep overhang of the roof and jigsaw trim are common decorative elements used in railroad architecture. The paint colors on the depot exterior were the standard colors used by the MK&T Railroad Company.

The depot was originally 18x42 feet and consisted of a freight room, an agent's office in the center, and two waiting rooms. In 1946 the two waiting rooms were removed to cut the square footage and relieve the tax burdens. Today, the depot consists of two rooms: a freight room and a combination office and waiting room. In addition to the main depot building, the railroad built other buildings nearby for railroad use, such as a water tank, stock pens, potato house and water wells.

Depot Furnishings

The furnishings of the waiting rooms were probably rather sparse, limited to benches, spittoons and a pot belly stove. The walls might have been decorated with calendars, timetables and posters. Kerosene lamps provided the light. The freight room would have been equipped with scales, a baggage truck and other maintenance equipment. Standard furnishings for the agent's office would have included a table or desk at the bay window, where the agent could see up and down the track, telegraph equipment and the ubiquitous regulator or pendulum clock.

The Depot Clock Was Critical

The clock was always a prominent feature in the depot. As railroad travel permeated American life, people became time-conscious. First, railroads brought a faster pace of life that had to be closely regulated by time. The train did not wait on passengers. Either they were on board or not when the train departed. Those left behind quickly learned the importance of synchronizing their timepieces with the depot clock. 

The second effect on time consciousness was in the standardization of time. Before 1883 there were fifty-four individual or local time standards across the country. Railroad expansion brought uniformity, first by making the depot clock the time criterion of each town, then by establishing four time zones that covered all of the United States.

The Railroad's Effect on Life & Commerce

The depot was the commercial hub of the town. Farmers' crops and manufactured goods shipped out, and merchandise for local stores and items citizens ordered through mail order catalogs shipped in. Depot arrivals included new citizens, visitors, newspapers, mail and telegraph messages.

The world had grown smaller for Americans by the 1890s. The steel highway was now supplying cities and rural areas alike with food, fuel, building materials and access to markets. Train travel to far-flung locales took a fraction of the time of covered wagons, and railroads facilitated growth along their lines, making suburban living feasible.

The Decline

The railroad was the major method of transportation in North Texas until the 1920s when better highways encouraged the use of private automobiles. By 1938, passenger service between Dallas and Denton had ceased and only freight trains were running. By 1958, the Farmers Branch Depot was closed and sold for use as part of a lumber yard. The City of Farmers Branch purchased the depot in 1982 and moved it into the Historical Park in 1985. The Historical Park restored the depot and dedicated it in 1986.