Concho, San Saba & Llano Valley Railroad Station

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're looking at a building that outlasted everything around it, and that right there is a story worth telling. The Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley Railroad had its eye on Sterling City, drawn in by the area's livestock production, the shipping points nearby, and the financial support of the town itself.

That combination was enough to get the railroad moving, and in 1909 they started building a line out this way. Now, while that proper depot was being put together, the railroad made do. A boxcar.

That was your depot. Roll up, load up, and conduct your business out of a boxcar. It wasn't glamorous, but it was a railroad, and a railroad meant possibility.

Then the mission revival building was completed, and Sterling City had itself a real station. The kind you could point to with some pride. But here's where the road bends.

Highway construction came along, and so did pipeline construction, and between the two of them, rail traffic started to decline. Slowly, then surely. The line closed in 1958.

The railroad that arrived with such promise, backed by livestock and local money and the ambitions of a growing town, went quiet. And what remained? Just the depot.

That mission revival building that replaced the old boxcar, still standing when everything else is gone. It's the last reminder of the early rail service that helped develop this part of Texas. Sometimes the building outlives the whole enterprise, and has the nerve to look fine about it.

What the marker says

Attracted by the area's livestock production, nearby shipping points, and the financial support of the town, the Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley Railroad began building a line to Sterling City in 1909. A boxcar served as the depot until this mission revival building was completed. Highway and pipeline construction caused a decline in rail traffic and the line closed in 1958. Only the depot remains as a reminder of the early rail service that helped develop the area. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1980