Santa Fe Railroad Stationmaster's House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1920, a town called Spearman was founded on a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad way up in the Texas Panhandle. And when a railroad town gets founded, one of the first orders of business is making sure somebody's minding the station.

So right along with the town, they built this cottage. Built it for the stationmaster. Now, that might sound modest.

A cottage. But don't let the word fool you. The stationmaster was the local agent for the Santa Fe Railroad, and the Santa Fe Railroad was the lifeblood of this whole area's economy.

This was the man who kept things moving. Passenger service, freight service, the operation of the telegraph, the loading of the U.S. mail. All of it ran through him.

And in the nineteen twenties, that station was especially busy. Because out in the Panhandle, the oil and gas fields were hungry, and they needed supplies, and they needed equipment, and the railroad was how all of it arrived. This little cottage sat right at the center of all that activity.

The stationmaster went home every night to a house that, in a very real way, kept the Panhandle running.

What the marker says

When Spearman was founded on a branch of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1920, this cottage was built for the stationmaster. As local agent for the railroad, he represented a business vital to the economy of this area. He supervised passenger and freight service, operation of the telegraph, and loading of the U.S. mail. In the 1920s, the station here was especially busy, handling supplies and equipment for oil and gas fields in the Panhandle. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1978.