DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the Texas and Pacific Depot in Marshall, Harrison County. Now, every town in Texas has got a story that starts before the story you think you're hearing. Marshall's railroad tale is no different.
It goes back further than most folks expect. Marshall's very first railroad wasn't born out of some grand continental vision. It was conceived as something a good deal more modest — a connection to Red River steamboat traffic.
Twenty miles of track were laid northeast, out to Swanson's Landing on Caddo Lake, and that work was done by 1858. Twenty miles. That's it.
That was the whole dream, at first. But dreams have a way of growin'. In 1871, the United States Congress authorized the Texas and Pacific Railway Company to do something considerably more ambitious — build a transcontinental railroad.
And not just anywhere. This line was to run along the thirty-second parallel, stretching from Marshall all the way to the West Coast. Marshall, Texas.
The starting point for a railroad meant to cross a continent. Let that settle in for a second. Two years after that authorization, the T and P moved its maintenance shops to Marshall.
The town and the railroad were becoming something inseparable — employer, lifeline, identity. Then comes 1911. Nineteen-twelve, to be precise about the finishing of it.
A new passenger depot was built right here, positioned at the junction of the Texarkana and Louisiana lines — so it could serve both routes at once. That's not an accident of geography. That's intention.
And whoever drew up those plans had an eye for more than just rail traffic. The depot was designed to complement the nearby Ginocchio Hotel and the huge Texas and Pacific shop complex, and — here's the detail I love — to visually terminate Washington Street from the Courthouse. Stand at that courthouse, look down Washington Street, and your eye lands right on this depot.
That's architecture doing what architecture is supposed to do. The railroad's architect was influenced by the popular prairie school, and he wove in abstracted renaissance and Mediterranean details on a brick and concrete structure. A tile roof.
Wood and plaster accents. This wasn't a bare-bones train shed. This was a statement.
Then in 1940, a pedestrian tunnel was added — for safety — running underneath all that busy rail activity. The Texas and Pacific depot remains an important symbol of Marshall's relationship to the railroad — once its major employer and transportation source. Twenty miles of track to Caddo Lake.
A transcontinental authorization along the thirty-second parallel. A depot built where two lines crossed, dressed up to meet the street. Some towns grow around a courthouse.
Some around a river. Marshall grew around the rails, and this depot is where you can still feel it.
What the marker says
Marshall's first railroad was conceived as a connection to Red River steamboat traffic. Twenty miles of track were laid northeast to Swanson's Landing on Caddo Lake by 1858. In 1871, the U. S. Congress authorized the Texas & Pacific Railway Company to build a transcontinental railroad, which would run along the 32nd parallel from Marshall to the West Coast. Two years later, the T&P moved its maintenance shops to Marshall. A new passenger depot was built here at the junction of the Texarkana and Louisiana lines in 1911-12, where it was positioned to serve both routes. To complement the nearby Ginocchio Hotel and huge Texas & Pacific shop complex, and visually to terminate Washington Street from the Courthouse. The railroad's architect was influenced by the popular prairie school and combined abstracted renaissance and Mediterranean details on the brick and concrete structure. Prominent features include a tile roof and wood and plaster accents. A pedestrian tunnel was added for safety in 1940. The Texas & Pacific depot remains an important symbol of Marshall's relationship to the railroad, once its major employer and transportation source. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985