Texas & Pacific Railroad Freight Depot

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The town of Terrell, Kaufman County, founded in 1873, planted right along the route of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. Named for Robert A.

Terrell, a surveyor and landowner in Kaufman County. Now, the town didn't just happen to land on that railroad route by accident; there was dealing to be done first. The Terrell family, Judge W.

D. Irvine, C. C.

Nash, and John G. Moore all gave portions of their land to the Texas and Pacific, but they weren't just handing it over out of the goodness of their hearts. There was a condition.

A permanent depot had to be established within the donated land. You want the ground? You build the depot.

And the railroad held up its end. The first one was a frame structure, twenty feet wide and sixty feet long, completed by June of 1873. Modest, sure, but it was there, and it was permanent.

That little building didn't stay little for long. By 1884, the depot had nearly doubled in size; same twenty feet wide, but now stretching a hundred and two feet, with an office, a waiting room, and a freight room, all wrapped in a freight platform covering eight thousand, three hundred and sixty square feet. Things were moving through Terrell, and the town knew it.

Then by 1892, a separate passenger depot went up across the street, giving the freight operation room to breathe. The building standing today, the one the marker is talking about, that came in 1911, during a full-on era of expansion across the national rail system. Utilitarian, they call it, and they mean it as a compliment.

Three bays on the primary facade. A broad hipped roof. Freight doors on the north side, the south side, and the east side; built to move goods, not to impress anybody.

And it did move goods. For decades it was an integral part of this region's economy. Then 1977 came, and the depot closed.

The trains stopped calling. But the building stayed standing, holding onto most of its original features, a quiet witness to the deal that was struck, the land that was given, and the town that grew up around the sound of iron wheels on steel rail.

What the marker says

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.