Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railroad Depot - Ardmore, OK
N 34° 10.582 W 097° 07.627
14S E 672610 N 3783296
Built in 1915, the former Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railroad Depot -- Ringling Road Station 15 -- is now owned by the City of Ardmore, located at 301 N Washington St, Ardmore, OK.
Waymark Code: WMW2NQ
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 07/02/2017
Views: 6
The Station/Depot Web Site provides some in-depth detail, while the Statement of Significance explains why this old depot is extra special, with its ties to John Ringling:
The Ringling Road Depot in Ardmore is significant because it is the only building in Oklahoma directly associated with John Ringling of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.
John Ringling's railroad building efforts led directly to the establishment of three towns in southern Oklahoma: Ringling, Wilson, and Healdton, as well as the Healdton oil field.
Ringling and the city of Ardmore built this depot in 1915 with Ringling's Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Pacific Railroad Company. Construction of a line west from Ardmore had been begun in 1913 and was supposed to reach Lawton, Oklahoma. By the time builders finished the depot, the line extended 25 miles to the west, the present site of Ringling, Oklahoma. The depot built there no longer exists.
The Ringling Road never extended further west than Ringling because of the discovery of oil at Healdton, Oklahoma. The oilfield at Healdton was vital to the Allied effort in World War I. It supplied 50% of all the oil the Allied powers used during the war. The Ringling Road made this output possible.
The Santa Fe Railroad Company purchased the Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Pacific Railroad from Ringling in 1926. Santa Fe used the line until 1976, when they closed the 25-mile stretch.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
American Legion Post 65 (George R. Anderson Post) meets here at 6 PM on the first Monday of the month.
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Oklahoma, New Mexico and Pacific Railroad, Santa Fe Railroad
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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