Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway Depot - 1889 - Red Lodge, MT - Dated Architectural Structures Multifarious on Waymarking.com

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Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway Depot - 1889 - Red Lodge, MT

in Dated Architectural Structures Multifarious

Posted by:  T0SHEA

12T E 637638 N 5005558

At the far northwest corner of the district, the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot was most likely built in 1889, the year that the Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway reached Red Lodge, and the year before the railway was acquired by the Northern Pacific.

Though the Northern Pacific Depot is considered of primary importance to the historic district by the NRHP, it seems not to have been included in the original 1983 historic district nomination. It was, however, included in the first boundary increase, submitted the next year, 1984. Also, various dates are proposed for its construction, 1889, 1897 and 1899. We'll go with 1889 as that's the date on the small bronze plaque on the side of the depot, as well as the NRHP plaque (below).

The railroad that initially ran into Red Lodge in 1889 wasn't the Northern Pacific, but the Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway, acquired by the Northern Pacific in 1890. The station, if built in 1889 as the plaques state, would, indeed, have been initially a Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway station.

Strangely, though the nomination form refers to the building as the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, the building's plaque refers to it as The Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway Depot. Long abandoned as a railway station, since 1982 it has housed the Carbon County Arts Guild. In 1982 the Burlington Northern Railroad donated the station to the guild, who, after considerable work on the building, moved in on September 1, 1983. Today the station is known as the Depot Gallery.

Northern Pacific Railroad Depot

P-39 Northern Pacific Railroad Depot, railroad right-of-way, 1897

The Northern Pacific completed its branch line to the coal mines of Red Lodge in 1893. This one story, wood frame passenger depot was constructed in accordance with the railroad's standardized plans. The agent's residence that was once constitued a second story on the Red Lodge depot has been removed. The building is located at the northernmost edge of the commercial historic district and is a vital part of the district due to its historic as well as architectural significance. The structure now houses the Red Lodge Arts Guild.
From the NRHP Nomination Form, Page 4

The Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway Depot
Coal was discovered in the upper Rock Creek Valley in 1866. The Rocky Fork Development Company purchased the mines in 1887 and actively lobbied the Northern Pacific Railway for a branch line to carry the coal to markets throughout Montana. In 1889, the Rocky Fork & Cooke City Railway reached Red Lodge, causing a boom in the population and fortunes of the new community. The Northern Pacific formally acquired the line in 1890 and abandoned it after World War II. Built in 1889 and expanded in 1904, this classic Craftsman style depot provided, for many, their first glimpse of Red Lodge and the Beartooth Mountains. The flared eaves, eave brackets, shiplap siding, and irregular configuration of the building were hallmarks of Northern Pacific depots along the railroad’s main and branch lines. At one time, this building sported a second floor which served as the living quarters for the railroad’s agent in Red Lodge. Since 1982, the old depot has been the home of the Carbon County Arts Guild.
From the NRHP plaque at the building