Mineral County Public Library - Alberton, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 47° 00.151 W 114° 28.590
11T E 691837 N 5208534
Once along the Milwaukee Road mainline which reached to the Pacific Coast, the Alberton Station was long ago abandoned, to be repurposed by the town.
Waymark Code: WMWP3G
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Where's George
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This Craftsman style depot was built by the Milwaukee Road as it pushed its way westward. Between 1906 and 1909 the line extended its line from North Dakota to Seattle creating yet another transcontinental route for passengers and freight. As it pushed through western Montana it followed the Clark Fork River, passing through Alberton in 1908 and building this depot as it passed, as well as a roundhouse, turntable and locomotive repair shops, making Alberton a division point. The depot remained in use by the railroad until possibly as late as 1980, the year that the line was abandoned and the depot sold to the town of Alberton. Today the depot houses the Alberton Town Hall, the Alberton Community Centre, the Alberton branch of the Mineral County Public Library, the senior citizens center and the American Legion. They seem to have squeezed half of the town's services into the building. Given that Alberton was made a divisional point, the depot was substantially larger than the norm, built to include a passenger waiting room, station master's office, rest rooms, ticket booth, freight warehouse and living quarters for the station master and family.

Given the population of Alberton (~450 persons), one should not expect the town to be possessed of a large library, stocked with thousands and thousands of books. They are doing quite well, though, and being part of a larger, county wide library doesn't hurt, allowing the circulation of more books than the Alberton Branch alone could hold between the two branches. The other, incidentally, is at St. Regis, 40 miles northwest on I-90. Though small, the library has most of the services one would expect to find in a small town library, including wi-fi, internet terminals, an online catalog, e-books, audio and video CDs, a children's library (Storytime is at 10 AM every Friday) and more.

Each year Alberton celebrates its railroad heritage with Alberton's Railroad Day, held the third Saturday in July. This year, (2017), will mark the 32nd anniversary of this community event.

Alberton Montana The Milwaukee Railroad Depot is an outstanding historic building for its associations with rail transportation history in Alberton, Montana. It is the only, and historically most important, building remaining in the community that was associated with the founding of the community as a rail freight division point. For these reasons, it is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Milwaukee Railroad Depot was constructed in Alberton in 1908, and quickly became an anchor in the town's commercial district. During the early years, passenger trains stopped at the Alberton Depot for thirty minutes each day. Travellers would rest and eat at "The Beanery" located in the depot, or walk north across Railroad Avenue (Main Street or Highway 10) to the saloons, restaurants and other Alberton businesses.

The history of Alberton Montana is a tale of the Milwaukee Railroad, which was a national train that ran through our small town. The Milwaukee depot is now restored and used as the town hall, library, senior citizens center and by the American Legion. And the Antique Depot is also a restored building from that era.

With the frontier West evident in the architecture of our town's "main street" ~ Railroad Avenue ~ Alberton, Montana, treasures its heritage.

The town was established more than 100 years ago as a "terminal station" for the Milwaukee Railroad. Traces of this industry can still be seen, though the tracks and overhead lines of what became America's first electrified, transcontinental railroad are long gone.

Today, the station depot serves as the Community Center and Library. An authentic Boxcar contains our Railroad Museum; and the sweet Caboose inside looks just as it did when it last rode the rails.With the frontier West evident in the architecture of our town's "main street" ~ Railroad Avenue ~ Alberton, Montana, treasures its heritage.

The town was established more than 100 years ago as a "terminal station" for the Milwaukee Railroad. Traces of this industry can still be seen, though the tracks and overhead lines of what became America's first electrified, transcontinental railroad are long gone.
From the Alberton Museum

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Classification of Library: Public Library (Open to all)

Internet access available: Yes - Library Terminal: Register with Library Clerk to use

Additional Internet Connection Options:
Wi-Fi is available for those who brought their own machine.

Hours of Operation:
Tuesday: 12:30 to 2:30 pm & 3:30-4:30 pm Thursday: 12:30 to 2:30 pm & 3:30-4:30 pm

Approximate date of opening.: 01/01/1980

Library Website: [Web Link]
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