Heritage District The Train Depot - Gilbert, AZ - Arizona Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The plaque says, "In 1902 a gentleman named Murphy wanted to build his Phoenix and Eastern Railroad from Phoenix to ore deposits near Winkleman, AZ. Mr. Murphy purchased rights of way along the planned line. When he came to our area, he bought the land from William "Bobby" Gilbert with the promise that he would build a spur line by the mile road. They called the spur line The Gilbert Spur after Bobby, and later the mile Road was named Gilbert Road. In 1905 the company build a depot called the Gilbert Depot. As businesses began moving to the area, people began calling themselves Gilbert citizens. The town incorporated in 1920 and was officially named Gilbert.

By 1929 between 1,000 and 1,500 carloads of hay were being shipping from Gilbert annually. Because of all the Alfalfa hay being shipped in 1918 during WWI, Gilbert became known as the "hay shipping capital of the world".

The depot function until 1965. The town wished to purchase the depot from the Southern Pacific Railroad, but the company would only offer to lease the deport for a five-year period. That was not acceptable to the town, so in 1969 Southern Pacific Tore the building down."

Marker Name: Heritage District The Train Depot Type of history commemorated: Place County: Maricopa Name of any agency/ agencies setting marker: Gilbert Year placed: 2012

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/19/2018 bluesnote visited it