Houston and Texas Central Railway Depot - Burton Commercial Historic District - Burton, TX - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

"A l-story frame building influenced by the Stick style, the depot features a rectangular plan. The straightforward lines of the composition are enlivened by a complex roof scape comprised of hipped and gabled forms. The west (trackside) elevation displays a square bay window featuring stmcturally expressive detailing, simple brackets, and a gabled dormer supported by shingled pylons. The gable end features imbricated flshscale shingles and a lunette window, a standard motif on buildings erected for the Southem Pacific system. Doors on either side of the bay window provide access to waiting rooms that historically were racially segregated. Windows with 6/6 sash flank these doors. At the opposite end, an opening for the track door gives access to the baggage room. Transoms above each door feature variations of Queen Anne sash. The east (townside) elevation features three doors with transoms, one to each waiting room and one to the agent's office, and a track door to the baggage room. On the north elevation two 6/6 windows are surmounted by a gable end treated similarly to that on the west elevation. The south elevation features two fixed windows of five panes high up under the eaves and a gable end with detailing similar to the others. Broad overhanging eaves are supported by sculpted stick brackets. While the depot once again is within the historic railroad right-of-way, loss of the railroad tracks has affected the historic setting.

In building a 93.69 mile line between Brenham and Austin from 1869 to 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad established temporary terminals at the end of each section. Burton served in this capacity for several months in 1870, functioning as a transfer point with stages to Bastrop, Austin and San Antonio. Finished by June of 1870, Burton's first permanent depot served the community throughout the latter part of the 19th century. During this period, the Southern Pacific system gained control of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. When the original depot was destroyed in an 1898 fire that spread from the nearby Knittel store, the present depot was rebuilt in a standard Southern Pacific design.

The depot's facilities for shipping cotton, cattie and farm produce included side tracks for loading freight. Freight cars for cotton were loaded from a nearby warehouse platform. Cattie were loaded from special holding pens through chutes south of the depot. The lumber yard to the northwest received shipments of lumber coal, gravel, and sacks of cement via the side tracks. Merchants also shipped and received goods through the depot, which was a crucial element in the establishment of Burton's role as entrepot for rural Washington County.

Passenger service was discontinued in the 1950s and the Burton depot was closed. Sold in 1961 to the Zuehlke auto dealership, the depot was moved to the junction of FM 390 and Highway 290. It went through a series of interior modifications during this period. The tracks were removed from the right-of-way following Southern Pacific's abandonment of the line in 1980. The City of Burton purchased part of the right-of-way in 1988, deeding it to the Burton Heritage Society. They returned the depot to its former location within the right-of-way in 1990 and are currently restoring the building. The building participates in the historic setting and feeling of the district and is therefore classified as a Contributing element."