Morrilton Arkansas Depot
N 35° 09.139 W 092° 44.649
15S E 523303 N 3889964
Former depot with very interesting local history
Waymark Code: WM198N
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 03/02/2007
Views: 48
It seems that in the 1860s the town of Lewisburg was a thriving port town on the Arkansas River. When the railroad was ready to build they asked a fee be paid by the town to defray expenses there. The Lewisburg residents, feeling unable to pay the fee and also feeling confident that the railroad would lay their tracks through the town anyway, rejected the railroad's demands.
Immediately there arose interest among other residents of the area. Mr. Edward Henry Morrill and Mr. James Miles Moose offered to donate farmland which they owned for the tracks as well as for the depot. The railroad quickly accepted and the track was laid two miles north of Lewisburg.
Scheduled train service was begun on November 21, 1870. The first railway station was established in 1873. The first station agent, J. W. Boot, had the task of naming the station. Mr. Boot flipped a coin and so by chance it became Morrilton instead of Mooseville. When the town was laid out, Division Street was placed on the dividing line of the two farms. Moose Street was laid out one block east on Mr. Moose's farm and Morrill Street was laid out one block west on Mr. Morrill's farm.
On March 28, 1960, passenger service was ended and later freight service was ended also. Through the determined efforts of Mrs. Lillie Belle Warren and her daughter, Eleanor Ruth, the Conway County Historical Preservation Association was able to purchase the depot. This organization in turn oversaw the remodeling and opened it as the Depot Museum in 1980. The Museum is now staffed by volunteers from the Historical and Geneological Societies and is open on Fridays and Saturdays.
The above information was taken from a brochure available at the Museum.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: Not listed
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Not listed
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?: Not listed
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Not listed
Station/Depot Web Site: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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