Mena Depot
Posted by: 
DarlaKay
N 34° 34.957 W 094° 14.196
15S E 386585 N 3827453
Restored Mena, Arkansas Depot on Nat. Register of Historic Places
Waymark Code: WM18YE
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 02/27/2007
Views: 51
After the railroad moved their operations to Oklahoma in 1910, the depot that had been built in Mena in 1896 became dilapidated, and the town asked Kansas City Southern to build new one. By 1919, a new depot was begun, and on November 8, 1920, the new depot at 524 Sherwood Street and U.S. 71 opened with the only public restroom in Mena. The Depot became a gathering place, a place to mail letters after the post office closed, and the main point of transportation in West-Central Arkansas. In the 1960s, the Mena Depot closed to passenger traffic, and the depot fell into disrepair. It was restored in 1987 from donations and volunteers and is now a museum and houses the office of the Mena Chamber of Commerce and a travel agency. A restored 1939 Dodge police car sits outside. The Depot Commission oversees the depot. The Mena Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 with the Architect, builder, or engineer listed as T.C. Horstman. The elevation is 1149.9" feet.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
museum, Chamber of Commerce, travel agency
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Kansas City Southern
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
Please post an original picture of the station/depot taken while you were there. Please also record how you came to be at this station/depot and any interesting information you learned about it while there.