Depot Building & Cotton Warehouse
The first railroad to serve Rusk County was the International and Great Northern. In 1872, the rail line crossed the northwest comer of the county, and Overton became the principal shipping point. Two years later, the Henderson and Overton Branch Railroad Company was chartered to build sixteen miles of track from Henderson to Overton. General Webster Flanagan of Henderson became the first president of the company. The Henderson-Overton line was completed on May 31, 1877; the next day, the first train arrived in Henderson.
Only a freight-loading platform, also built in 1877, was used then. The depot, consisting of two waiting rooms, a baggage compartment, and an office, was built in 1901. The warehouse was added to the structure around 1909. A Fairbanks 1½-ton scale was installed around 1917. In 1949, the Missouri-Pacific Railroad acquired the property and building from the International and Great Northern Railroad.
A second line was started when the Ragley Road from Pine Hill was completed in 1908-1909. W. G. Ragley built the road for the sole purpose of moving logs when they were cut. The line was extended into Rusk County at Pine Hill and was incorporated in 1904. In 1908, it was decided that extending the line into Henderson would be financially profitable. The company was re-chartered and became the Timpson and Henderson Railroad. Miss Corinne Langhorn drove the golden spike to mark the line’s completion, and service began on November 12, 1909. There was a picnic to celebrate the occasion, and an excursion train of a dozen passenger coaches brought people in from all points along the line.
The Depot was busy as the trains it served brought passengers and freight in and out of Henderson. Hacks and jitneys from hotels picked up passengers, and drayage wagons and vehicles picked up and delivered the cargo. Cotton bales were stacked to the rafters in the freight warehouse waiting to be shipped out. Lumber was brought in and stacked on flatcars for shipment. Mail was picked up from post offices from all over the county. Children would run to the depot when they heard the whistle blow to watch the trains come in. Meeting the train was also popular for high school teens and courting couples, particularly on a Sunday afternoon. Folks would also gather in the office and waiting rooms for the latest news across the telegraph lines.
With the decline of the railroads, the depot gradually fell into disuse and was finally abandoned by the Missouri Pacific Lines. The building was offered to the Rusk County Library and accepted by the Rusk County Commissioners Court in November 1976. Shortly after, the entire building was moved less than a city block to the present location on the old library grounds, now the museum grounds.
The longtime landmark in Henderson was restored and became the original Depot Museum. The office and waiting rooms were renovated in railroad fashion, and the freight warehouse was converted into a children's discovery center. The entire building housed artifacts and historical information about Rusk County until the museum moved into the Arnold Library building in 1994. The Depot building remains a significant part of the museum.
This building has a Texas Historical Commission Marker.