Preserving Wisconsin’s railroad depots, one building at a time

Eight railroad depots still serve passengers in Wisconsin for Amtrak trains that travel across the southern half of the state. But once, there were a few hundred  rail stations here.  While many of those buildings are gone, reporter Chuck Quirmbach tells “Wisconsin Life” others remain … with new uses.

Mineral Point has Wisconsin’s oldest surviving former railroad depot. Cornish immigrant stonemasons put up the two-story limestone and sandstone building in 1856. That’s as the Mineral Point Railroad company built tracks to connect southwest Wisconsin with Illinois to haul farm crops, lead and zinc from nearby mines. The tracks also carried passenger trains.

But passenger service in this southwest Wisconsin city ended 68 years ago. Freight rail halted in 1984. The old depot now houses the Mineral Point Railroad Museum. The extensively redone interior still contains relics of the past. There’s a bell from one of the locomotives that ran on the rail line. There’s also a small telegraph office where the station agent sent messages.

Matthew Payne is on the Mineral Point Railroad Society board, which runs the museum. He said about 30 years ago, the building was in serious decline due to decay and flooding from a nearby creek.

“When the structural engineer came in, it was within two years of falling down,” Payne said. “When they went to level the building, the northeast corner actually fell out. So, they had to rebuild that. And, of course, there were all sorts of things living in here.”

Payne said a federal grant, community fundraising and a strong preservation ethic in Mineral Point saved the building. He said the ethic is still there, along with dedicated volunteers who charge a small museum admission fee.

While Mineral Point has kept a railroad theme with its former depot, Payne said other former stations around Wisconsin have been converted to things like offices, restaurants and retail stores. He said many preservationists think that’s just fine.

“In the historic preservation movement, there’s a clear understanding — it’s reflected in the National Park Standards for Historic Preservation — that it is better to preserve a historic building for a different use than it is to not preserve it at all and have it go away.”

Repurposing is the plan over at the Belleville Depot, south of Madison, where the Illinois Central stopped passenger service to the local depot in the mid-1900s. The building was later used to store grain, but that practice ended about 20 years ago.

One day in the midst of the rehab project, a construction worker used a miniature jackhammer to take a layer of brick off the building, so the structure underneath could be repaired.

The goal is to renovate the one story building into a cafe and community event space. Developers also hope to attract bicyclists using the Badger State Trail which is just outside, on the former rail bed. Owner and architect Catherine Howley said her team is getting some help from federal tax credits, as well local government and maybe the state. But Howley said it’s not easy — or cheap — to renovate a 137-year-old building.

“It’s an absolute heck of a challenge,” Howley said. “But, it’s super fun, right? It’s just really fun, and you gotta find a way to use the thing that you’re trained to do, to give back to the world. (That’s) my truthful belief.”

Howley said she’s also motivated to restore the railroad depot because her young son is a big fan of trains.

In Sturgeon Bay, preservationists — who are also rail buffs — are trying to find a more public use for a former depot used by the Ahnapee and Western Railroad.

Since regular passenger train service to the 111-year-old building ended in 1937 and freight trains stopped going there in 1969, the brick building went on to house a brewery and a restaurant. Today, the depot is now storage for the nearby shipbuilding company that owns the property, Fincantieri Marine Group. 

Sturgeon Bay Mayor David Ward said the city is considering a number of options for public use. They include moving the depot to a park or elsewhere in the city. It may become a concession stand, coffee shop or tavern.  Ward said it’s a matter of finding the right developer.

“You gotta explore all the options and then you never know what’s going to break,” said Ward. “All of a sudden there’s somebody that’s really interested who has the either the business or capital to make sure the building — if it does go private — is maintained in the long-term.”

Ward said the old depot is not in danger of being torn down. But just in case, the Sturgeon Bay City Council has passed a resolution saying the city, as a last resort, would take control of the building — to protect this link to the local passenger and freight rail past.

“Wisconsin Life” is a co-production of Wisconsin Public Radio and PBS Wisconsin. The project celebrates what makes the state unique through the diverse stories of its people, places, history and culture.