The Frisco Depot (Frisco being a common shortening of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway) in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

, is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

depot Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...

built in 1925. The last passenger trains left Frisco Depot in 1965, and starting in 2011, the depot's interior houses a

Chipotle Mexican Grill Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (, ), often known simply as Chipotle, is an American chain of fast casual restaurants specializing in bowls, tacos and Mission burritos made to order in front of the customer. Chipotle operates restaurants in the Unit ...

.Historic Building Gets New Use
/ref> The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 8, 1988.

History

Railroads in Northwest Arkansas

The North Arkansas and Western Railroad was chartered on November 29, 1899, to connect Fayetteville with nearby

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

. Track was completed to

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century ...

, under the name

Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway The Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway (O&CC) was formed under the name of the North Arkansas & Western Railway in 1899. At its maximum, it owned a standard gauge, single track line running between Fayetteville, Arkansas and Okmulgee, Oklahoma. ...

, which was based in Fayetteville. This track also connected Fayetteville to

Westville, Oklahoma Westville is a town in Adair County, Oklahoma located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Westville lies at the junction of U.S. Highways 59 and 62, and approximately thirteen miles north of Stilwell, Oklahoma, the county seat. History Befo ...

, which gave access to the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...

. Now with access to the Kansas City Southern in Westville and the Frisco in Fayetteville, bushels of apples and other fruits grown in the Illinois River Valley south of Fayetteville were able to be shipped elsewhere. The first train arrived in Fayetteville on August 22, 1901. The tracks were extended west to

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any othe ...

and

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

, by 1903 after bridging the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

. The Ozark and Cherokee Central was leased and later bought by the Frisco. The Frisco also maintained a junction where the St. Paul, Arkansas, rail connected to the main line. This junction was named Fayette Junction and is now within the Fayetteville city limits.

Location

The depot built in 1925 was preceded by two other depots on the same plot. As its predecessors did, the Frisco Depot has served as a place for locals, travelers, and

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

students to mingle. It is centrally located within Fayetteville on

Dickson Street The West Dickson Street Commercial Historic District, known as Dickson Street (historically spelled incorrectly as Dixon Street), is an area in downtown Fayetteville, Arkansas just off the University of Arkansas campus. It is lined with multiple ba ...

(one of the best-known entertainment districts in Arkansas).

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas Mission Revival architecture in Arkansas Railway stations in the United States opened in 1925 Fayetteville Former railway stations in Arkansas National Register of Historic Places in Fayetteville, Arkansas 1925 establishments in Arkansas Transportation in Washington County, Arkansas Spanish Revival architecture in Arkansas Chipotle Mexican Grill

History

Railroads in Northwest Arkansas

Location

See also

References

External links