Norman station is an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

intercity rail station in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, served by the daily ''

Heartland Flyer The ''Heartland Flyer'' is a daily passenger train that follows a route between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Fort Worth, Texas. It is operated by Amtrak and jointly funded by the states of Oklahoma and Texas. The train's daily round-trip begins ...

''. Built in 1909, the station building was added to 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 ...

in 1991 as Santa Fe Depot. Part of the building is occupied by The Depot, a non-profit arts association.

History

The

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

(Santa Fe) began running through Norman's Camp (a surveying camp named for its leader Abner E. Norman) on June 13, 1887. Stations were established approximately every , including at Norman's Camp. White settlers arrived during the

Land Rush of 1889 The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 was the first land run into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory, which had earlier been assigned to the Creek and Seminole peoples. The area that was opened to settlement included all or part of Canadi ...

, and on April 22, 1889, the station became the site for a new town. The first station building, just square, was located at Eufala Street. It was replaced with a larger structure just to the south in 1890. The present station building was constructed in 1909. A typical Santa Fe

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

station, it is built in the

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

style out of brick with limestone trim. It served Santa Fe trains including the ''

Texas Chief The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ...

'' until May 1971, when

took over intercity service in the United States. Amtrak continued to serve Norman with the ''Texas Chief'' (renamed '' Lone Star'' in 1974) until the ''Lone Star'' was discontinued on October 9, 1979. Ownership of the station was transferred to the city effective October 1986. The station building was reopened as a community space in 1990, and added to the

in 1991 as "Santa Fe Depot". The ''Heartland Flyer'' began service in June 1999. A $480,000 renovation in 2003 made the station

accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

References

External links

The Depot
{{NRHP in Cleveland County, Oklahoma Amtrak stations in Oklahoma Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1909 Railway stations in Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Norman, Oklahoma Mission Revival architecture in Oklahoma Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma National Register of Historic Places in Cleveland County, Oklahoma Transportation in Cleveland County, Oklahoma Buildings and structures in Cleveland County, Oklahoma