The Watseka Union Depot is a historic railway station located on South Second Street in

Watseka Watseka or Watchekee (c. 1810–1878) was a Potawatomi Native American woman, born in Illinois, and named for the heroine of a Potawatomi legend. Her uncle was Tamin, the chief of the Kankakee Potawatomi Indians. She was also known by the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. The depot was built in 1906 to accommodate traffic on the

Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, and Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and stayed relatively strong throughout the Great Depression and two Worl ...

through the city; it also served the

Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway The Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway is a short line railroad that operates of track from Mapleton, Illinois, through Peoria across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana. TP&W has trackage rights between Galesburg, Illinois, and Peoria, between Log ...

's line. Railway service through Watseka began in 1858, when the Peoria and Oquawka Railroad (a predecessor of the TP&W) opened a line through the city; the

Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad The Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad was a railroad company that served various communities along the eastern border of the U.S. state of Illinois in the 1870s. The original plan called for a line to connect Chicago with Lawrence County, Il ...

, which became part of the C&EI, began passenger service to Watseka in 1871 and soon accounted for the bulk of the city's rail traffic. The TP&W provided a plan for the new depot in 1904, which was similar to other stations along its line. The Watseka Women's Club provided planning input on the city's behalf; their influence resulted in the addition of a women's waiting room and a more monumental station with a depot park, both uncommon elements in a station serving a city of Watseka's size. By 1916, the new station served six trains which started or ended service in Watseka and twelve through routes; the line through Watseka remained profitable through the 1940s, and the city retained C&EI service until 1971. The depot was nominated for 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 1988; it was determined eligible, but was not listed due to an objection from the railways that owned the station. In 1989–90, the building was moved to save it from demolition; its National Register eligibility was revoked due to the move, but it was nominated again and listed on December 22, 1999.

References

Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Tudor Revival architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures in Iroquois County, Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1906 National Register of Historic Places in Iroquois County, Illinois Relocated buildings and structures in Illinois Former railway stations in Illinois {{IroquoisCountyIL-NRHP-stub