The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad Passenger Depot, also known as the Chicago and North Western Railway Passenger Depot and presently as the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, was built in 1886 in

Douglas, Wyoming Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 6,120 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Converse County and the home of the Wyoming State Fair. History Douglas was platted in 1886 when the Wyoming C ...

to accommodate traffic on the

Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad The Fremont, Elkhorn and Missouri Valley Railroad (FE&MV), sometimes called "the Elkhorn," was a railroad established in 1869 in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. About The company constructed several lines in Nebraska, inclu ...

's (FE&MV) terminus at the newly built town. The depot was built as a fairly small, cautious investment in a possibly ephemeral frontier town. Immediately following the completion of the depot Douglas saw an epidemic of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and the worst winter in a generation, and the railroad decided to push on to

Casper Casper may refer to: People * Casper (given name) * Casper (surname) * Casper (Maya ruler) (422–487?), ruler of the Mayan city of Palenque * Tok Casper, first known king of Maya city-state Quiriguá in Guatemala, ruling beginning in 426 * David ...

for its terminus. The town's population declined from 1600 in 1886 to 900 in 1888. By 1891

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian'' and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Biography Early life ...

reported that Douglas had a population of about 350. However, by 1910 Douglas had 2246 residents and hosted the

Wyoming State Fair The Wyoming State Fair is a largely agricultural exposition and rodeo held every August in Douglas in Converse County in southeastern Wyoming. The fairgrounds are located on west Yellowstone Highway on the waterside of North Platte River. The st ...

. The presence of the fair stimulated rail traffic, while the FE&MV merged with the

Cheyenne and Northern Railway The Cheyenne and Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The railroad was incorporated in 1886 to build a line from Cheyenne, Wyoming into northern Wyoming and Montana. The line extended to Wendover on the North Platte Riv ...

in 1903. In 1905 oil development started. In the 1950s coal mining began for the Dave Johnson Power Plant and the railway expanded its Douglas facilities to accommodate the traffic, closing the original depot and building a larger facility. The depot was acquired from the railroad's successor, the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, by the city in 1990. with

Description

The rectangular frame structure is a typical small railroad depot, measuring about by , built to a standardized railroad plan. Like most such depots, the station has a protruding bay on the long side facing the track to allow the stationmaster to see up and down the line. The interior has five spaces: a waiting room, an office, bathrooms, freight handling and freight storage. The interior woodwork is intact.Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, Visitors Guide, Revised Edition; Wyoming Pioneer Memorial Museum; City of Douglas; Douglas, Wyoming, 2005, 2015 printing. The depot was placed 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 August 3, 1994. The town has developed the depot as the Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center with displays of locomotives and railroad cars and equipment. The display opened in 1995.

References

External links

Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Railroad Passenger Depot
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
Locomotive Park
website {{NRHP in Converse County, Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Converse County, Wyoming Victorian architecture in Wyoming Railway stations in the United States opened in 1887 Museums in Converse County, Wyoming

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...

Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Douglas, Wyoming Former railway stations in Wyoming