The Aitkin County Depot Museum is a local history museum housed in the historic 1916 Northern Pacific Depot in Aitkin, Minnesota. The building itself is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is managed by the Aitkin County Historical Society. The museum showcases a range of exhibits, including displays on steamboats, railroads, logging, Native American history, military artifacts, children's toys, woodworking, and agriculture.

Aitkin County Historical Society

The Aitkin County Historical Society was established in 1948 to collect, preserve, and share historical information and artifacts relevant to Aitkin County's history. In 1950 a log cabin museum was built for displays next to the Aitkin County Courthouse. Following negotiations initiated in 1970, the Burlington Northern Depot was acquired by the organization for conversion into a historical museum and was officially dedicated September 4, 1980. The depot played an important part in the county's and the village of Aitkin's history as the village as established in 1871, coinciding with the railroad's expansion from Duluth. The log cabin then was moved to a spot between the depot and Armory building. When the armory was sold in 2000, the log cabin was moved and its current home at the Aitkin County Fairgrounds. A second building building was built next to the depot to house additional displays. In 2004 the society purchased the local Northwestern Bell Telephone building from the Aitkin Iron Works to use to house artifacts currently not on display.

Northern Pacific Depot

The railroad line was initially built in 1871. By the early 1900s, Aitkin was emerging as the region's leading supply center, and the old wood-framed depot was considered grossly inadequate. The railway started construction of the new brick depot in 1915. The brick passenger depot was built on the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

mainline, opening on January 26, 1916. It was 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 with cut-stone trimmings and a German tile roof. The station was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982 as the Northern Pacific Depot. The rail line is now part of the

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

. The depot served as a crucial stop for travelers between Staples and

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

and symbolizes the importance of the railroad in Aitkin's growth and development. Passenger train service to Aitkin station ended on May 24, 1969, when trains 57 and 58 were discontinued between

and Staples.

Aitkin County Historical Society

Northern Pacific Depot

References

See also