Marseilles station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marseilles
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| Former Rock Island Line passenger rail station | ||||||||||||||||
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| Location | 150 Washington Street, Marseilles, Illinois 61341 | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1867 | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1917 | |||||||||||||||
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Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Depot
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 150 Washington St., Marseilles, Illinois | |||||||||||||||
| Area | less than one acre | |||||||||||||||
| Built | 1917 | |||||||||||||||
| Architect | T.S. Peak | |||||||||||||||
| Architectural style | American Craftsman | |||||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 95001239 | |||||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | November 7, 1995 | |||||||||||||||
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Depot in Marseilles, Illinois is a very old train station. It was built in 1917 and was used for trains until 1974. This historic building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1995 because it's an important part of history.
A Look Back: The Station's Story
The Marseilles train station was built in 1917. Before this, people in Marseilles had been asking the railroad company for a new station for 40 years! Finally, a court ordered that a new one be built.
The new station replaced a smaller, older wooden building from 1867. The 1917 station was busy with trains and passengers until 1974. After that, it was sold to a private owner in 1984.
Today, since 2016, the old train station is home to the Marseilles Museum. Inside, you can find several exhibits that tell the story of the depot itself.
Station Design and Style
The Marseilles train station is about 90 feet (27 meters) long and 25 feet (7.6 meters) wide. It has a rectangular shape. The building has two main sections on each side, and one of them used to be the ticket office.
A builder from Chicago named T. S. Peak designed and built the station. It was made in a style called American Craftsman. Even though the inside of the building has been changed a lot over the years, the outside still looks very much like it did when it was first built.
Why Is This Station Important?
This train station was a very important place for travel and shipping in Marseilles. It helped people and goods move in and out of the city using the Rock Island and LaSalle Line. This train line later became known as the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
The railroad tracks run next to the Illinois and Michigan Canal. When the trains became popular, they took over from the canal boats for carrying passengers. This shows how important trains became for transportation. Because of its history and importance, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Depot in Marseilles was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1995.
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-98, "Rock Island Railroad, Marseilles Passenger Depot"
- Depot Library of Congress records
