Burlington Train Depot
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Located across the street from the Sarpy County Museum, the depot was built by the Omaha and Southwestern Railroad in 1869 and later served the Burlington Railroad. The depot was built in response to Bellevue's failure to secure the Transcontinental Railroad to build across the Missouri River. It was moved to its present location in 1987. Today, it is the oldest surviving train station in the State of Nebraska.
Images
The Bellevue Depot - adjacent to the Sarpy County Museum
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The Sarpy County Museum acquired the depot for one dollar on the condition that it was moved from the railroad tracks. The depot has since been restored.
In early 1869, a group of Omaha businessmen started building the Southwestern railroad. By the end of 1870, the line was completed from Omaha to approximately seven miles south of Bellevue and the railroad had also been renamed the Omaha and Southern Railroad. The station at Bellevue was built in conjunction with this line. The date, circa 1869-70, given for the construction of this station, makes it the oldest railroad depot in Nebraska. Its architectural significance lies in the fact of its general elaborateness and in the refinement of construction not generally found in early depots during this period in Nebraska. Also, the building has suffered few alterations.
The depot has been moved twice. It was moved from its original site on block 4 Anderson's additions, to Hayworth Park. That location was one mile south of its original site. Unfortunately that move put the building in the Missouri River Flood plain. It was subsequently moved by the Sarpy County Museum to Gemini Park, Bellevue, which is adjacent to the Sarpy County Museum. This puts the depot in a safe place, well out of the flood plain at 2402 Clay street in Bellevue.
In early 1869, a group of Omaha businessmen started building the Southwestern railroad. By the end of 1870, the line was completed from Omaha to approximately seven miles south of Bellevue and the railroad had also been renamed the Omaha and Southern Railroad. The station at Bellevue was built in conjunction with this line. The date, circa 1869-70, given for the construction of this station, makes it the oldest railroad depot in Nebraska. Its architectural significance lies in the fact of its general elaborateness and in the refinement of construction not generally found in early depots during this period in Nebraska. Also, the building has suffered few alterations.
The depot has been moved twice. It was moved from its original site on block 4 Anderson's additions, to Hayworth Park. That location was one mile south of its original site. Unfortunately that move put the building in the Missouri River Flood plain. It was subsequently moved by the Sarpy County Museum to Gemini Park, Bellevue, which is adjacent to the Sarpy County Museum. This puts the depot in a safe place, well out of the flood plain at 2402 Clay street in Bellevue.
Sources
Historical files, Sarpy County Museum
Overton, Richard C., Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1965
Overton, Richard C., Burlington Route: A History of the Burlington Lines, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1965