Dickinson RR Museum - March 21st, 2025
Finally visit the Dickinson Railroad Museum, located at 218 FM-517, after driving past it the last 15 or more years
Great timing as it is a beautiful day with bluebonnets blooming on the lot
The museum is made up of the League City Depot and Dickinson Depot
Both Depots were moved to this location in the mid 1960s
Galveston, Houston & Henderson RR was chartered in 1853
The 1896 LC Depot was 25.3 miles from Galveston & 24.2 miles from Houston
The 1902 Dickinson Depot is a special design with two rounded entryways
The LC Depot is a linear bldg typically found in small Texas towns
Dickinson Depot was 20 miles from Galveston & 28.6 miles from Houston
Ornamental tracks laid here to complete the visual representation
Motorized handcart nearby and a manual operated handcart near the depot
Several descriptive placards before the Dickinson Depot
Dickinson Depot has an ornamental fireplace on one side
The two doorways are segregated for whites on the right & blacks on the left
Santa Fe RR Bell still rings loudly and brings workers out to investigate
View from the gazebo looking toward the bell and the LC Depot
Henderson extension was never completed & Clear Creek now called LC
Old photo of Dickinson Depot at its original location
Built in 1902 and brought 2.5 miles west to this location in 1967
The Depot was to be torn down but the Weed n Wish Garden Club rescued it
FM-517 was a two lane road back in 1967!
Step inside the right side doors to the Whites waiting room
The Whites had a nice fireplace to keep the room warm in winter
The 1852 Landmark Bldg Nicholstone burned down only two years ago
The two waiting rooms were separated by an office for ticket sales
James Parke, the Depot Agent, is immortalized as a statue
Uncle Jim arrived in 1901, became the town's unofficial mayor and chief promotor, and declared Dickinson the Strawberry Capitol of the world
Parke had the town's only typewriter and at least one of the town's safes
The long, thin office had a doorway to the Black waiting room opposite side
Look back at Mr. Parke and his Bay Window view of the railroad tracks
Enter the Black waiting room with only a radiator for heat
View of a RR track bicycle and circular exit door to the tracks
Sturdy hardwood floor survived the Harvey flood needing only polish
The Black entry door was restored to the 1902 Depot after moving
Door was likely removed to cover up the shame of segregation
LC Depot was offered to the Dickinson Historical Society shortly after
It had to be cut into two halves to successfully move it here
It was later elongated with the middle walk through added for easy access
Most of the LC Depot is occupied offices but there are 2 display areas
LC Depot agent's office also has bay windows for viewing the tracks
1960's aerial photo of Dickinson with RR tracks below & I-45 top
Dickinson Depot's original location, at the X, just south of FM-517
Unconnected track controls (left) do not affect the computer servers below
White bldg is now Pet Stop @ 2826 FM 517, yellow is 1 Stop Insurance
Located at 5303 Desel Dr off Hughes Rd, south of Dickinson Bayou
Fowler Home @ 1723 Oleander & Silbernagel Home @ 2407 45th St.
Queen of Angels @ 4100 Hwy 3 & Hoskins Foster @ 3718 Roylene Ct.
Faget Home @ 221 W Bayou Dr. & Weigand Home @ 3822 Water St.
Discover my high school classmate's uncle was President of DHS '49
Last thing to view on the RR Museum's campus is the old Feed Store
An important addition as the Weed N Wish Garden Club created this museum
Plenty of jars and seed packets inside but not much insulation
About time I investigated the history of the neighboring town to the south
Try to make a day of it by visiting the relocated Butler Longhorn Museum Flooded during Harvey in 2017, inside artifacts finally moved to new location
They saw me coming and locked the doors 15 minutes before closing time Will come back on a later date to 903 FM 518 East