| Marker Number |
8674 |
| Atlas Number |
5041008674 |
| Marker Title |
College Station Railroad Depots |
| Index Entry |
College Station Railroad Depots |
| Address |
215 Lamar St. |
| City |
College Station |
| County |
Brazos |
| UTM Zone |
14 |
| UTM Easting |
754602 |
| UTM Northing |
3389676 |
| Subject Codes |
transportation; railroads; colleges and universities; educational topics |
| Marker Year |
1993 |
| Recorded Texas Historic Landmark |
No |
| Marker Location |
Texas A&M university, SE corner Lamar Street and Old Main Drive, facing Innovative Learning Classroom Building |
| Private Property |
No |
| Marker Condition |
In Situ |
| Marker Size |
27" x 42" |
| Marker Text |
In 1871 Texas governor Edmund Davis appointed three commissioners to select a site for the newly established Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M College). The commissioners chose this location in large part because of the existence of the Houston and Texas Central (H&TC) Railroad line which began in southeast Texas and extended through this area to Bryan (5 mi. north).
Although no railroad depot existed here at the time of Texas A&M's formal opening in 1876, the H&TC made regular stops here for incoming and outgoing college students and faculty. H&TC railroad conductor announcements referring to to this stop as "College Station" gave rise to the name of the surrounding community.
The H&TC Railroad constructed a depot at this site in 1883 which it replaced with a new depot about 1900. The H&TC depots and another built by the International & Great Northern (I&GN) Railroad just east of this site in 1900 were for many students who attended Texas A&M the first remembrance of their collegiate experience.
Railroad depots owned by the H&TC (later named Southern Pacific) and I&GN (later named Missouri Pacific) maintained passenger service at this location until 1959. In 1966 the last of the depot structures was razed. (1993) |
