Butler county Missouri, History of Frisco Depot Written and submitted by: Mary Collins mcollins@pbmo.net May 01, 1999 BUTLER COUNTY MISSOURI ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** File contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Mary Collins mcollins@pbmo.net USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non- commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. Unauthorized use for commercial ventures expressly prohibited. All information submitted to this project remains - to the extent the law allows - the property of the submitter who, by submitting it, agrees that it may be freely copied but NEVER sold or used in a commercial venture without the knowledge & permission of its rightful owner. The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ****************************************************************** ****************************************************************** BUTLER COUNTY MISSOURI History of Frisco Depot Written and Submitted by: Mary Collins mcollins@pbmo.net      The only remaining Frisco depot in Missouri is located in Poplar Bluff.  Presently the building serves as home to the Poplar Bluff Railroad Museum.  The museum features a train model, a pictorial history of the building, and train artifacts.    At the turn of the century, Poplar Bluff was a major rail center.  The St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad came into Poplar Bluff in 1872.  Also in the same year, the Cairo & Fulton railroad was built into the town.  The Southern Missouri & Arkansas Railroad built a line through Poplar Bluff in 1901.    Also in 1901, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad, known as Frisco, acquired a right-of-way through Poplar Bluff between Broadway and Fifth Street. In the same year they built a brick depot for passenger and freight traffic, which was badly damaged by the tornado of 1927.       The 1928 Frisco depot was built by the Gephart Construction Company of Cape Girardeau.  The depot was designed in the Spanish Mission Revival style of architecture with curvilinear gables and a red clay tile roof.  Since the railroad had rerouted its lines during the 1920's, the Poplar Bluff depot had become a major stop between Springfield and Memphis.  In order to draw attention to the new train service to Florida, the Spanish style was used for the depot.  Railroad officials believed that the Spanish style would remind passengers of the new service, and they would be encouraged to use the Frisco line.    The Frisco depot continued to provide passenger and freight service for several years.  Following World War II, passenger service decreased greatly, and the railroad closed the Poplar Bluff depot in 1965. Mary Collins mcollins@pbmo.net