WAUPACA COUNTY POST

July 8, 2004

Historical Society Purchases Depot

By Robert Cloud, Post Editor

The Waupaca Historical Society finalized the purchase of the old train depot Thursday, July 1.

The $10,500 check that the society presented to Canadian National Railroad marked yet another step in the long process to save and renovate the building.

"We started talking with the railroad about buying the depot in 2000," said Mike Kirk, a member of the Waupaca Society.

"This project has come a long way," said Mark Ebner, historical society president. "We were told in the beginning there was a chance of getting the depot, then we were told there was no chance. A year ago, the railroad was talking about tearing the building down. Then we were told we could get it. If we had not interceded that building would be a field now."

A major contributing factor to the society obtaining the old depot at an affordable price was the railroad’s decision to move its tracks away from the building when it installed the new bridge. Initially, the historical society was faced with the daunting, and costly, task of having to move the structure to another location.

As part of the agreement the society reached with the railroad, a fence will be installed within the next few months between the depot and the tracks.

"One of our priorities is to stop the vandalism," Kirk said.

Kirk said the group plans to put a 6-foot-high fence around the depot, install an alarm system and motion detector lights.

Vandals have caused major damage to the building. All the windows have been broken. After the broken windows were boarded, vandals smashed through the plywood. They have also thrown bricks and rocks up onto the Spanish clay tile on the roof. Due to the deteriorating roof, rain has leaked inside the building, where vandals have spray painted graffiti on the walls. Vandals also started a fire inside the building, burning a hole through the floor.

Kirk said repairing the roof will also be a priority in order to stabilize the building.

To assist the project, the city of Wauapca has applied for funds through the state’s Transportation Enhancement Reimbursement Program. The program could reimburse up to 80 percent of specified rehabilitation costs. The city has applied for $320,000 and the historical society must raise $80,000. "If we get the grant, we would like to put in a basement, update the utilities, update the plumbing and get it up to code, but remain as close to the original design as possible to qualify for the National Historic Register," Ebner said.

"If we don’t’ get the grant, it’s going to be a long process restoring it. Even with the grant, restoration will take at least three years," Kirk said.

Although the historical society has no firm plans for how it will use the building yet, members have a vision of what they want it to look like.

Kirk said the building would have a railroad motif one it was completely restored. He said the Waupaca trolley car and a railroad caboose would probably be displayed at the site. George Lehman, a resident at the Wisconsin Veterans Home, has agreed to display his model circus train there. Other railroad and historical artifacts are also planned.

"There’s a multitude of things we can do with that building that could have a positive economic impact," Ebner said. "We would like it to be a community building with space for meetings and possibly a kitchen."

Kirk said the Waupaca depot was one of four similar structures built at the end of the original Wisconsin Central Railroad era. Two of the depots were built of brick and two of them, including Waupaca’s, were built of sandstone. The Waupaca depot has a Spanish tile roof, a large waiting room and a private parlor for the ladies, three fireplaces and a porch on the north side.

"The company had just come out of bankruptcy and they were trying to show they were in good financial shape," Kirk said.

The Waupaca depot was built in 1907, just months after a fire destroyed the original wooden depot. At the time, the Waupaca Post said the old depot was inadequate and that most people in Waupaca were glad to see it burn.

In addition to its architectural design, the depot represents a major part of Waupaca’s early history, Kirk said. Railroads played a role in Waupaca’s potato boom and its tourism industry.

"The trolley used to be just down the hill from the depot. It would take people downtown and to King," Kirk said. "The sidewalks are double wide on Mill Street because of the heavy pedestrian traffic coming from the depot. The railroad used to be the main way to get to Waupaca from other towns."

The last passenger train pulled out of Waupaca in January 1965 and the depot was closed in October 1987.

The Waupaca Historical Society hopes to restore not only the building but to preserve a piece of Waupaca’s heritage.

"We have an immediate need for $25,000 to $30,000 to help pay for the stabilization of the building," Ebner said. "We’d like to see this become not just a historical society project, but a community project. This is an important landmark for Waupaca."