History of the B-RI Railroad Museum
If you were to find yourself in Central Texas 100 years ago, you would most likely see and hear about cotton. This cash crop was grown everywhere, but once baled, it needed to be shipped economically. The farming industry in the Teague area had an active role in the commerce of the “Cotton Belt" at that time and the railroad would soon play a critical role in efficient delivery of this locally grown crop.
As the railroad lines sprouted across Texas, the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railway was established in Teague. The company decided to locate their depot at 208 South 3rd Avenue in Teague Texas in a two story structure measuring 52 feet x 95 feet. On June 30, 1906, a contract was entered into by the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railway Company as owner and Jess F. Denning of Mexia, Texas and Jake Wattinger of Austin, Texas, as contractors to build a two story brick depot and office building. This Division Point of the T. & B. V. Railway would include hot air, heating and plumbing. The architect was C. H. Page, Jr. The agreement included the sum of $14,776.00 for work and materials subject to additions and subtractions of the final plan. C.H. Page’s father immigrated from Scotland as a stone mason to work on the state capital building in Austin and C.H.Page was also the architect for Teague’s first brick high school “O.M Roberts” built in 1909. The depot is constructed primarily of “buff pressed” brick that was shipped in by train from Elgin, Tx.
The first passenger train arrived on July 23, 1906 before the depot was completed, but it would be the first of thousands of trains to arrive in the future since Teague had been recognized as a hub of commerce and a town with an exciting future.
By February 22, 1907 the Teague Chronicle reported: “The T. & B.V. $20,000 depot is now completed and fixtures are being moved from the freight depot to it. The new depot has been described before and is one of the prettiest passenger stations in Texas.”
The building has a rotunda which includes a ticket office and three waiting rooms. There was also a baggage room, a dining room and kitchen on the first floor. The ticket office also has an extra window to the east which, at that time, sold tickets to the black passengers in a waiting room on that side of the building. On the second level were the offices of the superintendent, trainmaster, chief dispatcher, division engineer and road master. Many of the original office furnishing are now used throughout the building as it serves as a museum. Visitors will also see original drawings of the round house, workshops, trestle bridges and other evidence of the role that this depot played in maintaining the railroad in Central Texas.
The manpower required to maintain the Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad Depot as well as repair and general maintenance of the trains provided a surge in employee opportunities and growth in the Teague area. This was mentioned in an article in the Teague Chronicle June 14, 1907. The article quotes a meeting that was called by Superintendent JJ. Flynn, “…to urge the people of Teague to make arrangements for their coming. We have already a good number of railroad people here and crowded to the utmost capacity of the present condition of the city. In this address, Mr. Flynn stated that the railway company would have to have accommodations for 1,500 additional people which they agree to bring in here within four month’s time. He stated that also by October 15, the company will be operating 78 freight trains with crews of five men each, all of whom, with their families, must be housed in Teague….”
Photos of these early days are displayed at the B-RI Railroad Museum. You can see images of the round house which had 12 stalls and three large drop pits. The concrete in the pits alone cost $25,000 when built.
By August of 1908, the State Railroad Commission considered the value of the rolling stock of the Valley Road to be valued at $1,056,429.00. In a Teague Tribune article that month, the writer suggested that this point of commerce tied in to the “greater continental system now reaching to the Gulf. The future of the South will depend in large measure for its commercial importance upon the Panama Canal, to reach Galveston and thence by way of this Canal to the Eastern world…”
The state’s first diesel-powered streamline train, the “Sam Houston Zephyr”, would be inaugurated in 1936 as Texas celebrated its Centennial. The sleek new stainless steel train maintained a mile-a-minute schedule between Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth, with stops at Teague, Corsicana and Waxahachie. The cost of riding the Zephyr included a meal served by trained hostesses known as “Zephyrettes”. The fairs ranged in cost from $1.00 for a “restful parlor seat” to $7.31 for a “parlor car”. A companion train, the “Texas Rocket” was placed in service the following year of 1937. These streamliners continued to be used for the next thirty years until January 1966.
The depot was the heart beat of Teague and saw men off to war starting with the Teague National Guard on May 12, 1916 when deadly raids lead by Pancho Villa had moved President Woodrow Wilson to order troops to defend the communities near the Mexican border. But before troops would capture Pancho Villa, our country found herself in the first of two World Wars. Men, woman and children have waived goodbye to family and friends at this point. Countless embraces have welcomed visitors and residents back into the community. During World War II, even German prisoners stopped in Teague for brief visits as they traveled to POW camps at other points.
All passenger trains were discontinued in 1966, but the railroad company continued to function from the second floor of the depot until 1968. Office personnel were then transferred into a new structure about one block north. This left the building vacant but still housing most of the original office furnishings, files, maps and drawings.
Two local citizens, Llewellyn Notley and B.T.Thomas, organized a campaign to preserve the depot which is Teague’s oldest landmark. Negotiations were started with the Fort Worth & Denver Railway and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. On October 12, 1968, the officials of these two companies sold and deeded the property to the City of Teague for the sum of $1.00. These two dedicated individuals went on to organize a museum association and the first meeting was held in 1969. At that meeting, the museum’s name was designated as: B-RI (Burlington-Rock Island) Railroad Museum of Teague. The official dedication was Oct. 4, 1970 and this ceremony included the unveiling of two official Texas State Historical Markers. One of these markers identifies the location as the “Old Division Point Office of the Boll Weevil Railway” and the other marker was for the Town of Teague.
In March of 1979, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the Texas Historical Commission and the United States Department of Interior.
As the concept of a Railroad Museum gained momentum, Dorothy “Dot” McVey would serve as curator until about 2004. Her countless hours of sorting and cataloging donations of photos, artifacts, books, newspaper articles have provided an exceptional treasure of railroad life as well as life in the Teague community going back to when it was called: Brewer’s Prairie.
The B-RI Railroad Museum has expanded since 1970 to include many more exhibits of life in a railroad town as well as life in the area prior to the 1906 establishment of rail service. The second floor has a room dedicated to our veterans with displays from the Civil War to the Viet Nam conflict. There is a room dedicated to Teague business that contains old ledgers, photos and marketing promotions that were used to advertise local goods and services. The Teague School room hosts a wide variety of items from yearbooks and class photos to band uniforms and awards. Displayed in the Medical room, visitors will see an infant incubator used around 1930, old x-ray equipment, and many other items donated from local physicians and optometrists. There is even a display that holds the substances and tools used to embalm a person for funeral services.
Evidence of what life was like in the 1850s is portrayed in the Philpott Log Cabin which was recently leveled and recaulked. It has been an interesting part of the facility since 1976. The structure which dates to about 1853 has two rooms divided by an open air porch often called a “dog trot”. The log cabin has a fire place at each end and several windows. You can step inside this cabin and feel the spirit of early Texas settlers with old furnishings typical of the time.
If you have ever wanted to play train engineer, you can get a real “hands on” experience by climbing aboard Big Mike. This Baldwin Engine was donated to the Museum by W.T. Carter & Brother of Camden, Texas and had been used in their lumber business for many years. A Burlington Northern Caboose sits directly behind it and is also available to walk through and explore. The B-RI Railroad Museum also owns a 1926 Seagraves Fire Engine which sits in it’s very own building. This treasured vehicle served the early Teague community for many years and offers visitors a chance to see the equipment and makeup of this antique fire truck.
Visitors can enter the B-RI Railroad Museum on weekends from 1 – 5 PM. It offers handicap access and admission of $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children. Special groups and times can be arranged in advance by calling: Bennie Walker (254) 739-2153 or Ginny Folsom (254) 739-3411. The Museum’s website is: therailroadmuseum.com.
Article by: Ginny Folsom