Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot

Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location:	Elizabeth, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA
Coordinates:	Coordinates: 42°19′01″N 90°13′21″W / 42.3170°N 90.2224°W / 42.3170; -90.2224
Built:	1877–78
Architectural style:	Stick style
Governing body:	Elizabeth Historical Society
NRHP Reference#:	96000098
Added to NRHP:	February 16, 1996

The Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot is a historic railway station in the village of Elizabeth, Illinois, USA. It was built in 1877–78 and like many rural stations along the Chicago Great Western Railroad it was cast in Stick style. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

History

The Elizabeth, Illinois Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot was built in 1877–78 by the Minnesota Northwestern Railway Company. In January 1892, A.B. Stickney's Chicago Great Western Railroad company bought the Minnesota Northwestern company.^[1]

Architecture

The design of the depot in Elizabeth is similar to the design of many of the rural stations built during the 1880s and 1890s along the Chicago Great Western Railroad. Many of these stations, including the Elizabeth depot, were small rectangular, side-gabled buildings built in Stick style. Through the years, some of the depot's original architectural details were lost.^[1]

Museum

Today the depot building is operated as a railroad museum.^[2] Located in a mixed commercial district, the area that was once the station's stockyard is now a lumber company, but the "Commercial Hotel", an 1889 hotel that served railroad patrons, across the street still stands.^[1] The depot was restored by the Elizabeth Historical Society and is meant to become an important repository of information about the Chicago Great Western Railroad.^[2]

Historic significance

The arrival of the depot in Elizabeth coincided with a record growth spurt between 1880–1900. The population of Elizabeth rose from 507 to 659 during those two decades and by the 1910s unofficial numbers estimated the population at close to 1,000. The station and the railroad industry in Elizabeth heralded a new era in the village. On February 16, 1996 the Chicago Great Western Railroad Station in Elizabeth, Illinois was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.^[3]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Krippner, Kerstin. "Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot", (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, July 31, 1995, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, accessed May 2, 2008.
2. ^ ^{a b} "History", The Great Western Railroad Museum, Elizabeth Historical Society, official site, accessed May 2, 2008.
3. ^ Register Information System Query - State and city=Elizabeth, IL^{[dead link]}, National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, accessed May 2, 2008.

External links

• Elizabeth Historical Society
• Property Information Report: Chicago Great Western Depot, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency