Frisco Depot

The Frisco Depot (Frisco being a common shortening of the St. Louis – San Francisco Railway) in Fayetteville, Arkansas is a railroad depot built in 1925. The last passenger trains left Frisco Depot in 1965, and starting in 2011, the depot's interior housed a Chipotle Mexican Grill.^[2] The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 8, 1988.

History

Railroads in Northwest Arkasnas

The North Arkansas and Western Railroad was chartered on November 29, 1899 to connect Fayetteville with nearby Indian Territory. Track was completed to Tahlequah, Oklahoma under the name Ozark and Cherokee Central Railway, which was based in Fayetteville. This track also connected Fayetteville to Westville, Oklahoma, which gave access to the Kansas City Southern Railway. Now with access to the Kansas City Southern in Westville and the Frisco in Fayetteville, bushels of apples and other fruits grown in the Illinois River Valley south of Fayetteville were able to be shipped elsewhere. The first train arrived in Fayetteville on August 22, 1901.^[3]

The tracks were extended west to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma and Muskogee, Oklahoma by 1903 after bridging the Arkansas River. The Ozark and Cherokee Central was leased and later bought by the Frisco. The Frisco also maintained a junction where the St. Paul, Arkansas rail connected to the main line. This junction was named Fayette Junction and is now within the Fayetteville city limits.

Location

The depot built in 1925 was preceeded by two other depots on the same plot. As its predecessors did, the Frisco Depot has served as a place for locals, travelers, and University of Arkansas students to mingle. Centrally located within Fayetteville on Dickson Street (one of the best-known entertainment districts in Arkansas)

References