The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (T&P) reached Abilene in January 1881. Construction did not stop in Abilene, however, as the railroad’s owner, Jay Gould, was in a race to close the southern transcontinental route, which occurred near Sierra Blanca in December 1881. After a long effort by local leaders to have the old frame depot replaced, T&P built this long, narrow station, faced with red brick and a red tile hipped roof with deep, bracketed eaves. An octagonal tower marks the entrance facing the tracks, and a raised gable breaks the eaves line at the entrance. This gable and those on the small dormers have narrow ventilation openings that resemble the arrow loops of a medieval castle. Passenger service ceased on 1967, and in 1994 the building was converted for its current use.