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Soo Line Railroad Passenger Depot

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1900. 1st St. at McLean Ave.
  • (Photograph by Steve C. Martens)

William Drew Washburn, the first president of the Soo Line, purchased one hundred and fifteen thousand acres of land from the Northern Pacific Railway north of Bismarck and east of the Missouri River, where he established the Bismarck, Washburn and Great Falls Railway to make his land holdings more profitable. He later erected a wooden depot alongside the railroad tracks in Wilton, with hopes of making it the headquarters for his mining and land sale operations. The building features a distinctive pagoda-like tower, which is perhaps reminiscent of Washburn’s travels and his exposure to East Asian architectural motifs. The independent short line was acquired by the Soo in 1904 and the depot served Wilton until 1970, when the line ceased operations. Today this building stands as the only physical reminder of Washburn’s railroad endeavor.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay
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Data

What's Nearby

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church
Molander Indian Village State Historic Site

Citation

Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay, "Soo Line Railroad Passenger Depot", [Wilton, North Dakota], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/ND-01-ML2.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of North Dakota

Buildings of North Dakota, Steve C. Martens and Ronald H. L. M. Ramsay. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015, 132-133.

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