Vacant Passenger Train Station in Hazen AR Prior to Restoration

Rock Island Depot, Hazen Arkansas

Date added: January 01, 2025

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The Rock Island Depot in Hazen, Arkansas, was constructed in 1915.

The city of Hazen, located in Prairie County about fifty miles east of Little Rock, originated as a stop on the line of the first railroad in Arkansas, the Memphis and Little Rock. Beginning operation in 1853, this line was an important factor in troop and supply movements during the Civil War, and communities such as Lonoke, Carlisle, and Hazen grew up around fueling stations. Increased competition among rail lines in the late nineteenth century proved unfortunate, however, for the Memphis and Little Rock. The company had never been a financial success, due chiefly to frequent flooding which interfered with traffic over the eastern forty miles, and in 1900 the line was purchased by the Rock Island, Chicago, and Pacific ("Rock Island") Railroad. Rock Island also acquired and constructed other lines in Arkansas, becoming one of the major railroad companies in the state. Hazen remained a fueling stop on the Rock Island line between Memphis and Little Rock, but the community did not begin to grow and prosper until the introduction of rice farming to the prairie regions of Arkansas.

Incidental planting of rice in the prairie area had been going on since the later years of the nineteenth century, but in 1904 William H. Fuller of Lonoke showed the farmers of the region that it could be a moneymaking enterprise, producing the first profitable crop. From then until after the First World War the foundation of agricultural activity, now a mainstay of the Arkansas economy, was lain. Population grew rapidly and was encouraged by publicity campaigns of the Rock Island Railroad. These efforts were aimed chiefly at settlers in Illinois and Iowa who had recently migrated from Germany. Thousands of these people were drawn to Arkansas, starting such communities as Stuttgart in Arkansas County and moving into already-settled areas in Lonoke and Prairie Counties. The city of Hazen's position as a railroad stop proved to be advantageous during these growth years, and it became a primary nexus of transportation for the area, especially during the boom years from 1905 to 1920.

The expansion of agriculture on the prairie led to a decided increase in the rail traffic through Hazen. An article in a 1913 issue of the White River Journal entitled "Crop Movement Heavy" declared, "shipments from Hazen have increased so rapidly that the Rock Island and Cotton Belt Railroads are having difficulty in supplying a sufficient number of cars." The depot building at that time, a holdover from the Memphis and Little Rock which had been constructed shortly after the Civil War, was shared by the two railroads and soon proved to be inadequate for their transportation needs. Rock Island sponsored the construction of a new facility, which was completed sometime in 1915. Both shipments of crops and immigration into and through Hazen continued until 1920, when a sharp drop in the price of rice brought an end to the boom.

The Hazen Depot's design follows that of other Rock Island structures of the era, Craftsman/Mission with half-timbering and clay-tile roof. Although the freight area was removed earlier this year due to severe deterioration, the public area of the building, which represents the railroad's part in bringing immigrants to Prairie County, stands virtually unaltered.

The tracks have been pulled up and no trains come through Hazen today, and the town survives as a community of merchants and farmers. The rice industry has flourished on the Arkansas Prairie since after World War II, but the railroads have not. Rock Island has donated the depot to the city, and volunteers are now working to rehabilitate the structure for use as a tourist information center.

Building Description

The Rock Island Depot in Hazen, Prairie County, Arkansas, is similar to several other through-combination terminal stations constructed by the Rock Island Line in Arkansas. A rectangular brick structure sheltered by a gable roof sheathed in clay tile, it features wide overhanging eaves with decorative brackets. The north, south, and west elevations of the Hazen depot are banded by a brick course that reaches from the foundation to a concrete header four feet above the foundation. Above the header these elevations are stuccoed.

A freight storage area once stood at the east end of the building. This portion of the building was so badly deteriorated that it posed a safety hazard, and had to be removed. When the freight storage area was demolished, a formerly interior wall was left as the east elevation. This elevation lacks the brick course of the others, but it has been stuccoed to match the other walls and to protect the wall itself.

The main facade of the Hazen depot faces south to the railroad tracks and is parallel with the tracks. The facade is dominated by a central telegrapher's bay projecting almost to the edge of the station's eaves, which allowed the operator a clear view of the tracks. This bay projects upward through the main roof of the building and culminates in a gabled dormer. The south face of the bay contains a tripartite window arrangement, consisting of two narrow, four-over-one double-hung windows flanking a larger, eight-over-one double-hung central window. All three windows share a continuous sill which rests about midway between the depot foundation and the concrete header. The east and west faces of the bay each contain a tall, narrow, four-over-one double-hung window.

The gabled portion of the telegrapher's bay repeats the tripartite pattern of the first level, with two, two-over-one casement windows flanking a central, four-over-four stationary window. A molded cornice runs the width of the bay above these windows. Above this cornice, the gabled dormer wall is treated with decorative vertical timbering, that culminates in decorative molded rafters supporting the roof. A sign bearing the "Hazen" legend is located in this portion of the dormer.

On the western end of the south elevation, a tripartite window/door arrangement gives access to the white waiting room. Flanking the door are two eight-over-one double-hung windows, with sills about one foot below the concrete header. The areas below these doors are covered with wooden panels. The area above the door has a stationary transom with a vertically divided four-light arrangement. The door itself has a stationary, one-light window; its sill is even with those of the flanking windows.

The east end of the south elevation contains a door giving access to the conductor's room on one end, and access to the "colored" waiting room at the other, far east end. The door to the conductor's room has a large one-light stationary window, with a three-light stationary transom above. The door to the black waiting area, east of the conductor's room, features a large, one-light stationary window, with flanking four-over-one double-hung windows. A stationary transom with a vertically divided four-light arrangement is located above the door.

The east elevation contains no windows, as it was once an interior wall separating the black waiting room from the freight storage wing. Only the upper portion of the wall, in the gable, has any original decorative elements. This portion of the wall has vertical timbering and molded rafters similar to those in the south dormer.

The north elevation has a central projecting bay similar to the telegrapher's bay on the south side. The major difference in the north bay is that it is uninterrupted through two stories, rather than projecting through the main roof. The upper-story windows and decorative elements are identical to those of the south dormer. On the first level, the east and west faces of the bay each contain a tall, narrow, four-over-one double-hung window. The north face of the bay features a pair of centered, eight-over-one double-hung windows. All of these windows have sills resting on the concrete header.

The east end of the north elevation features a tripartite window, with one large eight-over-one double-hung window flanked by narrow, four-over-one double-hung windows.

The west end of the north elevation has another tripartite window, this one with a large, eight-over-one double-hung window flanked by slightly narrower eight-over-one double-hung windows. Both of the tripartite window assemblies on the north elevation have continuous sills located approximately one foot below the concrete header.

The west elevation features a centered tripartite window group, with a large, eight-over-one double-hung window flanked by narrow, four-over-one double-hung windows. This group of windows shares a continuous sill, located about one foot below the concrete header. Located about two feet above these windows is another, smaller, tripartite window group, consisting of two, two-over-two casement windows flanking a wider, four-over-four stationary window. Directly above these windows, a molded cornice with decorative brackets runs the width of the side. The gable decoration above this cornice is identical to that of the south dormer.

The interior of the building has eight rooms: two waiting rooms, four restrooms, the combination ticket/telegrapher's office, and the conductor's room. The white waiting room at the west end of the building has a half-vaulted ceiling. Both waiting rooms have wainscoting. The restrooms, two for whites and two for blacks, occupy the north center bay of the building. Each restroom contains a window of obscured glass. The ticket/telegrapher's office occupies the south center bay. There are three interior windows in the ticket/telegrapher's office, each with obscured glass. Access to the attic is located in this office. Directly adjacent to the ticket office, with access from the south exterior, is the conductor's room. The black waiting area occupies the eastern end of the building. It contains an internal brick chimney, north of center and flush with the east exterior wall. A hall and door separate the white and black waiting rooms and restrooms.