Missouri-Pacific Depot, Newport Arkansas
Newport was little more than a small town until the arrival of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad (later the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, then the Missouri-Pacific) in 1873. Jacksonport, located approximately five miles to the northwest, had been the county seat by virtue of its location on the White River, which had been the principal transportation route through the region. With the railroad's arrival, however, and its decision to lay its tracks on a more direct route between Missouri and Little Rock, the significance of Jacksonport soon waned and Newport became the natural choice for the county seat. Newport, though not situated directly on the White River, was close enough to be accessible to it while also being a regional railroad hub; this status only increased with the construction of a branch line to Batesville in 1882 that connected with the main line just two miles north of Newport, in Diaz.
By the first decade of the twentieth century, the city of Newport had grown sufficiently to require the construction of a new railroad depot on what had now become the Missouri-Pacific Railroad line. The current building was constructed thereafter, and served this community as a passenger and freight depot throughout the period up until and through the Second World War.
The Missouri-Pacific Railroad constructed this depot in 1904 as part of its plans to expand its passenger and freight railroad system throughout the nation.
Building Description
The Missouri-Pacific Depot in Newport is a single-story, brick and stucco masonry passenger and freight railroad depot constructed in 1904. The depot was originally constructed in the Mediterranean style that was popular for this building type during the first quarter of the twentieth century; however, the slate that covered the dual-pitched hip roof has since been replaced with composition shingles, an alteration that diminished its Mediterranean appearance. Remaining Mediterranean features include Italianate brackets and quoin-like brickwork around the windows. A three-sided telegrapher's bay extends above the roofline forming a wall dormer and is covered by a hipped roof. A single, tall brick chimney rises through the southern slope of the roof, near the western end of the building. A continuous, cast concrete foundation supports the structure.
The continuous southern wall facade is accessed via four original single-leaf door openings (two of which are now boarded-up) and lighted with a total of twelve one-over-one wood sash windows interspersed among the entrances (some of which are now boarded-up). A single, gabled roof vent is placed just to the west of center. The northern elevation is dominated by the large, projecting telegrapher's bay with its hipped roof. To the east, four single-leaf entrances and a large freight door access the wall, while four windows light the rooms behind. To the west, four single-leaf entrances flank a central, freight door. The telegrapher's bay is lighted with three symmetrically-placed windows on the front and a single-leaf door on each of the sides.
The eastern and western elevations are each lighted with two symmetrically-placed windows.
Exterior details are limited to the brick quoining around the doorways, the concrete water table and brick dado, the Italianate brackets that adorn the cornice around the entire structure, and the broad, spreading eaves that they ornament.
The building is currently used by the Union Pacific Railroad as offices and is in good condition.
View from northwest (1990)
