Missouri Pacific Railroad Depot, Sylamore Arkansas

Date added: March 22, 2025

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

Permanent settlement in Izard County began in 1815 with the arrival of Jehoida Jeffery from southern Illinois. He settled with his family in an area known as Pine Bayou, approximately five miles up the White River from Sylamore, and his farmstead was the first permanent settlement between Batesville and the Missouri state line. As more people settled in the area, the settlement changed its name from Pine Bayou to Mount Olive, the name that it retains today.

Izard County was formed on October 27^th, 1825, as the result of a bill introduced to the Territorial Legislature by Jeffery, who served as a representative from 1824-1829. Land was added to the county in 1827 and again in 1828, but some of the area was removed after 1831, which gave the county its present boundaries.

The history of Sylamore is strongly linked to the community of Allison, just across the river in Stone County. Allison began as a trading post in the area that was already in business when the first settlers arrived in southern Izard County. Since Allison was frequented by trappers and fur traders in the area, it developed a rough reputation, and became known as a place where disputes were sometimes settled the way they were in the old west, either through gunfights or fistfights.

As Allison grew, it spread to the east bank of the White River where a logging camp was established to take advantage of the railroad line. Due to the rugged terrain in the area, the river and then the railroad were central in linking the area to other parts of the state. The railroad was also central in bringing about the development of communities, such as Sylamore, which existed because of the railroad line's presence in the area. As time passed, even though the two communities were linked by a ferry, they slowly became two separate entities. The separation of the two communities, even though Sylamore never incorporated, was finalized with the establishment of a post office in East Sylamore in 1905. The name was changed to Sylamore in 1930.

Ironically, the name of the community was taken from Sylamore Creek, which is located on the Stone County side of the river. The creek was named for a horse thief who terrorized the area for some time. Although he did elude local authorities for some time, he was eventually shot and killed in the creek near Allison that took his name.

The railroad line through Sylamore was constructed by the Missouri Pacific Railway, which came into existence in 1872 out of a reorganization of the Pacific Railroad Company. (The Pacific Railroad Company broke ground on their first line in St. Louis on July 4^th, 1851.) In 1879, the railroad came under New York financier Jay Gould's control and he developed a system extending through Colorado, Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. The Missouri Pacific Railway merged with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern in 1917 to become the Missouri Pacific Railroad. By the early 1980s, the Missouri Pacific had just less than 11,500 miles of track in eleven states, before it merged with the Union Pacific and Western Pacific Railroad companies on December 22^nd, 1982.

The surveying for a line through the Sylamore area began c.1887 when Jay Gould had a survey party look for a route from the Bald Knob/Batesville area to Carthage, Missouri. Although the exact route looked at is not known, a proposed line is shown, in the 1892 Iron Mountain timetable, from Cushman's (near Batesville) to Carthage generally on the south side of the White River. On February 8^th, 1901, the White River Railway was incorporated with the purpose of building a rail line from the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern line about two miles west of Batesville to the Marion/Boone County line via Independence, Izard, Baxter, and Marion counties. After more surveying of the proposed route, construction began on May 27^th, 1901, by starting to clear the right-of-way up the White River from White River Junction.

Considering the mountainous terrain that the railroad line was being built through, construction proceeded fairly rapidly. By October 1901 more than ten miles of the line had all of its grading, trestles, and masonry work finished, and the other aspects of the construction were also moving rapidly. Passenger service on the line was established between Batesville and Penter's Bluff (near Guion), a distance of twenty miles, on May 26, 1902, and extended a further 25 miles to Mount Olive on November 14^th, 1902. This would have included service to Sylamore. The entire White River line would not be finished until December 29^th, 1905.

Given the fact that passenger service was established through Sylamore on November 14^th, 1902, it is likely that the building was built in early 1902. Photographs of other depots along the line between Batesville and Carthage indicate that apparently standard designs were not used. Rather, each depot was different, and probably developed to meet the specific needs of the community and the railroad at a particular location. It is known that Sylamore was one of the more important stops on the line given the fact that it had a station agent/telegraph operator. E. B. Watts was the station agent at Sylamore in early 1925 and served in the position for many years.

Although the depots along the White River line, including Sylamore, were of different designs, the railroad remodeled the exteriors c.1940 so that they would have a more uniform appearance. The original wood siding on the buildings was replaced with a combination of weatherboard and asbestos siding, which the Sylamore depot retains.

By the late 1950s, especially after the introduction of diesel power on the line, passenger service demand steadily declined. In March 1959, the Missouri Pacific announced that it was going to suspend passenger service on the line effective May 11th. However, the ensuing protest, which had been spearheaded by Mountain Home lawyer Thomas B. Tinnon, caused the railroad to put its plans on hold. The following year, the Missouri Pacific again applied to the Interstate Commerce Commission to suspend passenger service on the line, claiming an annual loss of $175,000 to run the trains, and permission was granted. As a result, the last passenger train ran on the line on March 21^st, 1960. However, the line through Sylamore remains an active freight line today.

Although passengers stopped using the depot in 1960, it remained at its original location next to the tracks until c.1975. At that time, a family from Memphis began the process of moving the building with the intention of using it for a deer camp. However, for unknown reasons, the building was only moved to its current location, which was not intended as its final destination. It was purchased by the current owners in 1980.

Today, the Missouri Pacific Depot in Sylamore is the only remaining depot in Izard County associated with the White River line of the Missouri Pacific. Most of the other buildings associated with the line have been demolished.

Building Description

The Missouri Pacific Depot is located in the small community of Sylamore on the banks of the White River on the southwestern edge of Izard County. The rectangular building, which was built c.1902, rests on concrete block piers. It is sheathed in weatherboard siding on the bottom third of its facades, and asbestos shingles on the top two-thirds, which was installed c.1940. The hipped roof is covered with diamond-shaped asbestos shingles. The building presently sits about 150 feet from the railroad line, and was moved to its current location c.1975.

The Missouri Pacific Depot is located in Sylamore, Arkansas, a small town on the banks of the White River in southwestern Izard County. The building is essentially rectangular in plan with a telegrapher's bay on the south side facing the railroad line. The building currently rests on a concrete block pier foundation that was built when the depot was moved to its current location approximately 150 feet from the railroad line c.1975.

The wood frame building is sheathed in weatherboard on the bottom third of its facades, and with asbestos siding on the top two-thirds of the facades. The asbestos was installed c.1940 when the Missouri Pacific remodeled all of its depots on the Batesville, Arkansas, to Branson, Missouri, line. The depot is crowned with a hipped roof covered in diamond-shaped asbestos shingles.

The southern portion of the east facade is devoid of fenestration while the northern portion of the facade has a pair of wood-framed, double-hung, two-over-two windows. To the right of the pair of windows is a single wood-framed, double-hung, two-over-two window. The windows provide light into the passenger and ticketing areas.

The south elevation of the building is dominated by the large sliding door that provides access to the baggage area. The door is comprised of vertical wood planks with a large "X" on the top two-thirds that is separated from the bottom third by a large horizontal board. A circular sign displaying the logo for the Missouri Pacific Lines hangs above the doorway.

The southern half of the west elevation is also dominated by a large sliding door that provides access to the baggage area. Like the door on the south elevation, it is comprised of vertical wood planks with a large "X" on the top two-thirds that is separated from the bottom third by a large horizontal board.

The northern portion of the depot consists of the passenger area. It is dominated by the telegrapher's bay, which has a pair of wood-framed, double-hung, two-over-two window on the west side. A single wood-framed, double-hung, one-over-one window exists on the north and south sides of the bay. A single wood-framed, double-hung, two-over-two window is located just to the right of the telegrapher's bay, and a doorway is located just to the left of the bay.

The north elevation of the building is fenestrated by two wood-framed, double-hung, two-over-two windows.