Santa Fe Passenger and Freight Depot, Shafter California

Tweet

The Shafter railroad depot (Santa Fe) is an excellent example of the "Standard combination frame depot". Designated Number 2-A, it was designed by Santa Fe engineers in February of 1911. The word "combination" means use for freight, passenger and express service. The basic design of the Shafter depot was modified in May of 1913. This design modification is reflected in the architecture of the depot, which was finally constructed by Santa Fe employees in 1917.

Shafter, then but a colony, had been the center of much farming activity in the past decade. This activity produced crops that provided the catalyst for the building of a depot. Although the colony, then the newest in Kern County, had been quite prosperous in its few years of existence, the coming of a railroad depot encouraged new growth as the town expanded around the depot. In fact, after a 10-year period of growth, the office portion of the depot was expanded to accommodate the high influx of commerce conducted at the facility.

The building was abandoned by the railroad in July of 1978. The Santa Fe Railroad declared the depot surplus property, and in December, 1979, the building was turned over to the Shafter Historical Society, with the stipulations that it must be removed from railroad property or be destroyed, and that $500,000 liability insurance be taken out to cover the workers removing the building. At the time, the Shafter Historical Society consisted of a small but determined group of citizens who felt that the depot had great potential as a historic building. After eight months, the Society was able to raise over $20,000 and arranged to move the building to donated property, which was situated three blocks down the rail line. Before any removal of the structure, the Historical Society contacted the Kern County Museum regarding the proper removal and placement of the building at the new site. Before moving the building, a concrete pad, like that of the original, was poured at the new site. At the completion of the new pad, on March 15^th, 1980, the building was removed from the original site and relocated at 150 Central Valley Highway, where it will serve as a home for the Shafter Historical Society Museum.

Building Description

The Santa Fe Railroad Depot in Shafter had its basic design completed in 1911, though, with modifications, it was not constructed until 1917. The building is a two-story "Standard Combination Frame Depot Number 2A" and is 24'3" wide, 114'3" long, and 25'8" high.

The building construction consists of a wood frame, one-inch by seven-inch tongue and groove wood siding outside, slate roof, concrete floor, except for the freight room, which is 2"x 12" wood plank. The outside porch, enclosed in 1938, originally had columns supporting the roof. Though not presently included on the building, the columns are to be replaced in their original location.

The loading docks that were on the southwest and southeast sides of the depot were removed when the building was scheduled for relocation. These are to be replaced in the future when the interior restoration work has been completed. The south end dock and loading ramp that were removed in 1965 by the Santa Fe, will also be replaced at that time.

In July of 1927, the ticket office expanded into the waiting room area to accommodate a heavier load of freight traffic. The outside door, between the waiting room and the porch, was also relocated at this time.

June of 1938 brought major changes to the inside of the depot. The entire waiting room was converted to office space, and the outside porch was enclosed and turned into a waiting room. At the same time, the restrooms were removed and relocated 33 feet from the depot building. The brick chimney was also removed and replaced with a flue pipe. In 1962, the temporary Western Union office was removed from the depot, and a new restroom was constructed inside the waiting room.

The new location of the building is some three blocks north of the original location, and it is situated in a similar position as it originally stood. A new concrete floor and foundation were poured before relocation. It consists of a 24-inch footing with a 4-inch floor under the baggage room, ticket office, and waiting room. This was poured over a 2-inch sand bed. Another 4-inch concrete floor is to be poured under the porch. The interior of the depot is 3/4 inch by 3¼ inch wood siding with a center groove. This siding runs to the horizontal in all rooms except the office and waiting room, which has a mixture of vertical and horizontal siding, and the freight room, which has 2 x 6 boards horizontally up to 5 feet, then single wall construction. The upstairs has a unique pattern of construction as the walls in the rooms on the east side of the building are horizontal siding, and in the west rooms, the walls are vertical siding.