It’s a bird, it’s a plane…it’s a building? In 1975, a train depot was trucked through town to Tenino City Park. This historic stone building is now home to the Tenino Depot Museum.
Train Depot Purchased by City of Tenino
The depot was actually the third in Tenino. The first, a wooden building, was located near the entrance of City Park. Northern Pacific Railroad Company decided to build a second station to the west of town, attempting to force the community to move to a new, convenient location (at least for the Railroad). Tenino refused to move.
The company relented and built a new depot on McClellan Street in 1914. Serving the new Point Defiance cutoff, it was built of Tenino Sandstone, the city’s most famous export. Handling freight and passenger service, the depot became a local landmark.
But times change. With train travel decreasing, the company decided to close the depot in 1961. Boarded up, it became covered in graffiti. By 1973 the newly consolidated Burlington Northern Railroad company wanted to get rid of the station. They offered the depot to the city of Tenino for $1. The only catch was that the city needed to move the building within six months, at their own expense. Easy, right?
South Thurston County Historical Society Founded
Moving the depot, however, would prove to be a herculean task. With 18-inch-thick stone walls, the building was literally heavy as a rock. Initial estimates for disassembling the building and reassembling it stone by stone at another site were $30,000.
After debating using the depot as a community center or municipal offices, the city decided that the historic depot should become a museum.
To spearhead efforts, the city appointed a museum board led by Don Keithahn. The Evergreen State College (Olympia), Washington State Historical Society (Tacoma) and the State Capital Museum (Olympia) served as consultants. Also consulted was Walt Scheel who had supervised the depot’s construction in 1914. He doubted that the building could be moved without serious damage. Luckily, he would be proved wrong.
The Board formed the South Thurston County Historical Society in fall 1973. With State Capital Museum curator (and later director of the Washington State Historical Society) Dave Nicandri as president, the organization’s mission was to share local history with the public.
The Tenino Museum Fund
One of the society’s first acts was to donate $800 to the Tenino Museum Fund. Fundraising proved harder than anticipated and Burlington Northern extended their six-months deadline.
The project received a $35,000 grant from the National Park Service and $5,000 from the Washington State American Bicentennial Committee. In anticipation for the 1976 American Bicentennial celebration, Tenino became an official Bicentennial Community. The depot project took on a bicentennial theme.
The final $20,000 was raised by private contributions. Local organizations held fundraising events. The Tenino Lions Club donated money from their Old Timers Music Festival while the VFW Auxiliary hosted a game night. The Tenino Garden Club held a plant sale. Tenino Junior High School sponsored a “Candyland Dog and Pony Circus.” In 1974 the depot’s stones were put up for sponsorship at a “block sale.”
Moving a Stone Train Depot in Tenino
By summer 1975, it was finally time to get the depot, now on the National Register of Historic Places, to its new home in City Park. Ground was broken in July. It was ultimately decided that moving the building was more practical than dismantling it. Shaughnessy and Company of Auburn won the bid.
Tenino’s annual 1975 Labor Day festival was renamed “Depot Days” in honor of the move. Its main event was the depot move on Saturday, August 30. The building was lifted off its foundations on August 28 and parked near McClellan Street, waiting for the big day.
Crowds gathered to watch the building slowly but steadily pass through town. The truck started rolling at 8 a.m. Around 9 a.m. Highway 507 had to be closed for 20 minutes as the building passed down McClellan and across the Highway to Sixth Street.
The building was trucked down Sixth Street and Park Avenue with no problems, though at time the eager throng got in the way of the movers.
The most challenging (and time consuming) part came near the Park itself, when the building needed to cross the railroad track and go up the hill into the Park. By then (3 p.m.) it was raining. The movers were able to park the building next to the Quarry House and decided to wait until September 3 to finish, weather permitting.
Monday came a big celebration. Local veterans, the Olympia American Legion Band, and the Navy drill team led a parade. Burlington Northern officially handed the deed to the depot to the city. Mayor Hedden handed a wooden check to Shaughnessy and Company.
There was a contest to guess the correct weight of the depot. The correct answer is 322 tons. Little Deanna Coleman won last prize. She estimated 550 billion pounds, because it was so big.
It would take another few years of work to get the depot ready for visitors. The Tenino Depot Museum opened in 1979 and was formally dedicated during Oregon Trail Days in July 1980. It is owned and operated by the South Thurston County Historical Society.
The 50th anniversary of the move will be celebrated at the annual Oregon Trail Days, held every fourth weekend in July. From its opening to today, the Tenino Depot Museum offers a window into the fascinating history of South Thurston County.
