Colma in San Mateo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
Old Colma Railroad Station
Depot Building
Circa 1863
Photographed by Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
1. Old Colma Railroad Station Marker
Inscription.
Old Colma Railroad Station. Depot Building. In 1870, Southern Pacific Railroad assumed ownership of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, which had originally been opened as an independent railroad in 1863. The second stop south of San Francisco, in what then was the center of the larger Northern San Mateo County area historically known as Colma was called the Schoolhouse Stop. The name for the station came from the nearby oneroom schoolhouse on San Pedro Road, the most recognizable landmark in the rural landscape at the time. Schoolhouse Stop was one of the twenty-one stops built between San Francisco and San Jose. In 1863-65, Southern Pacific constructed the passenger depot adjacent to the Schoolhouse Stop. The passenger depot was necessary to shelter passengers. The station was where the farmers and teamsters stopped enroute to San Francisco.
In 1870, Southern Pacific Railroad assumed ownership of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, which had originally been opened as an independent railroad in 1863. The second stop south of San Francisco, in what then was the center of the larger Northern San Mateo County area historically known as Colma was called the Schoolhouse Stop. The name for the station came from the nearby oneroom schoolhouse on San Pedro Road, the most recognizable landmark in the rural landscape at the time. Schoolhouse Stop was one of the twenty-one stops built between San Francisco and San Jose. In 1863-65, Southern Pacific constructed the passenger depot adjacent to the Schoolhouse Stop. The passenger depot was necessary to shelter passengers. The station was where the farmers and teamsters stopped enroute to San Francisco.
Location. 37° 40.931′ N, 122° 27.368′ W. Marker is in Colma, California, in San Mateo County. It can be reached from Hillside Boulevard near F Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1500 Hillside Boulevard, Daly City CA 94014, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in California’s San Francisco Bay Area and on the Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
sectionheadg>1. The Stop in Colma The stop in Colma was at first called the Half Moon Bay Road Stop. This was near Rail Road and Washington Streets. A small depot was built about 1864. On October 12, 1870 the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad was absorbed into the Southern Pacific, controlled by the “Big Four” – Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. The Colma Stop was now called School House Station Stop because the only building near by was the school house. There had been just a platform, loading & unloading freight until then. Passenger service continued with 21 stops between San Francisco and San Jose. The train averaged 700 passengers per day, cost $2.50. Source: Colma History Museum.
— Submitted April 27, 2009.
Photographed by Karen Hellyer, March 23, 2002
3. Old Colma Railroad Station
Prior to restoration.
Photographed by Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
4. Old Colma Railroad Station
Photographed by Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
5. Old Colma Railroad Station
Photographed by Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
6. Old Colma Railroad Station
Photographed by Syd Whittle, April 24, 2009
7. Old Colma Railroad Station
Photographed by Syd Whittle
8. Colma's Railroad History
Source: Colma History Museum
Credits. This page was last revised on November 15, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. This page has been viewed 6,022 times since then and 79 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 3. submitted on December 31, 2010, by Karen Hellyer of Berkeley, California. 4, 5, 6. submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 7. submitted on April 28, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. 8. submitted on April 27, 2009, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.
