Soo Line Railroad & Depot

Soo Line Railroad and Depot. . , In 1898, William Drew Washburn, a wealthy Minneapolis flour miller, railroad man, and U.S. Senator from Minnesota, purchased 115,000 acres of land along the line between McLean and Burleigh counties. He formed the Bismarck, Washburn and Great Falls Railway, which began grading tracks north of Bismarck in 1899. Tracklayers reached Washburn in 1901 and Underwood in 1903. The company operated its own freight and passenger trains and was known locally as the Washburn Road, until May 1904, when it was sold to the Minneapolis-based St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie railway, or Soo Line, which continued construction north to Max and from there, east and west, to Drake and Sanish, reaching Garrison in 1905. The Soo Line was eventually acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the line through Washburn is now operated by the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad, based in Bismarck. , To serve customers in Washburn, the Washburn Road initially built a small, shed-like station building. This was replaced in 1908 with a more attractive depot that featured the bell-cast roof. The old depot then became the freight depot and served in that capacity until 1927, when it was removed. The depot was donated by the railroad to the Garrison Heritage Foundation. In late 1972, part of it was moved at a cost of $18,000 to the Garrison Heritage Park. , Local rail lines eventually fell victim to changes in transportation. The U.S. Mail went to truck delivery and most other types of transportable goods began to be delivered by truck. Railroads cut down on expenses to meet the loss in business. These cuts included letting go of workers, some of whom had dedicated their lives to the tracks for decades.