Brownwood celebrated the 100th birthday of the Depot Civic & Cultural Center Friday morning with a reception, proclamation from the mayor, visits of railway workers of the past, and a surprise guest.
The Martin and Frances Lehnis Railroad Museum and Brownwood Chamber of Commerce hosted the Depot Centennial Celebration which commemorated the opening of the Santa Fe Railway Depot back in August of 1910. The facility originally was used as a passenger train depot, but has been re-purposed today as a center for weddings, art exhibits, meetings, and other celebrations. A crowd of more than 100 came together to learn and reminisce of times gone by and enjoy a new exhibit from the railroad museum.
Laura Terhune, Executive Director of the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce noted the many benefits the Depot offers to the community.
“We see many happy occasions here at the Depot. From our perspective, probably it’s the single most wonderful assets this community has because it’s a place we can meet, gather and celebrate,” said Terhune. “But it also has a long heritage and that is part of what we are going to talk about today.”
Mayor Stephen Haynes added to the comments about the Depot as a treasured asset and how fortunate Brownwood is to have such an architecturally beautiful and functional building. He gave a little history of the architect, Jarvis Hunt of Chicago, who was nationally famous for designing & building other depots in cities such as Dallas, Kansas City, Omaha and even extravagant golf clubs.
“You can look at the Depot and…tell the quality of the architecture because of how beautifully it has been restored,” said Haynes. “In the mid 1990s, a group of citizens came together to renovate it, private individuals who have made sure this facility was and will be preserved for a long time to come. It’s a tremendous blessing to our community.”
Some attention was also focused on the adjoining building to the Depot which was formerly a Harvey House restaurant. Haynes said that he recently researched the Harvey Houses and gave some history about their founder and owner, Fred Harvey. Haynes said that he believed Harvey to be the “pioneer of modern franchise”. Harvey came up with the concept that as people came through a town, they would want a quality place to eat and sleep. He was the first real chain operator of hotels and restaurants in the country.
“For us to have a Harvey House, in a town of this size, is really tremendous,” stated Haynes.
The Harvey House has also been re-purposed and now houses the offices for the Brownwood Area Chamber of Commerce, Brownwood Economic Development Corporation, and the Gordon Wood Hall of Champions Museum. The Depot and Harvey House facility is the only restored Harvey House and depot in the state of Texas, as other cities have either lost one or the other from fires or other reasons.
“We are extraordinarily lucky to have this facility and this is a great day for us to be able to remember that 100 year anniversary,” stated Haynes.
The special guest of the day was Dorothy Jean Walker Cason, a “Harvey Girl” from the 1940s. She shared special memories of her time living in Brownwood and working at the Harvey House, calling it a “wonderful ride” working for Fred Harvey. When the Harvey House closed in Brownwood, Cason transferred to Kansas City to work in the Harvey House there until it eventually closed.
“I enjoyed living in Brownwood… Brownwood is a wonderful place,” stated Cason with a smile. “I loved Brownwood…Brownwood has always been home to me.”
Cason began working at the Harvey House in 1940 at the age of 16 and worked as a waitress and cashier during her time there.
Pictured above are (from left to right), Mary Irving, Curator of the Lehnis Railroad Museum; Dorothy Cason, former Harvey Girl; Mayor Stephen Haynes; and Laura Terhune, Brownwood Chamber Director. Mayor Haynes reads the Depot proclamation.
See our photo slideshow and video of the event below.
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