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Great Northern Depot, Bemidji

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Beltrami County History Museum (Old Great Northern Depot, Bemidji)

Old Great Northern Depot, Bemidji, the current home of the Beltrami County History Museum. Photo by Jeremiah D. Erickson, 2019.

Bemidji’s Great Northern Depot—James J. Hill’s last commissioned depot—celebrated its grand opening in January of 1913. Replacing the first Great Northern Depot, a wooden structure built in 1898, this impressive brick and sandstone building provided space and modern amenities to accommodate the needs of the growing community.

The wooden depot had been enlarged in 1901. In 1903, electricity was added, and in 1905, a baggage room; but the old depot was still insufficient. By 1907, the Bemidji Commercial Club had started a push for a new station. The old depot was too small, not well ventilated, and couldn’t handle the traffic that was coming through Bemidji.

In June of 1911, pleas went out to the Great Northern Railway to build a new depot. Governor Adolph Eberhart and Louis Hill, president of the railway and son of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, visited Bemidji. The Bemidji Commercial Club treated them to dinner at the Markham Hotel and took them by boat around Lake Bemidji. Afterward, local businessmen rode with Louis Hill in his private coach on the train for further discussion.

In January of 1912, James J. Hill, chairman of the board of the Great Northern Railway, came to Bemidji. He spoke at the Armory on Bemidji Avenue; the Commercial Club entertained him at the Markham Hotel and escorted him around the city.

On April 25, 1912, a headline in the Bemidji Daily Pioneer announced: “Hill Promises a New Brick Building.” Work was to start immediately. Plans that had been drawn up the previous year were re-examined because they called for an expensive “Permanent Type A depot, usually built for towns of 20,000 or more.” But when Hill visited Bemidji, the first thing he noticed when he stepped off the train was an impressive new brick Soo Line and Minnesota & International Railway depot just down the tracks to the east. “We will build a depot and a good one,” he said. The original plans were approved for a 217-foot-long, 7,000-square-foot building with a red brick and sandstone exterior.

Most of the work on the depot was completed before the end of 1912. Thousands of people toured the depot for its grand opening on January 16, 1913. The center of the building housed the ticket office, and the east end had baggage rooms and a freight room. On the west end were modern ladies’ and men’s rooms. Each waiting room had settees, and the ladies’ room had several rockers.

A small, windowed projection on the south side allowed views of the tracks from both directions. All wires entered the new structure from the rear, so as not to distract from the aesthetics of the building.

Hill returned to Bemidji by train for the grand opening and spoke at a banquet at the Markham Hotel that evening. He told the crowd he’d taken special care to see to the depot’s completion since it would be his last.

The depot served passengers until the late 1950s and continued as a freight depot until the mid-1980s, when it was closed, boarded up, and abandoned. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, but without a tenant, the building was damaged by water seepage and vandals and dirtied by pigeons, bats, and rodents. The Great Northern Depot had become a liability to the railroad company. Orders were sent from Burlington Northern to demolish the building.

Thanks to Roger Mackenroth (a railroad superintendent who put the demolition orders on hold), the hard work and fundraising of a devoted Historical Society Museum Committee, and a state capital bonding bill for $650,000, the building was saved and renovated at a cost of nearly two million dollars. It reopened as the home of the Beltrami County Historical Society in October of 2000.

Instead of meeting the fate of a wrecking ball, Bemidji’s Great Northern Depot became a repository for the history of which it is a part.

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© Minnesota Historical Societ
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  • Related Resources

Bruns, Sue. "Days of the Depot." Bemidji Pioneer, January 7, 2018.

Bruns, Sue. "From History Maker to History Keeper in 105 Years." Bemidji Pioneer, February 4, 2018

“Hill Promises a New Brick Building.” Bemidji Daily Pioneer, April 25, 1912.

Hoyum, Wanda. “Changing Face of Beltrami County.” Depot Express: Beltrami County Historical Society Newsletter, April/May, 2001.

Mackenroth, Roger (railroad superintendent). Interview with the author, January 1, 2019.

“‘No Country is Better,’ said Hill.” Bemidji Daily Pioneer, January 17, 1913.

“Original Depot Plans to Stay.” Bemidji Daily Pioneer, July 24, 1912.

“Pile Driving for New Depot Started.” Bemidji Daily Pioneer, August 3, 1912.

“Preserving Our Heritage for Common Good.” Bemidji Pioneer, December 10, 1998.

“Will Ask Hill to Build Depot Here.” Bemidji Daily Pioneer, June 8, 1911.

Related Images

Beltrami County History Museum (Old Great Northern Depot, Bemidji)
Beltrami County History Museum (Old Great Northern Depot, Bemidji)
Great Northern Depot, Bemidji
Great Northern Depot, Bemidji
Great Northern Depot, Bemidji
Great Northern Depot, Bemidji

Turning Point

In January of 1912, James J. Hill comes to Bemidji, sees the newly opened stone depot for the Soo Line and Minnesota & International Railways, and assures local residents that a top-of-the-line brick structure will be built as the new Great Northern Depot. It would be Hill’s last commissioned depot.

Chronology

1898

The first Great Northern Depot of Bemidji—a wooden structure—is built.

1901

The depot is enlarged to accommodate growing rail traffic.

1903

Electricity is added to the structure.

1905

A baggage room is added to the depot to accommodate more passengers.

1907

The Bemidji Commercial Club starts the push for a new station that can handle the passenger and freight needs of the station.

1911

In June, pleas from the community go out to the Great Northern Railway to build a new depot, and Louis Hill, president of the railway and son of James J. Hill, visits Bemidji.

1912

James J. Hill, chairman of the board of the Great Northern Railway, visits Bemidji and approves the building of a new brick depot.

1913

The community celebrates the new depot with a Grand Opening Ceremony on January 16.

1959

The last passenger services to and from the depot end.

1988

The Great Northern Depot of Bemidji is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1999

The depot is saved from demolition and restored after much lobbying and fundraising. It becomes the home of the Beltrami County Historical Society and museum.

2000

The Beltrami County Historical Society hosts a grand opening in October.