Filed Under Dillon

Oregon Short Line Passenger Depot, Dillon

The Union Pacific Railroad entered Montana Territory via the Utah and Northern narrow gauge branch line in 1880. The newly platted town of Dillon, named for Utah and Northern president Sidney Dillon, stood ready as a stopping point between Utah and the mining town of Butte. By 1907, Dillon’s Oregon Short Line Depot was handling $1,000 a day in passenger and freight traffic. The old depot building, dismantled elsewhere and moved to Dillon in sections in 1880, was inconveniently located, “…dingy, dirty and absolutely unfit….” Dillon businessmen feared its wretched condition might encourage passengers to choose an alternate route. Mayor B. F. White secured the promise of a new depot from Union Pacific officials, thereby assuring the survival of this railroad-dependent town. On New Year’s night, 1908, townspeople christened their new depot, declaring it “…a credit to a town ten times the size of Dillon.” The Arts and Crafts style brick depot features quoining and banding of cast concrete, multi-paned windows, and wide eaves supported by wooden brackets. Its central presence enhances the architectural character of the community. Rail traffic dwindled in the 1970s and in 1989, the Union Pacific acknowledged the end of an era, transferring its depot keys to Beaverhead County Museum officials. The elegant depot, a splendid example of period railroad architecture, symbolizes Dillon’s roots.

Images

Oregon Short Line Depot
Oregon Short Line Depot Photo postcard, Oregon Short Line Depot, from the West, Dillon, Montana. [colorized] Published by Tribune Publishers Co., verso. Catalog information PAc 2013-50 Box 1-05 OSL Depot Dillon From West Color Source: Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT Creator: Unidentified Date: [no date]
Oregon Short Line Depot
Oregon Short Line Depot Photo postcard, black & white Oregon Short Line Depot, Dillon, Montana. Published by Bloom Bros. Co., Minneapolis, MN, verso Catalog information PAc 2013-50 Box 1-05 OSL Depot Dillon Source: Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT Creator: Unidentified Date: [no date]
Oregon Short Line Passenger Depot, Dillon, MT
Oregon Short Line Passenger Depot, Dillon, MT Looking northeast from Railroad Avenue. The freight warehouse is now the Depot Theater. Source: Montana Preservation Alliance Creator: Kate Hampton Date: Nov 2011
Untitled
Oregon Shortline Depot
Oregon Shortline Depot Photo of depot exterior. Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Tom Ferris, photographer Date: 30 August, 2021

Location

125 South Montana Street, Dillon, Montana | Public

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Oregon Short Line Passenger Depot, Dillon,” Historic Montana, accessed March 28, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/56.