Barry, IL: Depot

James Holzmeier posted
Barry, IL Wabash depot; unknown date or photographer

This was on the route that split off at Decatur, IL to bypass St. Louis to access Kansas City directly and avoid the high rates charged by the company in St. Louis that owned all of the railroad bridges across the Mississippi.

The picture has to be early 20th century because there is a buggy on the right. Note the grain elevator on the left. Also note how many people are at the station for a small town. Back then the station was the social center of the town. People would go there when a train arrived even if they were not travelling or meeting someone who is travelling because that is where the mail and packages came. And because many people just like to talk to each other. The depot was to the town like the water cooler or coffee pot is to an office.

1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

If you look at a modern map, the route goes north of it along a river grade. So I found a 1939 image that shows the route went north of town rather than through it. So, unlike many towns in Illinois, this town must have already existed. The railroad came to it even though it required steeper grades than the optimal route.

Andy Zukowski posted
Wabash Railroad Depot in Barry, Illinois. C.1910