On Friday, KCS' Southern Belle business train joined in the celebration of the dedication ceremony for the restored KCS Depot in Stilwell, Oklahoma.
The train pulled into the restored depot for the 14:00 CDT dedication carrying state and local leaders who rode the train from Westville to Stilwell. Retiree, Bill Thompson, who was the final agent at the Stilwell Depot before it closed, also attended the celebration.
The KCS Depot restoration is the result of a collaboration between the City of Stilwell, the Adair County Historical and Genealogical Association and the KCS Depot Restoration Committee, and made possible by grants from the State of Oklahoma and Kibois Cookson Hills Community Action. Owned by the City of Stilwell, the restored depot will house offices for the Adair County Historical and Genealogical Association, the Stilwell Chamber of Commerce, Kibois Cookson Hills Community Action and will include a museum and visitors' information center.
The one-story, brick KCS Depot was built in 1916 for passenger and freight rail service. KCS donated the depot and the land it sits on to the City of Stilwell on February 22, 1971, following the retirement of the Southern Belle passenger trains in 1969. Today's Southern Belle business train is beautifully restored and represents nearly three decades of passenger service. The three original Southern Belle trains were built for KCS in 1940 and for the next 29 years provided luxury travel between Kansas City and the New Orleans-Gulf Coast region.
Stilwell, Oklahoma was named for Arthur E. Stilwell, who in 1887 founded KCS. While the railroads of his day were building east and west, his vision was to build a railroad on a north south axis, creating the shortest land route for transporting agricultural products from the heartland of the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico for export. While Stilwell saw the completion of his railroad to Port Arthur, TX, he also dreamed of reaching the Port of Topolabampo in Mexico, the shortest land route to the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 100 years later, through KCS' investment in Mexico, Stilwell's dream was fulfilled.
