Mendon volunteers breathe life back into historic train station

By Kimberly Ralphs

MENDON -- The city's old train depot is going to get a facelift, thanks to resident Paul Willie, who is spearheading an effort to restore the building.

Willie and other volunteers will restore the exterior to its original appearance so it can be used as a civic center or museum.

Willie said the depot was picked because it is "really the only historic public building left in Mendon."

Richard Watkins, a member of the Mendon Quality of Life committee, said the depot is historically significant because it was one of the first sites of railroad activity in Cache Valley when it was built in 1916.

Willie said the railroad made travel more convenient and was much easier than hitching up a horse and wagon, the only other method of travel available at the time. "Back in 1916, the railroad was everything," Willie said.

Willie said the railroad came of age at about the same time that cars were beginning to be used. The depot was in use for about 30 years before the railroad went out of business due to competition with automobiles.

The depot, located at 95 N. Main, is one of several depots in Cache Valley that served as a stop for the Utah-Idaho Central railroad, an electric rail line in the early 1900s. Since then, the building has been home to a host of uses including a post office, a restaurant, and most recently, Mendon's city offices.

"It's always been used in some fashion or other and fortunately it hasn't been butchered too badly," Willie said.

According to Willie, this will be the first restored depot in the valley. He said there are several depots around, but none are in as good of condition as the one in Mendon and none of them have been restored.

Larsen said that if it were made into a museum, the interior of the depot would be restored and would contain historical documents, artifacts, and photographs of the community.

Willie said he's worried that a museum wouldn't be used after the first few years. He said he favors turning the depot into a civic center so that it would get more use.

"Let's see if we couldn't make it a building we could use," Willie said.

Larsen agreed that the building would get more use as a civic center. He said that Mendon needs a facility where people can gather for parties, reunions and other events.

"We don't have a place where people can come together," Larsen said.

Larsen said that right now the only places to hold large events are the LDS churches. He said there are more citizens who are not LDS moving into Mendon and because they pay taxes, he feels an obligation to provide a place for them to hold events.

Though how it is used will determine what work is done on the inside, Willie said the restoration of the exterior will be the same. He said he and other volunteers will do most of the work and hire specialists for the technical work. Willie said work on the depot will begin in the spring and be finished within a year or so.

Willie said the city has committed $20,000 for this project and he will raise or donate the rest. He said he hasn't tried to raise any money yet because he wants to have more concrete plans before asking people to donate.

Willie restores old buildings for a living and has restored the home of James G. Willie, his great-great-grandfather and the leader of the Willie handcart company that came to Cache Valley in the early 1800s. He said that the 1865 rock home is "probably the oldest restored rock home in Cache Valley."

The depot restoration is one of the projects under the direction of the Quality of Life committee, an independent committee that Larsen began to improve the quality of life and preserve the city's heritage. This restoration is a part of the committee's commitment to preserve the city's heritage, according to Larsen. He said they are also currently restoring some old cabins and other possible future projects include building an elementary school and an old country store.

NW
MS