Historical Guthrie Santa Fe Train Depot
OPRA Event Hosted by PICO
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History: “A Walk Into the Past” The town of Guthrie has a rich history. The town was first named "Deer Creek", but was later changed to "Guthrie" after a Judge of the District Court in Topeka, Kansas. In the 1800’s, the railroads were booming and the first tracks reached Guthrie on February 8, 1887. A train depot had been constructed in Guthrie prior to its opening. Housing inside the depot was constructed to accommodate the track men during the construction of the railroad. This was common for most of the Santa Fe Depots. The Guthrie Santa Fe Depot was completed on April 16, 1889 and the first train brought an estimated one thousand people to Guthrie. The following ten trains brought nine thousand more new homesteaders. The Guthrie Santa Fe Depot was the only railway into Oklahoma territory and the only direct connection with the outside world for the chaotic days of 1889. The original depot was only a small red frame building located on the west side of the tracks. It wasn’t until 1903 that the present day Guthrie depot was completed with a two-story red brick station which housed passenger service, mail service, news stands and living quarters which were for employees of the new Harvey House Restaurant. The Harvey House Restaurants became well known for the Santa Fe Depots. They were started by a man named Fred Harvey who at the age of 15 left his home country of England for the United States. Upon arriving in the States, Fred Harvey resided in New York where he began working in the restaurant business. Since the Civil War made the restaurant business a hard one in which to stay afloat, Mr. Harvey changed careers and moved westward to work for the railroads. He never forgot his love for the restaurant business and while traveling for the railroad, he realized that improvement was needed in the food area. Mr. Harvey had an idea for a depot restaurant, but was turned down by the Burlington Railroad before he approached the Santa Fe. It wasn’t until 1870 in Kansas, that Mr. Harvey met Charlie Morse, President of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railways. It was then that Mr. Harvey was given the opportunity to start his own restaurant and share his dream of good food at reasonable prices throughout the Southwest. In agreement with Mr. Harvey, the Santa Fe shared the building costs and gave Mr. Harvey space on its trains to ship food, equipment and supplies. At one time, there were eighty-four Harvey House Restaurants established at different railroad depots. The average Harvey House Restaurant seated approximately forty-eight people around a large horse-shoe shaped counter. The ground floor of the depot, housed a kitchen, a bakery, a news stand and a gift shop. The second floor consisted of living quarters for the manager and his family as well as bedrooms for the single employees. With the beginning of the Harvey House Restaurants, Mr. Harvey found it difficult hire help. The West was very young and not yet attracting the type of ladies that Mr. Harvey wanted to hire to serve in his restaurants. It was then that Mr. Harvey placed ads for workers in Eastern and Midwestern newspapers that read: “Wanted, young women of good character, attractive, and intelligent, 18-30.” His ad attracted many young women who were brave enough to venture out West in hopes of a better way of life. Fred Harvey made sure his workers were trained to high standards for prompt and courteous service. They were also trained to serve hundreds of customers in an allotted twenty minutes which was the length of the time a train would need for servicing every four hours. The working girls were given the name "Harvey House Girls" and were closely supervised by their manager or Manager's wife. They worked hard eight hour shifts and were paid $17.50 per month plus tips, room, board and train passes. Mr. Harvey insisted on strict curfews for his girls and upon their agreement for employment, asked them not to marry for at least one year. The girls wore matching uniforms which consisted of long sleeved black dresses with an Elsie collar, black shoes and stockings. They were furnished a wrap around apron that was so stiffly starched it had to be pinned to their corset. For many of these young women, the change to working at a Harvey House was a
golden opportunity. Most were looking for a husband and the chance to start a family of their own. They were given the chance to travel farther West by working at one Harvey House and saving money while waiting to catch the next train that would take them to the next Harvey House and deeper into the unexplored West. It is estimated that more than 5000 women married and settled in the West as a result of the Harvey Houses.
“The Present” This one-hundred-year-old depot has not been destroyed by age. As a matter of fact, it has been listed on the National Registry of Historical Places. Our OPRA group discovered this place first as a casual dining restaurant called "Artie's" which is located within the train depot in the original location of the first Harvey House. The restaurant's style has changed a bit since Mr. Harvey owned it, but the atmosphere and food are still wonderful. Our group was discussing the historical architecture of the building and commenting on the different interesting aspects the building held. We commented on how we would like to conduct an investigation of the old historical building, so we contacted the owner. A week later, we were able to meet with the owner who agreed to let us do a full investigation of the depot with an open invite for our group to come again. The owner graciously gave us a grand tour of the entire depot and we were amazed at how age had not destroyed its beauty. The main rail station lobby has been turned into a large open area where the owner rents out the room for parties and social gatherings. The upstairs is currently not being utilized since it is in the process of being remodeled. The two basement areas are much as they were one hundred years ago with one even having a boarded up old coal shoot and an old coal furnace. Modern day electrical wiring, heat, air, security, etc. has been added to this location. On top of the grand tour and initial investigation, our group was allowed access into the old train cars sitting outside the depot on a dormant track. The other two sets of tracks are in active use and are located about twenty feet outside of the depot's north side door. The train cars that were investigated date back to 1915 and 1935 and were used for Bucklin & Santa Fe Rail Roads as well as Kansas & Dodge City. This investigation was really fun and interesting and OPRA looks forward to our future follow up investigations there. Keep checking back for updates on the infamous Guthrie Santa Fe Depot! Date:
Time:
The Team:
Conditionals:
Equipment:
Sweeps: Train Cars
Interior Sweep 12:59am--(Entry Room)
1:02am--(Hall by Foyer)
1:05am--(Dining Room)
1:11am--(Ballroom)
1:21am--(East Corridor by Staircase)
1:25am--(North/South Hallway)
1:28--(Upstairs Area For Central Hallway)
1:30am--(South West Bedroom)
1:33am--(South East Bed Room)
1:36am--(North West Bedroom)
1:39am--(North East Bed Room)
1:42am--(Upstairs Bathroom)
1:45am--END OF SWEEP 2:24am
2:34am
3:24am
3:34am
Data Collected:
This location is an ongoing research site. Please check back in the next few months for more updated information. |
Photos
the Depot in the 50s
Fred Harvey (Harvey House Restaurants)
Depot Before Restoration
Depot - Present Day
Video Equipment
Quite Interesting Train Car
Historic PlaqueEVP's
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