A last-ditch effort to save the historic train depot in Snyder is underway in Scurry County.
The Scurry County Historical Commission received word that the railway company which owns the Santa Fe Depot was to be torn down.
Paula Hatfield, a member of the commission, said the demolition was expected as early as Sunday night or Monday morning.
Preservationist groups from across the state, including representatives from Preservation Texas, joined Sunday evening for a rally in support of saving the depot. The building was listed on the Preservation Texas website as “endangered” in 2011.
The depot opened to passengers in 1911. It stopped service in the late 1960s, Hatfield said. The structure is one of four that were built in West Texas by Missouri architect Louis Curtiss.
“He built one in Sweetwater, Snyder, Post, and Lubbock,” Hatfield explained. “The one in Lubbock is gone and Sweetwater is gone. The two remaining are Snyder and Post.”
Hatfield said the kind of craftsmanship that Curtiss used while constructing the terra-cotta pieces block by block, is rarely seen nowadays.
“If the walls could talk what would they be saying right now,” Hatfield wondered.
The railway company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) apparently has not decided whether or not to demolish the historic site just yet.
“BNSF is evaluating our position,” said spokesperson Joseph Faust on Sunday.
“I just want our people in our state in our town to realize that there is definitely a story in this building that we need to bring to fruition, we need to save this building, we need to make sure that it’s here for another hundred years,” said Hatfield.
“Snyder is my home, and I’m going to do everything I can for Snyder, Texas,” Hatfield said.
Stay with EverythingLubbock.com as new details are released about the preservation effort.
