Endangered:

Stafford Santa Fe Depot

Built in 1911, the Stafford Depot is a historic ATSF train depot located in Stafford, Kansas.  While many passenger depots have been abandoned in these smaller towns, some have found new life as museums or even residential homes.  This is the hope for the Stafford Depot, but time is running out.

          The Historic Preservation Alliance, Inc. (HPA) in Wichita has been a part of the efforts to save this building since 2016 when they initiated communications with BNSF.  Things started to solidify in 2018 between the two parties as HPA collected and provided all of the documentation requested by BNSF.  The main focus of these communications was the donation of the depot to HPA and BNSF’s concern and need for a plan and proof of funds for a fence around the building to provide a barrier between the train tracks and any members of the public.  HPA swiftly provided this plan and the proof of funds.  The City of Stafford even went so far as to re-secure the building to deter vandals and prevent further environmental deterioration of the inside as a form of civic pride, without any help from BNSF.  Then communications went cold.

          While efforts to ensure its preservation have been going on for about 20 years, it’s uncertain if the project will be successful.  BNSF doesn’t seem to want to work in a fair and reasonable manner with preservationists.  A similar situation has occurred with the depot in Florence, Kansas.  Around this time last year, the Florence Depot Preservation organization thought that their dreams of preserving one of Kansas’s 250 remaining depots were about to come true.  BNSF had finally agreed to donate the building.  Things, however, were not as they appeared.

          Bob Rusk, head of the Florence Depot Preservation Project, stated: “At the time, everything about the donation of our depot seemed to be falling into place.  However, BNSF sent two contracts.  One donated the depot to us.  The second was a contract to lease the land on which the depot sits.  That contract was insulting.  BNSF would lease us the land for 10 years with possible renewal at their discretion and on their terms, which might be decided sometime in the future.  Also, the lease contract could be terminated at any time in the 10 years with some relatively short notice and any improvements we had made had to be removed.  Meanwhile, we needed BNSF‘s approval in advance to do anything to the depot.”

          “The facts and circumstances are the same for the Stafford Depot, making it impossible to sign these disingenuous contracts and actually save these buildings.”