The Rock Island Railroad depot is Pipestone's only remaining
depot. In the heyday of railroads there were four railways into Pipestone. The
26'x80' depot is constructed of cream colored brick, trimmed in Sioux quartzite.
There were separate waiting rooms for men and women. The wooden platform was
replaced by brick in 1906. The depot closed in the 1960's due to the decline in
rail
road usage. After sitting
empty for several years, Historic Pipestone Inc. acquired the depot in 1986.
Since that time the exterior has been restored with matching grants from the
Minnesota Historical Society. In February 1997 the building was sold to the
Native American organization, "Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of
Pipemakers."
Who’s Depot Is It?
This depot was built in the spring of 1890 and was a 26X80 foot building with a slate roof. It had two waiting rooms one for men and the other for women and was constructed by Burlington Cedar Rapids and Northern railway. It was sold to the Rock Island & Pacific railway in June 1902. In 1906 brick replaced the original wooden platform.
The depot closed in the 1960’s due to the decline of railroad use. But in 1970 the depot was reopened by St. Leo Catholic Church and was used for various Native programs. In 1974 the depot was the Spirit of Peace Indian Center, it served as a recreation and meeting place. In 1976 a group who made native crafts renamed it Featherstone.
The depot was placed on the historic registry in 1980 by Historic Pipestone who received money to begin restoration. Money ran out and the gutted building was purchased in 1996, by The Keepers of the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers. 50,000 dollars later, the work to raise money for restoration and upkeep of the depot still continues.
Why this Building?
This depot was instrumental in preserving the art of Pipemaking in Pipestone. Around the turn of the century a white business man set up a factory at the quarries to make pipes. Many pipes in museums and even some carried by spiritual people today were made in that factory. In fact very few American Indians continued the art, because of the US Governments policy to reeducate the savages and the outlawing of all ceremonial practices. In many cases the government sent people house to house collecting families clothing, ceremonial objects including pipes and had them burned as the families watched.
The Depot master at this depot liked Old Joe Taylor and allowed him to set outside the depot and carve. He was even allowed to board the trains and offer his art for sale to the passengers. So each summer this continued Joe would return to Pipestone to quarry, carve, and share pipemaking with the children at the Indian school, while in the winter he would return to Pine Ridge or Rose Bud to work as a missionary. Unlike most Dakota of his day Joe was a college graduate and a Baptist Minister. Thanks Joe you have helped many more people than you could have imagined. Although we do not know the name of the depot master we would like to thank him also for his kindness and openness in a time of prejudice and distrust.
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