Cleveland, Texas, has always had a love affair with trains. Ever since the community was formed in 1878, the two rail lines that run through it have been instrumental in its growth and development.
At one time, the City’s two railroad depots served as hubs for passenger travel, cargo transportation and military shipments during World War II.
The Southern Pacific Railroad line, traveling north and south, operated a depot that was located near the Texan Theatre, at the intersection of San Jacinto and Houston streets. That old depot was torn down many years ago. At one time, four passenger trains a day passed through Cleveland, many also carrying bags of mail and parcels for local residents.
The Santa Fe Railroad, an east-to-west rail line that was acquired by Burlington North in 1995, intersects with the Union Pacific line at the aptly named Junction Ave. on the north end of Cleveland.
In 1905, Santa Fe Railroad built a railroad depot known as “Tower 202” at Junction Ave. It stood at that location for many years before it was relocated to N. Manthey Street next to the present-day location of City Glass.
The late Cleveland photographer Moon Young captured an image of a flag-draped casket of a Cleveland soldier being carried from the depot after he was killed in France during World War II.
In a Jan. 6, 1981, article from the Cleveland Advocate, a now-defunct newspaper that served the Cleveland area for a century, plans to close the railroad depot were shared with readers.
“The Texas Railroad Commission announced Dec. 30 (1980), the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad has applied to the Commission for permission to close agency stations serving some 18 cities across the state. Included in the request by Santa Fe is the Cleveland station.” The article goes on to say that the depot would remain open as a regional rail yard and there were no plans at that time to dismantle the turn-of-the-19th-century depot.
Local barber and former Cleveland ISD trustee Burnest Mitchell, now 89, moved to Cleveland in 1954. By then, he says that the railroads had mostly stopped operating passenger trains as automotive transportation had become a more popular way of traveling.
In the years that followed, the Santa Fe Railroad Depot exchanged hands and was used for private businesses. Mostly recently, one end of the building – a section known as the ticket office – was used by Tommy Harris for his “Tommy’s Frame Shop.” On the other end – the warehouse – the late sculptor Bill McGlaun operated a studio for many years.
When these businesses closed, the building sat idle for many years. When City Glass acquired the property a few years ago, the City of Cleveland purchased the railroad depot with plans to move it to a new location and restore it to its former glory. However, the project became cost-prohibitive, so in February 2023, the long-shuttered railroad depot was sold to Tomi-ko Bowers and son, Jacob Bowers, of Cleveland.
On the day it was slated to be moved, the railroad depot suddenly changed hands again, and the move was postponed. Cleveland native Juan Cuellar and his family purchased the rail depot from the Bowers, which Cuellar said was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Cuellar said he plans to restore the depot and create a steakhouse where people can come enjoy both the history of the depot and a fine meal.
On Thursday, Aug. 10, as the ticket section of the historical depot was moved from Manthey St. several blocks away to its new location on the corner of S. College Ave. and E. Houston St., Cuellar anxiously walked alongside the building. For the Cuellars, the depot purchase, moving expenses, cutting off and reinstalling its roof section, and purchasing the property where it is being moved has already come at a considerable expense. He now plans to invest much more of his financial resources into the building.
The move on Thursday by Faulkner House Moving of Cleveland was for just the ticket booth section. Next week, there are plans to move the warehouse section to the same corner lot on S. College and E. Houston. Once those plans are firmed up and the proper permits have been acquired to move the building, Bluebonnet News will share this information with readers.
Note: Mary Merrell Cohn, head librarian for Austin Memorial Library in Cleveland, assisted with research for this article.