Union Station (Brinkley)
Encyclopedia
The Lick Skillet Railroad Work Station Historic District is a historic district
in Brinkley, Arkansas
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1992.
It includes the former Brinkley Union Station located at the site of the former crossing of the Rock Island and Cotton Belt
railroads in Brinkley, Monroe County
in eastern Arkansas. In addition to the Rock Island and Cotton Belt, the station also served branchline trains of the Missouri Pacific
.
It also includes Rusher Hotel
, also known as Great Southern Hotel.
Named passenger trains which stopped at Brinkley Union Station include:
The station and nearby railroad hotel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
as Lick Skillet Railroad Work Station Historic District and Rusher Hotel
.
region. Displays include railroad artifacts, mussel
diving, jazz musician Louis Jordan
, military artifacts, wildlife displays, household artifacts and local history. The grounds include a train depot originally located in Monroe, Arkansas
, a sharecropper’s house, and a Southern Pacific Railroad
caboose
.
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...
in Brinkley, Arkansas
Brinkley, Arkansas
Brinkley is the most populous city in Monroe County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,940 at the 2000 census.It is located almost exactly half-way between Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee; the city has used the slogan "We'll Meet You Half-Way" in some of its advertising...
that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1992.
It includes the former Brinkley Union Station located at the site of the former crossing of the Rock Island and Cotton Belt
St. Louis Southwestern Railway
The St. Louis Southwestern Railway , known by its nickname of "The Cotton Belt Route" or simply Cotton Belt, was organized on January 15, 1891, although it had its origins in a series of short lines founded in Tyler, Texas, in 1870 that connected northeastern Texas to Arkansas and southeastern...
railroads in Brinkley, Monroe County
Monroe County, Arkansas
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population is 8,149. The county seat is Clarendon, while its largest city is Brinkley...
in eastern Arkansas. In addition to the Rock Island and Cotton Belt, the station also served branchline trains of the Missouri Pacific
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
.
It also includes Rusher Hotel
Rusher Hotel
Rusher Hotel, also known as Great Southern Hotel, is a hotel built in 1915. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.It is included in the NRHP-listed Lick Skillet Railroad Work Station Historic District....
, also known as Great Southern Hotel.
History
Brinkley's Union Station was constructed in 1912 as a joint station to be utilized by all railroads passing through Brinkley. Cotton Belt passenger train service through Brinkley ended in 1959 and the last Rock Island passenger train stopped at Brinkley on November 10, 1967. Rock Island trackage west from Brinkley to near Little Rock was abandoned and dismantled in the mid-1980s.Named passenger trains which stopped at Brinkley Union Station include:
- Choctaw RocketChoctaw RocketThe Choctaw Rocket was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad between Memphis, Tennessee, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, and Amarillo. Initially designated as train No. 51 and train No...
- Lone Star
- Morning Star
The station and nearby railroad hotel are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
as Lick Skillet Railroad Work Station Historic District and Rusher Hotel
Rusher Hotel
Rusher Hotel, also known as Great Southern Hotel, is a hotel built in 1915. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.It is included in the NRHP-listed Lick Skillet Railroad Work Station Historic District....
.
Central Delta Depot Museum
After sitting abandoned for a number of years, Brinkley Union Station has now been restored and is operated as the Central Delta Depot Museum, a local history museum run by the Central Delta Historical Society. Exhibits focus on the natural, social, agricultural, and cultural history of the Arkansas DeltaArkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta is one of the five natural regions of the state of Arkansas. It runs along the eastern border of the state next to the Mississippi River. It is part of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, itself part of the Mississippi embayment...
region. Displays include railroad artifacts, mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
diving, jazz musician Louis Jordan
Louis Jordan
Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...
, military artifacts, wildlife displays, household artifacts and local history. The grounds include a train depot originally located in Monroe, Arkansas
Monroe, Arkansas
Monroe is an unincorporated community in Lee and Monroe counties, Arkansas, United States. Monroe is located at the junction of U.S. Route 79 and Arkansas Highway 39 east-northeast of Clarendon. Monroe has a post office with ZIP code 72108....
, a sharecropper’s house, and a Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
caboose
Caboose
A caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...
.