Dear Depot,
Every year thousands of us walk past you without ever taking the time to stop and have a chat. You watch us play ball in Boardwalk Park. You hear our children laughing at the playground. You sit beside us through concerts, fireworks, and birdwatching. As the second oldest building here in Town, you’ve watched your surroundings along Main Street and Windsor Lake change from industry to leisure. Do you smile with us, or do you miss the days when sugar beets and ice exports kept the train tracks busy?
You were built in 1882 by the Greeley, Salt Lake, and Pacific Railroad. The Town of Windsor may not even exist if it hadn’t been for you! The railroad needed a halfway stop between Greeley and Fort Collins to connect the scattered farmers nearby and start our town. Thank you.
You hosted Windsor’s very first official party! It was a Christmas ball in 1884. Do you remember what music played when they danced in the freight room? Are any of the dents in the floor from that celebration? You watched so many things come in and out of this town by train! Sugar, flour, pickles, and ice going out and everything else coming in (even illegal liquor during prohibition, shhhh!).
What about those times when robbers broke in and cracked the safe? Were you scared, or did you laugh at them because our little station didn’t have anything of value in there!
Which station agent was your best friend? Was it Woodward, who organized the Christmas dance? Was it Mrs. DeMarr, the first lady to keep Windsor’s trains on track? Was it Otis Shinn who lost his arm right outside your window, but came back to keep you in check? There are so many notes that your old friends left on the walls of your freight room. Did you know that today these are some of our most important clues about your story? Even the one that says, “PUT ROLLERS BACK,” reminds us of the signs in our own break rooms that say, “DO YOUR OWN DISHES.” Every time we visit we see something new!
What did it feel like when the last station agent locked your doors in 1970? Were you sad that no more passengers or freight would move through your doors? Did you settle into retirement or were you sad as dust gathered and telegraphs no longer buzzed? Did you tremble when you heard rumors they wanted to bulldoze you!
Maybe you held your breath when you heard the community was organizing to save you! What did it feel like to be picked up and moved a quarter mile in 1975? Were you scared to leave the spot where you’d sat for 93 years? Maybe you were excited to journey to the other side of the tracks for the first time!
Have you enjoyed your career change? While trains no longer stop for you, thousands of people still pass through, this time to learn at the Windsor History Museum! You worked for 93 years as a train depot, and now you have been a museum for 50 years! I bet you’re excited for the new repairs, restorations, and exhibitions that will celebrate this milestone!
Depot, thanks for being part of our Town; we can’t wait to celebrate you!
Love,
Your Friends in Windsor
The Depot is currently one of six buildings that make up the Windsor History Museum, one of four historic sites managed by the Town of Windsor Museums. This year it will be exciting to celebrate the 50th Birthday of the Windsor History Museum alongside Colorado’s 150th and the United States’ 250th! Stay tuned for exciting events this year and visit the new exhibitions in the Depot this summer!