Mena KCS Historic Depot

The Historic KCS Depot Visitor’s Center & Museum is located in the heart of downtown Mena, Arkansas at the intersection of U.S. Highway 71 and State Highway 88 otherwise know as Mena Street.

The Mena Kansas City-Southern Depot is a historic railroad station on Sherwood Street in the center of Mena, Arkansas. It is long single-story structure, built out of brick, with a tile roof and Mediterranean styling. It was built in 1920 by the Kansas City Southern Railway to designs by the company architect, T. C. Horstmann, and is one of the most elaborate surviving early-20th century railroad stations in the state. It is now owned by the city, and houses a local history museum, the Mena Advertising & Promotion office, and the local chamber of commerce The restored Kansas City Southern railroad station houses a museum full of historical displays, railroad memorabilia, and art exhibits, including a room dedicated to Arkansas natives Lum n’ Abner; the Ouachitas series paintings by local renowned artist Monta Black Philpot which one hung in the national rotunda; and a restored 1939 Dodge police car. A full service visitor’s center operates out of the depot offering rest and respite to travelers just as it did in its heyday. Information on local lodging, dining, and recreation are available. Community minded volunteers act as hosts and hostesses at the Center. The Depot Center is a focal point for community activity and a gateway to the Talimena Scenic Byway.

1896, when Mena emerged as a railroad boomtown. The town of Mena marked the halfway point on the Kansas CityPort Arthut route, and was therefore set up as the central division point. As such, it was

necessary to have adequate buildings. A depot, machine shops, and a roundhouse were all constructed as welll as stock yards and pens. materials to restore the dilapidated old depot into a modern facility that is a credit to the city. The building is now valued at $250,000 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Since the building reopened to the public on July 12, 1987, visitors representing most states and many foreign countries

have registered.

The Depot was the focal point of Mena and served as a social and economic center as well. As the years passed and Mena moved away from the roughness of the boom-town era, criticisms began to arise over conditions in the Depot. Complaints against the “inadequate accommodations” and “unsatisfactory conditions’ led to the construction of the current depot which was dedicated November 8, 1920.

The relationship between Mena’s city fathers and the Kansas City Southern Railroad began to sour over the early years of the 1900’s until the ralroad’s central division was moved to Heavener, Oklahoma in 1910.

In 1985, a group of Mena organizations began trying to save the building that was so significant to the history of the city. The deed to the depot was officially transferred to the city on February 6, 1986. Dozens of volunteers donated more than 7,500 hours of labor to the renovation of the building. Still others donated cash and “A Ouachita Portrait,” a widely exhibited collection of local personalities by Monta Black Philpot, is now on permanent display at the Depot.