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Background
In the face of continued opposition from the Gould management, the CO&G made a decision to build a third railroad bridge across the Arkansas River at Little Rock, along with a belt line surrounding the city on a route which eliminated the need to share stations or other facilities with the Iron Mountain. The Choctaw bridge would cross the river near the existing LR&M shops in Argenta, entering Little Rock east of downtown. Belt line trackage would circle south of the city before curving back north, crossing the Iron Mountain tracks just west of Union Station, then continuing westward along the Arkansas River toward Perry County.
The City of Little Rock welcomed the impending arrival of the Choctaw, closing McLean street to provide right of way easements in the vicinity of East Second, East Third, and East Fourth streets. This area opened the southern approach to the Choctaw & Memphis bridge, and the contract for bridge construction was let on March 21, 1899. In September 1899, the C&M purchased the old Little Rock Infirmary property on Second Street, between McLean and Byrd, soon converting that structure into the general offices for the railroad. Additional land was secured for freight and passenger stations, and for railroad yards and servicing facilities needed to complete the terminal.
Freight Depot
In the meantime, the C&M moved into their new headquarters (1007 East Second Street) in early November, and the river bridge was completed several weeks later. On December 10, 1899, the Choctaw began operating through trains between Memphis, Little Rock, Booneville, McAlester, Oklahoma City and Weatherford, still without benefit of formal freight or passenger stations in Little Rock. A temporary wooden depot had been hastily erected on a site just south of the Choctaw passenger station to serve Little Rock passengers, and freight traffic was handled at the former LR&M yards in North Little Rock. Site preparation for the new freight and passenger stations continued, along with construction of the East Second Street overpass.
By mid-December 1899, the foundation of the freight depot had been completed, and work was underway on the building itself. Construction of the passenger station lagged behind, with the basement area still being excavated in early January 1900. The Choctaw's freight agent and clerical staff moved into the office portion of the freight station in early March, and freight deliveries to and from the new station began on April 9, 1900, after the structure had been completed. When the freight station opened, the first floor of the Choctaw passenger station had not yet been completed; the passenger station would not be ready for occupancy until August.
Function and Design
The Choctaw freight station was constructed of pressed red brick, highlighted by intricate arched brickwork and stonework around doors and windows. The overall building dimensions are 40 feet wide by 215 feet long, with the front 40 x 40 section being two-story to accommodate offices on both floors. A door, located on the west side of the second floor, provided access to an elevated walkway leading to East Second Street. East Second Street was elevated on a stone retaining wall in front of the station as part of the overpass crossing the Choctaw mainline. A 15 foot loading platform surrounded the building, shielded from the elements by a substantial roof overhang which was supported by wooden brackets set into the brickwork. An adjacent covered platform extended south approximately 100 feet behind the station.
The rear 40 x 175 section of the building served as the actual freight warehouse, with a series of vertical sliding doors allowing ready access to the loading platform on both the wagon (east) and rail (west) sides of the building. Windows on the south exposure of the building were barred for security, a common practice to make the freight storage area more secure. The interior construction of this portion is quite unique, featuring long wooden roof trusses with iron rods bolted through the woodwork to stabilize the trusses, in a manner similar to that used for railroad truss bridges. It appears that 40-foot one-piece timbers were used for the ceiling joist component of the truss, with other timbers carefully fitted as rafters. The entire arrangement allowed the roof to be supported only on the exterior walls, with no interior vertical supports which would have impeded the flow of freight carts inside the building. Despite supporting a heavy slate roof for many years, there is no sign of sagging in the 40-foot cross timbers, even 102 years after their placement -- a testament to the engineering design of the era.
The freight station was initially separated from the Choctaw passenger station by 12 tracks. Six tracks, adjacent and just west of the freight station, were used to primarily hold cars destined for loading or unloading at the station or other nearby industries. The next four tracks were utilized for switching both freight and passenger trains, and the westernmost two tracks were mainline tracks, located adjacent to the Choctaw passenger station in direct alignment with the river bridge.
Subsequent Usage
Rock Island ownership brought some advantages, including greater traffic growth because the larger carrier was better able to compete with the Missouri Pacific/Iron Mountain - the other railroad serving most of Arkansas. Within a few years, increased freight traffic made the Choctaw freight station too small, and in 1911 the Rock Island opened a new, substantially larger freight station on the northeast corner of East Fourth & Rector. It was initially reported that the Choctaw freight station would be torn down to make way for additional tracks, once the new freight station was in operation.
In actuality, the Choctaw freight station remained intact, and by 1913 had been leased to Reaves Transfer Company for use as a storage warehouse. Reaves Transfer, successor to Polk Transfer Company, operated a drayage and transfer service utilizing 50 wagons and 75 men. The proliferation of trucks forced most transfer companies to evolve into moving companies or disappear, and the reduced need for warehouse facilities caused the former Choctaw station to again change tenants.
By 1939, the building had been leased to Fisher Cement & Roofing Company. Fisher occupied the second-floor offices and stocked building materials in the former freight area, while the Rock Island used the first floor office for equipment storage. May Supply Company, a wholesale building supply business, leased the freight station from the Rock Island in 1944. A long term lease was signed March 1, 1947, and soon thereafter an annex area was constructed on the east side of the station to house the May Supply offices. In January 1961, "Mayco Warehouse Company" purchased the freight station and an adjacent garage (probably the open air shed south of the station). May Supply began to make numerous external additions to the west side and front of the building soon thereafter, essentially cocooning the original structure. This process obscured most of the building from public view by the mid-1960s, but also helped preserve the structure by protecting it from the elements. The entire complex was occupied by the May Supply Company into the late 1990s.
Historical Significance
The railroad freight station was a center of commerce in larger cities, much as the rural flagstop depot was a transportation and communication hub in smaller communities. During the peak years of railroad service, four large brick freight stations served Little Rock, and a fifth freight station was located nearby in North Little Rock. In addition to the Choctaw freight station on the south side of East Second, the Missouri Pacific-Iron Mountain's inbound freight station was located on the north side of East Second Street, across the street from the Choctaw, and the MP-Iron Mountain outbound freight station was located nearby, at East Markham & Byrd. The close proximity of these stations resulted in more or less constant wagon and truck congestion on East Second Street, contributing to the Rock Island's decision to relocate to East Fourth & Rector in 1911, rather than enlarge the Choctaw station. A fifth station, operated by the Cotton Belt, was located just west of the Main Street bridge in North Little Rock. Both Missouri Pacific freight stations were razed in the late 1960s, the Cotton Belt station was razed in the early 1970s, and the Rock Island's "newer" 1911 station was razed in March 2001.
The significance of the Choctaw station is more than just the last surviving freight station in Little Rock; it is the last surviving example of the brick, multi-story freight station in Arkansas. In addition to the freight stations in Little Rock, similar structures were once located in Pine Bluff, Fort Smith, Texarkana, Newport and several other important rail junctions. By the late 1950s, railroads were exiting the less than carload freight business, turning smaller volume shipments over to truck transport. Little effort was made to adapt the large, rambling freight stations to other uses, and they were usually razed by the railroad to eliminate the expenses of maintenance and property taxes. Had the Choctaw freight station not been leased to a private business, it would have likely suffered the same fate.
In terms of specific railroad history for both Choctaw and Rock Island railroads, these companion structures represent the only surviving terminal facilities of the Choctaw from Memphis into Oklahoma, and they represent the last significant structures of the once extensive Rock Island System in Arkansas. Several smaller Rock Island depots survive, most notably Argenta (North Little Rock) and Lonoke, but nothing of the magnitude or architectural design of the two Choctaw stations in Little Rock.
November 21, 2001 - Postscript
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