Sanderson, TX (SND)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$19,147

Station Ridership

FY 2011

344

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Sanderson is a flag stop, which means that the Sunset Limited/Texas Eagle only pauses to pick-up or discharge riders if they have made a reservation; otherwise, the train continues through town. Passengers wait near the abandoned Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad (GH&SA) depot, one of the oldest buildings in town. Constructed in 1882, the wooden clapboard structure lies low to the ground, and features a two story central tower topped with a hipped, seamed metal roof supported by deep bracketed eaves. The trackside façade has an extensive porch that runs almost the entire length of the building, providing much needed refuge from the Texas summer sun.

After the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) acquired an interest in the GH&SA in 1881, its standardized depot designs—easy to replicate and assemble—were introduced in Texas. Sanderson received a SP Common Standard Depot #3 that was constructed in parts in California and then shipped to Texas by rail for on-site assembly.

The original structure was slightly smaller than what currently stands, as a 50 foot long addition was added to the west end of the building around 1910 to accommodate an expanded passenger waiting room, ticketing area, baggage facility, and offices for the Railway Express Agency and Western Union. Presently coated in white paint, the station is probably best remembered for its early 20th century color scheme. In an attempt to create visual cohesion across its system, the SP undertook a campaign to paint its buildings a creamy yellow accented with brown trim.

In more isolated locales, it was common for the depot to include a basic apartment for the station master; at Sanderson, it was on the second floor of the tower. The east end of the building contained a lunchroom—the “Beanery”—while the opposite side was dedicated to freight storage. In the days before dining cars became common, it was essential for the train to make a scheduled stop at a depot lunchroom. Passengers got off the train, had a quick but pleasant lunch, and reboarded to continue their journeys. The restaurant also served as a community center where residents socialized over a meal or a cup of coffee. In the early days, the town lacked its own newspaper, but the station’s Western Union telegraph office often posted news clips on a blackboard for all to read.

The landscape around Sanderson is dotted with burned rock mounds called middens, once used as shelters by early American Indians. Near Myers Spring, a popular watering spot, a cliff face contains extensive pictographs including images of a church, deer, a large bird, and people dancing and hunting. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation dating to prehistoric times, such as arrowheads. Later artifacts include bits of reed matting and pieces of baskets. These lands were also traveled by the Comanche American Indians who would move south from the buffalo hunting lands in what are today Kansas, Oklahoma and north Texas to raid Spanish colonial settlements in northern Mexico.

Originally known as “Strowbridge” or “Strawbridge” when the railroad first began surveying and building in the area, the town was quickly renamed Sanderson in honor of the engineer in charge of construction. Located on one of the few flat stretches of land in the railroad right-of-way between El Paso and San Antonio, the town became a primary candidate for selection as a division point, which would include a depot and roundhouse.

Charley Wilson, a U.S. soldier from nearby Fort Concho, was assigned to protect the railroad surveyors. Early realizing the area’s importance to the railroad, Wilson wisely bought the flatland and therefore the GH&SA had to pay him for the use of his property. He then proceeded to plat his property and sell off lots. As a division point, the town would gain over a dozen railroad related structures, including a crew foreman’s home, engineer’s bunkhouse, and a large crews’ bunkhouse.

With only 11 or 12 inches of rain per year, agriculture has never been a prominent industry in West Texas, but Sanderson was and is an important center for grazing livestock, including cattle, horses, polo ponies, burros, sheep, and Angora goats. The last two are of the greatest importance to the local economy—at times ranchers have shipped over a million pounds of wool and mohair to textile mills across the country. The area’s desert heritage and lifestyle are celebrated each October during the Prickly Pear Pachanga, a gala festival to celebrate fall, the beginning of the hunting season and of course the prickly pear—earning Sanderson the title of “Cactus Capital of Texas.”

The Southern Pacific Railroad remained an important force in Sanderson until 1995, when it moved its crew change terminal out of the town; this led to the abandonment of the depot and the other railroad structures. With its extensive railroad heritage quickly deteriorating, local citizens formed the Sanderson Heritage Association (SHA) to advocate for the rehabilitation of the depot and adjoining buildings when it was discovered that they were on Union Pacific’s demolition list due to high maintenance costs (Union Pacific absorbed Southern Pacific). In 2001, the SHA received a $450,000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation to aid in restoration efforts. In order to receive the funds, Terrell County—of which Sanderson is the county seat—had to agree to certain stipulations. Unfortunately, total estimated costs, including future upkeep, were considered prohibitive and officials decided to decline the funds. Shortly thereafter, the SHA ceased operations.

Successful campaigning led Preservation Texas to name the Sanderson Depot to its Most Endangered Historic Places list in 2005. Proponents of purchasing and rehabilitating the buildings suggested that they might become part of a complex to include a community center, railroad and ranching museum, visitors’ center, and a bed and breakfast. The restoration of these structures, some of the oldest in town, would be linked to a revitalization effort focused on Downie Street, Sanderson’s main thoroughfare.

In 2010, a member of the Sanderson Chamber of Commerce reinitiated discussions with the UP over the depot’s future. The railroad agreed to donate the building to an appropriate group if it was moved from its present site. A new advocacy group, the Sanderson Depot Association (SDA), was formed to oversee this renewed rehabilitation effort. After further talks with the UP, the railroad stated that all plans for the depot must be submitted by October 2011. If no plan or funding is in place by the deadline, the building will most likely be demolished.

SDA has applied for non-profit designation and is currently raising funds to move the depot to a nearby lot donated by a local resident. Guy Jackson of the Houston-based architectural firm of Jackson & Ryan has volunteered to draft rehabilitation plans, a grant writer has volunteered to assist in the search for funds, and bids for the move are being accepted.

Hopes for investment in the depot and downtown remain high, for the people of Sanderson have faced great adversity in the past only to rise to the challenge and start anew. In 1965, a great flash flood took the town by surprise, killing 27 residents. It destroyed homes, businesses, and highway bridges, and twisted the railroad tracks—nearly half the town was seriously damaged. Yet with the help of nearby towns, Sanderson rebuilt and the federal government constructed a system of dams to control future flooding.

Those interested in Sanderson’s rail heritage and rich history can visit the Terrell County Memorial Museum, which contains railroad memorabilia, period clothing, cowboy and ranch implements, tools and pioneer furnishings, as well as other archival material relating to the area.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage service at this facility. Sanderson is served by tri-weekly train service.