{"nrhp_refnum":"84000317","name":"Mobile and Ohio Railroad Depot","other_names":["Illinois Central Gulf Railroad Depot"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1701 Walnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Murphysboro","county":"Jackson County","state":"IL","lat":37.764062452000076,"lon":-89.34211030599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-11-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture","Communications"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick and sandstone railroad depot at 1701 Walnut Street in Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois, built in 1888 for the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, with a small Railway Express building to its south.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the depot is architecturally unique among surviving depots on the old M & O line and in southern Illinois, making it regionally significant. It is locally significant as a reminder of Murphysboro's turn-of-the-century economic and social life, when the railroad shops employed over 500 people and the depot was a focal point of the community. It is also one of a shrinking number of turn-of-the-century resources downtown.","narrative":"Built in 1888 for the Mobile & Ohio Railroad, this two-story depot at 1701 Walnut Street in Murphysboro, Illinois, is made of red smooth-faced brick set on a rock-faced local sandstone base. A projecting west bay and south bay give it a distinctive form, and a hip-roofed canopy shelters the north and west platforms. Inside, the first floor held an agent's office, racially segregated waiting rooms and a baggage room, while the upper floor housed dispatchers and railroad officials. The depot anchored a commercial area known as The Levee and served the region's fruit and produce shipping. It survived the 1925 tornado that destroyed the nearby shops. Bus service began in 1938, passenger trains ended in 1958, and the depot closed in 1977. It is described as the largest depot between St. Louis and Cairo and one of only a few survivors of 22 on that line. A probable architect was local builder Philip N. Frew.","period_of_significance":"1888-1977","architect_builder":"Philip N. Frew (probable)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Closed in December 1977 after over 90 years of continuous use; the form lists condition as good and altered, with the Railway Express building's doors and windows boarded up.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.775564-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/8930/28893021/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/84000317.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000317/0357bdef3f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84000317/0357bdef3f-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M%26O_depot_in_Murphysboro.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:M%26O_depot_in_Murphysboro.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893021","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphysboro_station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15712953"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/jackson-county/mobile-and-ohio-railroad-depot-84000317/"}