The Dixon Depot

Dixon Depot

Long before computers or smart phones, there was a world-wide-web.  It was called “railroad”.  Imagine a time when Dixon was connected to the whole world—by rail.  A ticket purchased locally at the depot could connect a traveler to destinations near or far. 

 The old depot has been gone for many years now, but we remember it in photos and stories. 

Dixon was settled around the railroad tracks, a settlement we are told that began in 1869 with the completion of the local line.  At the heart of the town was the depot. 

The depot was run by a station master.  Each day there were scores of passengers headed east or westbound attending to their business, shopping or travel interests.  The constant tap of the old telegraph machine kept Dixon in touch with the rest of the world by Morse code, long before video or text messages were even dreamed of. 

On the platform was a lot of smoke and steam from the old steam engines.  The conductor kept order and ensured everyone had safely boarded or disembarked.   I wonder how many times a day he announced “Dixon, D-I-X-O-N” to passengers…..

The mail was picked up and dropped off by the train.  Although Dixon was largely self-sustaining in those days, the train was the single most important connection to the outside world.   It brought commerce and prosperity to the community.

Most of the finest homes in town were located within view of the tracks.  As we now seek privacy, space, and quiet in the railroad era it was desirable to have a home near the tracks for the convenience of travel.  Also many kit homes or supplies for homes were shipped by rail.  Therefore, the closer you lived to the tracks, the less distance necessary to drag several crates that contained your new home to be constructed.

That was all so long ago, and it was a different time.  Although the train still runs through Dixon, the freight line lacks the romance of the old steam engines and passenger cars.    Other railroad towns have become ghost towns or no longer retain any rail charm.  However, Dixon remains that iconic place on top of a hill, at the end of a steep grade also known as the “Dixon Hill”.   The depot building may no longer remain, however the community that began 150 years ago endures.  The daily rattle of the freight trains serve as a reminder to us of how it all started.