Historic Depot Buliding To Get Upgrade

Posted on Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The Depot building in Madison will be getting a face lift. Monday, the Madison City Commission reviewed a Stimulus grant the City has received from the South Dakota Department of Transportation. The grant will be for $158,700 and the City will contribute $5,000 to the project.

The upgrades to the Depot building will include; roof repair, restoration of brick masonry, painting and wood replacement, concrete repairs to the foundation and sidewalk, insulation, and resurfacing of the parking lot. Also included will be a new sign for the building, outdoor planters and tables, as well as edging work.

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad was first extended west from Flandreau to Madison in 1880. It was the construction of the railroad that C.B. Kennedy used to entice residents of Old Madison, located about 5 miles west, to move to his homestead. Construction of the historic Depot building was authorized in 1905 at a cost of $17,000. The building is on its original site, and has been unaltered since 1905, except for a brick arch that stood to the west of the building, which was destroyed in 1968 when a rail car jumped the track and crashed into the weigh master’s office and much of the arch. The Depot building is currently occupied by the Madison Chamber of Commerce, the Madison Railroad Depot Museum, as well as the LAIC offices.