Restoration work resumes for Rock Island Depot in Perry

A new round of construction to restore the Rock Island Railroad depot in Perry, Arkansas is finally getting underway. At the same time, an attorney has been recruited to handle the paperwork needed to create a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which will oversee subsequent work and eventually operate the city-owned depot when it becomes a community event space and museum telling the history of the area and the railroad. 

$20,000 is being allocated for this latest phase of work that began on Monday, March 11 and is focused on the restoration of the original wood siding, and replacement where necessary with similar materials. We will also start fixing the original windows and doors to make the building’s exterior envelope weathertight. 

“We’re hoping that a total restoration of the outside will be possible,” said Buford Suffridge, who is leading the project. He had served as president of the Perry County Historical and Genealogical Society until it was recently dissolved due to declining membership. It’s not known how long this phase of construction will last.

Contractor Larry Cates and Perry Mayor Justin Crain have been purchasing needed supplies, offset by an in-kind donation of $500 worth of materials from Weiss Lumber in Perryville. A spike in the cost of building materials during the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the project timeline. While costs have been coming back down, the trade group Associated Builders and Contractors says materials are still about one-third more than before the pandemic began in 2020. 

Last year, the Perry County Quorum Court helped jumpstart our efforts by approving a $20,000 donation from the county. Beyond that, about $7,000 remains from a grant and individual donations received over the years. That $7,000 is being set aside for upcoming legal expenses and fees, though hopefully a large chunk of that will eventually also go toward actual repairs to the depot.

All grants and donations have been going through the nonprofit Perry County Historical Museum, but we were advised that attaining a separate 501(c)(3) designation for the depot would be beneficial, especially as we pursue additional grants and donations. 

This week, the contractor began building a ramp to one entrance which will be compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act specifications. Steps will be added to other doors. To provide power to the site, an account has been opened with First Electric Cooperative. Last week, a line was run to a new pole at the depot, with the meter loop costing $600. Having a box on-site was necessary as workers had previously been running extension cables from a nearby city water pumping station.

We’re also discussing when to place the vintage semaphore train order signal back in position next to the projecting telegrapher’s booth. Cates first wants to complete other work before pouring a concrete foundation to set it in. 

“I think we’ll have to wait until we see how much fill is going to be placed and where it’s going to be placed,” Suffridge said.

The depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Jan. 8, 2021, a month after being nominated by the state. This designation will allow us to qualify for some grants. 

The depot was built in 1918, replacing a smaller structure, and served a key role for the Rock Island as the midway point between Little Rock and Booneville. Being situated along a main line through the middle of the country, the passenger and freight station played an important role in transportation. After the bankrupt Rock Island was shut down in 1980, the depot continued to be used by the shortline Little Rock & Western Railway.

The campaign to save the depot was launched In 2017 after learning the Little Rock & Western planned to demolish it to make way for an expanded locomotive servicing shop. Since then, thanks to generous support, we were able to cover the cost of a house-moving company relocating the depot to an adjacent city-owned lot; we built a new cinder block foundation to place it on, and we added a new roof to protect the interior from any further deterioration. Much of the work was accomplished thanks to in-kind donations of labor and materials.

The depot has been getting regular treatment from a termite control company. No restoration work has been done to the interior, but an architect who went through the building with Suffridge and Preserve Arkansas Executive Director Rachel Patton in October 2020 found it to be structurally sound, which is attributed to it being constructed with old growth timber.

We recently completed a required title search of the property the depot sits on today. The land was sold to the city by the Rock Island for $500 in December 1970, according to a quitclaim deed. A water tank for steam engines once stood on the property. In 2018, the depot building itself was purchased by the city from the Little Rock & Western for a nominal $10.

A five-member board has been created to operate the nonprofit, made up of community leaders and myself — all very invested in this project and eager to one day see the depot again open to the public. The members are:

• Michael Allison
• Michael Hibblen
• Jimmy Middleton
• Tony Roark
• Buford Suffridge

The pandemic not only caused the cost of needed materials to increase, concerns about the safety of people getting together halted plans for events we had hoped to hold in the summer of 2020. We have also been unsure about the best way to move forward in fundraising. According to several people we’ve spoken with, the creation of the nonprofit should give us a boost. 

We are closing a GoFundMe account opened in 2018 that was initially intended only to cover the cost of moving the depot. A total of $10,390 was raised through 117 donations. Thanks to everyone who gave! There will eventually be new fundraising campaigns after the nonprofit is created, but for now, we’re wanting to see new work be completed.

“It’s evidence to the public that we’re serious about getting the depot restored,” Suffridge said.

Anyone who would like to donate now can send a check to the city, which has separate accounting for the depot. Be sure to clearly mark that the donation is for the depot project.

City of Perry
P.O. Box 36
Perry, AR 72125

I’ll add subsequent updates as warranted. We look forward to eventually bringing this historic building back to life with a new purpose.

UPDATE — SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2024: 

Before work begins on the siding, this past week Cates and his crew have been removing some of the interior of the depot that had been added over the years, so there won’t be challenges removing it later, after work to the exterior has been completed.

The condition of the flooring is similar to what was discovered when the roof was replaced in August 2020. There were multiple layers of shingling that had apparently been added on top of the original tin roof whenever leaks would develop.

“In one place there were five layers of flooring, and when they got down to the original [wooden] tongue and groove, some of it was in good condition. Apparently as termites damaged the floor, the railroad just put another layer over it,” Suffridge said.

In many ways, that seems similar to the overall approach by the Rock Island, which — given its precarious financial situation toward the end — deferred maintenance on equipment and track, doing the bare minimum to keep trains rolling. 

Suffridge has been speaking with Cates regularly as decisions are being made about how to proceed. One of the two chimneys had sunk, Suffridge said, “and they were afraid to try to raise it, so they are building the floor to match.”

He added, “Nothing is square, and in some places the wall is two inches off from top to bottom. It’s strictly a seat of your pants deal and we’re lucky to have someone who has experience in salvaging ill-built and damaged structures.”

With the latest discoveries, Patton with Preserve Arkansas wrote, “that is pretty typical in historic buildings — especially ones that weren’t necessarily well maintained over the years. There will probably be more surprises!” 

The five of us who will be serving on the soon-to-be-created nonprofit’s board are planning an organizational meeting in about two weeks. I’ll continue posting updates and photos as the project progresses.

UPDATE — THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024:

It’s exciting to see work on the depot progressing. Cates and his workers have begun replacing areas of the siding that had rotted and were not salvageable. The new wood looks similar to the design of the previous siding. 

As some of the interior is being cleared out, we’re learned more about the building, including what was original and what was added in later years as the needs of the depot changed or repairs were needed.

It’s apparent a wall was added or replaced a previous wall on the west side of the depot office. There is also a spot where a tiny bathroom had been. Some of these walls don’t have vertical studs and were very cheaply put up, possibly by railroad workers who were instructed to do the work but didn’t know much about construction. 

“It’s a work in progress,” Suffridge said. “We never know what we’re going to find when we take something off.” 

Hidden inside one of the walls were empty vintage beer bottles covered in grime. Railroads used to be notorious for some employees drinking on the job.

Perry County has provided a dumpster for the discarded materials, which is being filled with wall paneling, layers of flooring and other items that were not original and of value to the project. 

The wall at the controls for the semaphore signals had sunk, so the crew raised it back up to be level with the rest of the building. Inside that wall were many old wasp and dirt dauber nests. With the open at the top allowing insects to come and go, the depot, especially in later years when used only for storage by the Little Rock & Western Railway, likely had them constantly buzzing around.

As you can see in these photos, new support beams are being built where needed. That includes much of the flooring.The depot had a subfloor of what appears to be untreated wood, with the original tongue and groove flooring on top of that. Much of it was heavily damaged by termites, especially the northeast corner of the building where the main waiting room was located.

With new floor beams in position, the contractor asked Suffridge whether to put any kind of floor down in areas where the original floor can’t be salvaged. 

“We decided since he has things all leveled and no one will be inside, we’ll concentrate on the outside since it’s something people can see and decide on floor replacement later,” Suffridge said.

He noted that fortunately, the old beadboard flooring used in most areas of the depot is still available. The contractor also told him all of the windows can still be opened and will be reglazed. 

So far, this latest round of work has already cost about $5,000 — a quarter of what we’re allocating. The materials to hopefully replace the entire outside of the depot have already been purchased. You can learn more about the background of the project and read previous posts at the link below.

UPDATE — SATURDAY, MARCH 30, 2024

After three weeks of work, very solid progress can be seen to restore the outside of the depot. Contractor Larry Cates and his crew have replaced the lower part of the siding all the way around the building. A layer of primer has been added to protect it. No decision has been made about what color we’ll eventually paint the depot once the restoration is complete. As the final layer of paint has been peeling off, the previous red paint is becoming a lot more apparent.

A large dumpster that was full of rotted materials has been hauled away. The county covered the cost of providing it and I expect the dumpster will be emptied and returned as a thorough cleaning of the inside continues.

Look for more work to be done on the siding in the weeks ahead. Replacing broken windows, then sealing them and the doors will also be completed.