Santa Fe depot to be demolished

Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) has confirmed it will demolish Snyder’s Santa Fe Depot, located at 954 College Ave.
Paula Hatfield, with the Scurry County Historical Commission, said that as early as Monday a demolition company from Amarillo will begin bringing equipment to the depot, but officials from BNSF said no schedule has been set.
“As many of you know, the plight of historical buildings is a passion of mine. This depot is a jewel, a treasure and deserved every minute of the good fight,” Hatfield wrote in an email Wednesday. “The last 72 hours have been frantic as I made phone calls, sent a flurry of last-minute emails to demolition personnel, several BNSF personnel, various departments, discussing the future of our depot.”
BNSF spokesman Joseph Faust said that the company has a contract with a company in Amarillo to demolish the building, which opened in 1911, but that a date has not been set for the actual demolition.
He also said that a permit with the City of Snyder has been acquired for demolition to begin. The permit is good for 30 days.
“We made this decision with much deliberation and it’s been going on for a period of time. It has been revealed that (the station) did not have a historical marker or historical designation,” Faust said. “It is for safety, security, business development and business-improvement purposes.”
He said he has been in contact with preservation representatives in Snyder and has given permission for them to preserve anything of value from the station and that he was told those items will include two planters in front of the station.
The depot was put on the Preservation Texas most endangered list in 2011 and is one of two stations designed by Louis Curtiss that are still standing. The other is in Post.
“If those walls could talk, we would hear the story that tells of its vibrant days as a railway terminal, where passengers would sit and wait for a departing train or where folks would wait as patiently as they could to welcome family, friends and soldiers home,” Hatfield wrote.
Scurry County historian Drew Bullard said that the stations allowed passengers to travel, goods to be delivered and opened the ability to build towns in West Texas.
“If you preserve the building, you preserve the history of the people that went through it,” Bullard said.  “It looks like a done deal unless something of a miracle happens. It’s a matter of money.”
Hatfield said that BSNF personnel have told her the building must be demolished for several reasons, including asbestos.
She said there are no historical entities in Scurry County, or anywhere that she knows of, with the resources to renovate or preserve the building to stop the demolition.
Marianne Randals, who Hatfield said has worked for years to try and preserve the building, said she would like the community of Snyder to think about the history of the station and about what early settlers wanted.
“I would like to believe that this insensitive and destructive thinking and action would catapult our community to take stock, put aside old preconceived beliefs and vow to keep our history, purpose and vision alive,” Randals wrote in an email. “(It’s a) wake up call. Destroy communication and transportation and you have an isolated group who are speaking in a vacuum.”