Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot
About this property
The Thomas Edison Depot Museum (previously the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot) is a former railway depot located at 520 State Street in Port Huron, Michigan. It has been converted into a museum. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The Canadian Grand Trunk Railway Company constructed this building as the Gratiot Railway Station in 1858. It served as a major port for immigrants passing from Canada into the United States, and by 1869, approximately 42,000 immigrants had passed through the station. Near the station lived a young Thomas Edison, who worked at the station as a news butcher from 1859 to 1863. A larger, two-story station was constructed in 1907. In approximately the mid-1920s, the 1858 depot was converted to office space by the Peerless Cement Company. The 1907 depot was used until 1971 and demolished in 1973. The Port Huron Museum opened the Thomas Edison Depot Museum in the building in 2001. The depot is owned and operated by the Port Huron Museums and is the actual depot that Thomas Edison worked out of as a news reporter. The museum includes a restored baggage car resting on a short spur of railroad track. The museum houses artifacts from the archaeological dig done at the site of his boyhood home, which burned in 1870. Exhibits include original Edison phonographs being played, the world's largest light bulb, and displays about the early days of this famous inventor. The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot is a single story rectangular seven-bay structure located near the Blue Water Bridge. The building has wood siding, and is topped with a low gabled roof. The roof is supported by gracefully carved brackets. It has a variety of windows throughout the building, including ocular vent openings suggestive of the elegance of the Italian Villa Style.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot
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Questions about this property
When was Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot listed on the National Register?
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 12, 1977.
What type of historic resource is Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot?
Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot?
The period of significance for Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Grand Trunk Western Railroad Depot will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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