National Register of Historic Places

Great Northern Depot

Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minnesota
Listed
May 25, 1988
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
88000673

About this property

Bemidji station is a former Great Northern Railway depot in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. It opened in 1913, replacing a wooden structure built in 1898. It was the last depot commissioned by railroad magnate James J. Hill. The depot served passengers until the late 1950s and continued as a freight depot until the mid-1980s, when it was closed, boarded up, and abandoned. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Great Northern Depot for its local significance in the themes of exploration/settlement and transportation. It was nominated for being Bemidji's only intact early-20th-century railroad building, symbolizing the rail access that transformed the settlement into a logging boomtown and regional trade center. Empty and deteriorating, the building was slated for demolition in the late 20th century. It was saved by a nearly $2 million adaptive reuse effort and now houses the Beltrami County History Center, operated by the Beltrami County Historical Society.

Location

Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minnesota
47.46767, -94.88242

Categories

TRANSPORTATIONEXPLORATION/SETTLEMENT
National Register nomination ›
Sources

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.

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Everything a full report reveals about Great Northern Depot

This page lists Great Northern Depot. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:

Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

Nymore Bridge
Industrial
0.2 mi
Bunyan, Paul, and Babe the Blue Ox
Listed
0.3 mi
Bemidji Carnegie Library
Industrial
0.4 mi
Beltrami County Courthouse
Industrial
0.7 mi
Park, David, House
Industrial
1.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Great Northern Depot listed on the National Register?

Great Northern Depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 25, 1988.

What type of historic resource is Great Northern Depot?

Great Northern Depot is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Great Northern Depot?

The period of significance for Great Northern Depot is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Great Northern Depot?

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