Love at the Train Depot -
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Love at the Train Depot
History in a community such as Kingsville is close and personal. The community is a little over a hundred years old so many residents have direct memory of events and times. The train brought everything to Kingsville and took out the products of labor to markets in other communities. The train brought new families to Kingsville. The train took residents off on vacations and business trips. In the early years the Kingsville Train Depot was the focal point of news and interest in the community. People took time to come to the Depot just to see the trains come in and depart.
The military was a factor early on with National Guard troop trains making rest stops in Kingsville in 1915. They were on their way to the Valley during the days of bandit raids on the border. Troops camped in Kingsville by the Courthouse and military supplies arrived by the train. Mexican forces were suspected of attempting to derail these troop trains south of Kingsville.
World Wars 1 and 2 saw young men from Kleberg County leaving on the train to go to war. Hundreds of young men went to war from this community to serve their country. It was the train that took them to war and it was the train that brought them home. Kingsville didn’t change much while they were away. Their return home on the train brought them back to the embrace of family and community.
The Kingsville Train Depot was designed with a very standard floor plan. There are two waiting rooms, a baggage room, and the center room where the telegraph operator and the ticket sales clerk worked. There is a bay window which gave the station master a clear view up and down the tracks. The telegraph sounder clattered with train orders and the telephone rang with business for the Depot. It was an active and exciting place.
One young man returning home after World War 2 arrived at the Kingsville Train Depot. He walked into the depot and saw a lovely young woman working at the passenger ticket counter in the middle of the depot. He fell in love at first sight. He boldly stepped up to the counter and announced to the young woman, “You’re the prettiest thing I have ever seen and I am going to marry you!” And he did.
Today there are no passenger trains rolling down the tracks. No families waiving good-bye to loved ones. No one waits for the arrival of friends or family. No one boards the train to go off to war or away for vacation. The clattering sounder can still be heard but only as a demonstration at the 1904 Kingsville Train Depot. However, you can still experience the romance of an age gone by. Make a point of bringing your Valentine to visit the Depot. Take a step back in time and make your own romantic memory.