Historic Marion train depot getting new life from quilting group
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(image courtesy of the Quilters Hall of Fame)
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(image courtesy of the Quilters Hall of Fame)
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(image courtesy of the Quilters Hall of Fame)
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(image courtesy of the Quilters Hall of Fame)
A historic train depot in Marion is getting preservation help from an unlikely source. The not-for-profit Quilters Hall of Fame, headquartered in Marion, has acquired the 128-year-old building that has been vacant since 2015, and is in the midst of a nearly $800,000 restoration project.
The organization plans to use the building as a community and exhibit space, and also a location to store its growing collections.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Executive Director Deb Geyer said the reason for the organization to undertake such a project is twofold.
“First off, we’ve filled up our existing space in the Marie Webster house. We have very little room for classroom work, and we’ve run out of space to store our collections. We intend to expand into the depot so that we’ll have more room for education and the growth of our collection,” Geyer said. “And then secondly, we want to be good neighbors, and to help clean up the Blight that is in Marion.”
The Quilters Hall of Fame has experience in the latter, having previously restored the Marie Webster house, which was slated for demolition.
Marie Webster was an influential quilt designer in the early 1900s, according to Indiana Landmarks. The house now serves as a museum that attracts some 1,300 visitors annually.
“We want to continue that and to increase the number of visitors to Marion and Grant County,” Geyer said.
The depot, known as the P.C.C. & St.L. (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis) Train Depot, was built in 1895 and provided local residents access to travel to major cities, Geyer said.
“It was also a welcoming gate to those traveling to Marion for the gas boom,” she said. “Today, it tells the story of Marion’s past and it supports the story of Marion today.”
Indiana Landmarks said the 2,200-square-foot building became obsolete with the growth of automobile travel by the late 1950s and would go on to house a liquor and convenience store. The building was closed permanently in 2015.
The Quilters Hall of Fame purchased the building for $60,000, Geyer said, and to date, has invested $255,000 to install a new roof, repair and replace overhangs and a porch on one side of the building, and replace about 75% of the windows.
The next phase of the project will include replacing the remainder of the windows, beginning repairs to the brick and stonework on the exterior, and then moving inside to begin interior work.
The not-for-profit has received a loan from the Indiana Landmarks Endangered Places Loan Fund to acquire the building and begin the renovation work. A grant from Indiana Landmarks’ Efroymson Family Fund was also used to replace the doors with custom cherry wood doors.
“We found an old door in the basement, and so [the new doors] were custom made to match that old door,” said Geyer. “It just has that look of the late 1800s with all the little paint windows, and it’s just beautiful work.”
The Indiana Historical Society has also awarded funding earmarked for a new heating and cooling system.
But the organization still needs an estimated $536,000 to complete the project by its target goal of spring 2026. Geyer said they are applying for local, state and federal grants to raise the funding they need and also welcoming private donations.
When complete, the depot will feature a multipurpose room that could be rented for certain events. Plans for the building also include quilt exhibits, a research library, a classroom space, and temperature-controlled storage.
You can learn more about the project, including how to donate by clicking here.