Wayne Historical Preservation Society gets grant for historic train depot

In September 2018, the Wayne Historical Preservation Society was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Union Pacific Railroad in its Community Spaces category to further the restoration of the historic train depot along the Union Pacific rail line.

Wayne owes its growth to the vision of William Butler Ogden, president of the Galena and Chicago Union Railway in the 1840s, and to Solomon Dunham and Edward Brewster who were businessmen at that time in what we now call Wayne.

Both Dunham and Brewster realized the benefit to area farmers of bringing the rail line through their lands and wisely donated land and timber for the building of the railroad. Their vision allowed Dunham's youngest son, Mark, to grow his Percheron horse breeding business in the 1880s and 1890s into a vital business throughout both the United States and other corners of the world. Mark utilized the train lines and depot to transport both people and horses to and from his Oaklawn Farm operation, whose buildings are now owned by the Dunham Woods Riding Club.

The Wayne Historical Preservation Society is restoring the depot and will display the artifacts, now held in storage, that show how the entrepreneurial spirit of Wayne's founders benefitted the world around them.

The depot will also become a gathering place for the development of stronger historical and community ties with residents, and the neighboring towns and villages whose histories are tied in to Wayne's story as well.

For further information, visit whps1834.org.