Clinton station (Minnesota)
The Clinton Depot, originally the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot, is a historic train station in Clinton, Minnesota. Today it houses a local history museum known as the Clinton Depot. The building sits on Main Street and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The depot was built around 1885 and served the Milwaukee Road line that connected Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific rail operations. The first through train on the line ran on July 2, 1884, and by the 1880s a schedule of several daily trains served Clinton, including northbound and southbound passenger and freight trains through the late 1920s.
Inside the depot, the waiting room features hardwood floors and decorative wainscoting. The building also once housed a Western Union telegraph office, with depot agents handling railroad and public communications. Notable staff included J. P. Pratt (appointed 1891) and Frank Petrick (appointed 1901, serving until 1945), with Petrick’s wife Alice working as depot assistant from 1909 to 1934.
Over the years, service and facilities changed: a sleeping car was added in 1900; Sunday passenger trains were discontinued in 1930; and mixed freight and passenger service continued intermittently until 1956. In 1935, a former railroad coach was repurposed for use as a local American Legion hall.
Passenger service ended when Milwaukee Road discontinued trains in December 1968, and the Clinton depot closed on December 12, 1969. The line itself was abandoned on March 1, 1980, and the tracks were removed about a year later. By then the railroad company was bankrupt and heavily subsidized.
Today, the Clinton Depot serves as a local history museum with exhibits on military items, farming, trains, and Clinton’s history. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:35 (CET).