The Thomson Depot Museum Committee voted to cancel the planned Celebration of Life event scheduled for Saturday, September 12, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 Virus threat. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 29, 2021, with music, tours, and tributes to be performed. The event has been renamed Thomson Depot Tribute Day. More information will be forthcoming as the date nears.
Clean-up Day at the museum, 907 W. Main Street, Thomson, IL, will be Saturday, September 12, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. All volunteers are welcome to bring their dust rags and mops to make the Depot shine for the upcoming season. Call 815-259-3168 for more details.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 17, at 6:30 p.m., at the Village Hall, 800 W. Main Street. Anyone interested in preserving the museum is invited to attend.
History of the Thomson Depot
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Depot was built in the late 1800s shortly after the completion of the track between Fulton, and Savanna, IL, in 1886. The wooden frame building is typical of the style used by the C.B.&Q. in small villages and towns throughout Illinois, during those early days of railroad expansion. It is the last of its kind in Carroll County.
This Depot was saved through the efforts of the Depot Committee, several local residents, and former residents who,through their labor and contributions, made it possible to buy the building and restore it. In May 1986 the Depot was moved to 907 Main Street, 100 feet east of the original site. In 1989 an Annex was constructed containing additional space for exhibits and public restrooms.