The Forman Depot Museum
a nd
Johnson County Railroad History
written by Gary Hacker, President of JCGHS

The Forman Depot is a wood frame structure that was originally constructed about 1900. For about fifty years it sat at the intersection of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad tracks with the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company (later the New York Central’s Big Four) tracks at the small Johnson County community of Forman. The depot was constructed by the C B& Q Railroad Company. The wood used in its construction was from trees cut in the local area. Cypress, oak, and poplar were the primary woods used in the depot. Forman was a thriving community from the 1890’s through the 1930’s. It was a center for shipping lumber and livestock to other markets. Passengers could switch from one railroad line to the other at Forman, depending on their destination.

In the late 1920’s and early 1930’s the State of Illinois built the concrete road (now State Route 45) just to the East of Forman. Railway passenger service from Forman slowed with the end of World War II. Timber cutting, once a major industry in the area, began to slow. These factors contributed to the decline in the growth of Forman, and the C B & Q Railroad Company made the decision to close and tear down the Forman Depot. A local landowner/farmer learned of the decision and convinced the C B & Q to sell him the depot rather than tear it down. Mr. Clifford Veach secured the depot building and had it moved (about 1946-1948) to his farm to the East of Forman on State Route 45. Later Mr. Veach sold the farm to Mr. Clarence Allbritten. Over the years the depot building was used on the farm for storage, primarily hay storage. A good roof was always maintained on the Depot and this helped preserve the structure. The Forman Depot remained on the farm for about fifty years.

In 1998, Mr. Allbritten gave the structure to the Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society. The Society in turn worked with the Vienna Civic Club and the City of Vienna – Mayor Paul Gage and City Council – to make arrangements for the Depot to be moved to the Vienna City Park to be utilized as a museum displaying the railroad history of Johnson County. State and Federal grants were written and submitted to secure the funding of the project. A variety of other individuals, groups and organizations provided assistance: the Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, the Modern Woodmen of America, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, the Johnson County Highway Department, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, Shawnee Survey and Consulting, and a number of individuals who were knowledgeable of and interested in preserving the railroad history of this County.

The funding was secured, the Depot was moved to the Vienna City Park, and restoration was begun in 2002. It was not possible to return the Forman Depot to its original site in Forman. In the Vienna City Park, the Depot is easily reached by residents of the County and those visiting the area. It is adjacent to the Tunnel Hill State Trail and the Trail’s Site Center. The Tunnel Hill State Trail is the roadbed of the old Big Four Railroad, which is the same track roadbed that went by this Depot in Forman. The Vienna City Park is on State Route 146 between State Route 45 and Interstate 24. Thus, the location in the Vienna City Park is central to the area.

Local tradesmen were involved in the restoration work under the direction of the Steve Shoemaker Construction Company, who was the winning bidder of the contract to do the restoration of the Depot. The restoration work was done following the guidelines of the Illinois Historical Preservation Agency. This has preserved the historical integrity of the structure. And by so doing, if in the future a decision is made to secure placement of the Forman Depot on the National Registry of Historic Buildings, it will be possible to attain this listing with little additional effort.

The first railroad line built in this County was by the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad Company. This company began the construction in 1871. The line came from the North from Saline County to New Burnside (New Burnside being named after Civil War General Ambrose Burnside who was the President of this railroad company), Parker, Tunnel Hill (named after the tunnel that was being constructed there), Sanburn, Bloomfield, Vienna, Bender, Forman, Belknap and going on South through Karnak and Olmstead. Shortly after construction the Cairo and Vincennes was acquired by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Company. Later it became known as the Big Four which was operated by The New York Central Company.

In 1889, the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad was constructed through Johnson County. From the North coming from Creal Springs, it went through Parker, Ozark, Simpson, Grantsburg, Reevesville, and South to Metropolis. In the year of 1893, the Ohio River and St. Louis Railroad Company was formed and constructed a line from Reevesville to Golconda. The Illinois Central Railroad acquired both of these lines shortly after they were constructed.

In 1899 and 1900, the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Company constructed a line from Marion through Goreville, Omar, Buncombe, West Vienna (Boles), Cypress, Joppa Junction, and on to Perks and Ullin. The C & E I also ran a line from Joppa Junction through White Hill, Rago, Karnak to Joppa.

Also, in 1899 and 1900, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad constructed a line from the South edge of West Vienna, through Scanlin Spur and Forman on to Metropolis.
In the period of 1926-1928, the Illinois Central constructed a line with tunnels through the very Eastern edge of Johnson County. One tunnel was constructed in the Flatwoods community and this line went directly South to Reevesville. There are two tunnels in Johnson County. Probably the most widely known tunnel is the one at Tunnel Hill, Illinois, on the Tunnel Hill State Trail. It was constructed in 1871-72 when the Cairo and Vincennes put the first railroad track in the County. Today, one can walk through this tunnel while traversing the State Trail. As indicated above the second tunnel is the one near Flatwoods, which was constructed during 1926-1928.

Records show the following companies were active in Johnson County, but their exact role has not been identified. It is very likely that their activity was in conjunction with other lines identified above. The records show that in 1889, the Chicago, St. Louis and Paducah Railroad Company had twenty-two miles of tracks in this County. Also, records show that in 1889, the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad Company had twenty-eight miles of tracks here.

The railroads provided many jobs. In fact, in the time period of the 1880’s through the early 1930’s the railroads in this County provided more jobs either directly or indirectly than any other business or industry. Rail construction provided work. Cutting timber for cross ties and for trestle construction created numerous jobs. Cordwood was cut for firing the early steam locomotives. Pumping water from local creeks up into water towers for use with steam engines provided work. Section crews for maintaining the tracks provided work. Crew member positions on the trains provided work. Line crews for erecting telegraph poles and lines and maintaining the lines provided work for many. Telegraph operators were always in demand and many took these jobs. As a matter of fact, in Vienna at the corner of 7th and Main Streets was a home that was converted into a school for training telegraph operators. The railroads always had jobs waiting to be filled when one completed this training.

The growing of livestock for shipment by rail to the markets was a large business in this County. A new business that developed and grew in Johnson County was the growing of garden vegetables for shipment via rail to the big cities throughout the mid-west.

But probably a business that grew rapidly due to the railroads and had a tremendous impact on the economy and provided indirectly many jobs was fruit growing. New Burnside, Ozark, and Tunnel Hill were major centers for shipping apples, peaches and berries. Records indicate that in 1900-1910 more early apples were picked and shipped by rail out of New Burnside that any other location in the nation. Fruit growing was so successful in the New Burnside and Ozark area that a fruit growers association was formed and a special packing and shipping facility was constructed especially for the area’s fruit shipments. This building still stands today along State Route 45 between New Burnside and Ozark where at one time an Illinois Central trestle went over the highway.

It was not uncommon in the first part of the 20th century in Johnson County to have several members of the same family working in some capacity for the railroads or businesses dependent upon the railroads.

Although this Depot, when it sat at the intersection of the two tracks at Forman, was in a rural location, it was a very important facility to the area’s economy. It provided jobs to the local population and a way for shipping area products to a variety of markets. This intersection was an important location for travelers, as they could switch from one major passenger carrier to another and go in a different direction. Considerable locally grown livestock – cattle, hogs, and goats – were sent to markets in St. Louis and Chicago. Local general stores gathered and shipped milk, cream, and eggs. These same stores received via rail goods to sell. A huge amount of lumber from local sawmills was shipped to other cities. In Johnson County newspapers in the 1880’s a number of news accounts reported on the vast quantities of lumber being shipped from tiny Forman to the City of Chicago to rebuild it after the big fire that Mrs. O’Leary’s cow caused. Also, in the 1890’s and early 1900’s other products that were put on trains at the Forman Depot and sent to markets in the mid-west were barrels full of locally caught rabbits. Fur from a wide variety of locally trapped wild animals were processed and packed and shipped out of the Forman Depot. It has been reported that Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Wards were major purchasers of the fur shipped out of Forman. Also, it is reported that two successful turtle hunters of the area were Tom Morford and “Turtle” Nalley.

They would capture turtles from the many low areas around Forman like Heron Pond and some of the other sloughs. When they had enough for a barrel or box full, they would take the container to the Depot and ship them to such destinations as St. Louis, Chicago and Philadelphia to feed diners in restaurants.

The Forman Depot is not a large structure. It contains approximately one thousand square feet of floor space. As you stand in the structure today in Vienna, the entrance doors on the North and the South side lead into the waiting room area where passengers could purchase their ticket and wait for their train. One could ride the Big Four North through Harrisburg and points North or South through Olmstead and Cairo. Or one could go South on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy to Metropolis and points South or North through West Vienna and Marion. Today, the room on the East end of the Forman Depot is where the operations room was located. In this room the station agent was located. He kept track of the trains, their arrival and departure times, threw the switch that was located in this room that controlled the signal flags that in years past were on the pole above the Depot (see the old photograph of the Depot), operated the telegraph to send and receive messages, sold passenger tickets, handled the freight coming in or to get it onto the right train to go to its destination, received the mail bags or put them on the train to send out, etc. The station agent could be extremely busy or be bored with little to do. Overall, the operations room was the center of activity. In a station such as the Forman Depot at the intersection of two railroad tracks, the agent typically was very busy. The room at the West end of the Forman Depot was the freight room. When you are outside of the building you can see the three large six-foot freight doors on each exterior wall of the freight room. Items that were to be shipped out of Forman were placed in this room until the train it was to go out on stopped for loading. Or, freight that came in via train was placed in this room until the local person or business it was intended for stopped to get the item.

At one time in Johnson County, there were active railroad company depots in the following communities: New Burnside, Parker, Tunnel Hill, Vienna, Forman, Belknap, Ozark, Simpson, Grantsburg, Reevesville, Goreville, Buncombe, West Vienna and Cypress. By the end of the 20th Century, the Forman Depot was the last restorable depot remaining.

Some minor changes in the Forman Depot today from what it was years ago, and you can see some of the changes when you look at the Depot in the early photograph of it, are changes due to the terrain and the Federal Disability Laws. First, you will notice the exterior ramp and walk way into the Depot. This was added to make the structure accessible for the handicapped. The floor levels in the original structure were at different heights. Again, due to Federal requirements the differences in the floor levels have been changed so that they are more equal in height. In the waiting room area today there is a small incline when walking from the waiting room into the freight room. The small incline and partition were not in the original building, but these were added to make it easier for all to walk around in the Depot. The ticket window and wire cage are original to the Depot. Not original to the Depot, is the restroom and drinking fountain in the freight room area. While discussing the inclusion of the restroom, an early user of the Forman Depot had this reply regarding using a restroom, “down at Forman we had plenty of trees that we could get behind.”

The actual orientation of this Depot when it sat at Forman was at the Southwest corner of the intersection of the Big Four and the C B & Q. The side of the Depot, today, that faces State Route 146, was the side that faced Northeast at Forman and was parallel to the C B & Q tracks. The far East side of the Depot today faced Northwest and was parallel to the Big Four tracks.

We were told in 1999 by a representative of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Collectors Club that the Forman Depot was the only wood framed depot of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad that remained in restorable condition in Illinois South of the St. Louis, Missouri area. And they were very pleased to see the people of Vienna and Johnson County were working together to save it. The Forman Depot is the last remaining of fourteen depots that were once located in Johnson County.

Today the Forman Depot is owned by the City of Vienna. It is operated as a museum displaying aspects of the history of railroading in Johnson County. Historic displays showing photographs and artifacts are presented by the Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society and individual donors. The Johnson County Chamber of Commerce has its office here and keeps the facility open for public viewing of the displays. The facility will attract visitors from not only our County but from throughout the mid-west. It is a complement to the Tunnel Hill State Trail and its Site Center. The Forman Depot Museum will give visitors one more thing to see and will encourage visitors to our County to “stay a while.”

Open 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and plans are to have the facility open this summer from 9-2 p.m on Saturdays.

______Printed with permission.