In 1873, Richard Franklin Pettigrew began talks with the directors of the Saint Paul & Sioux City Railroad (SPSC). In August of 1878, the first passenger train reached Sioux Falls. William T. Doolittle was its engineer. This line was knows as the Worthington & Sioux Falls Railroad (WSFR). By 1879, the line was extended as far west as Salem, SD. Later that year, WSFR was incorporated by the SPSC. In 1881, the SPSC was purchased by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company (CMO), and in 1882 the Chicago & North Western Railroad Company purchased controlling interest in CMO.
There was a passenger depot in the 400 block of east 8th Street on the south side of the road, which was in use until 1955 when passenger service on this line stopped. Constructed in 1920, the property on the north side of the road at 424 East 8th Street served as the freight depot for the CMO until the mid-1980’s.
Timeline of tenants at 424 East 8th Street:
1920 Freight depot for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway
1950 Montgomery Ward & Co. Warehouse
1955 Terrace Park Dairy Warehouse / Farstead Feed Company Warehouse
1960 Feeders Supply Company Warehouse Freight Depot for Chicago & North Western Railroad System
1985 Howe Investment Company Purchased Building
Chicago & North Western Railroad Office, Freight Depot, and Traffic Dept.
1990 Enviro Safe Air Asbestos / Remvi Insulation
1995 Enviro Safe Air Hazardous Waste Remediation
2001 BNSF Railroad Office
2019 East Bank Depot