About
Established as an agricultural community in 1871, the community of Dayton grew rapidly. However, its residents struggled to get their products overland to market. For several years, there were rumors of railroads coming to Dayton, and finally in May 1880, Henry Villard, the president of Oregon Railway & Navigation (OR&N) promised Dayton a line. The following year, the spur line to Dayton was complete, as was the fashionably designed Stick/Eastlake style Depot. Originally the Depot and the entire rail yard were located at the base of Rock Hill on the southwest edge of Dayton, right beside the Touchet River. This location was chosen because the OR&N needed the logs that came down a flume along the river in order to build trestles into the Palouse. Competition between railroads was intense in the late 19th century and Columbia County farmers took advantage of this. Believing that a direct line to the Puget Sound would save them money, they negotiated with the Oregon & Washington Territory Railroad to bring a line into the center of Dayton, right up Commercial Street. This line was completed in 1889. Within just a few years, OR&N who by this time had become a subsidiary of Union Pacific, decided they needed to move their rail yard and Depot in order to compete with the new line. In 1899, the OR&N Depot was jacked up and moved on roller logs pulled by horse and capstan to its present location on Commercial Street. Both Depots continued in business until the OR&N Depot closed at the end of 1971.
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