Railroad Relics: Exploring the Nostalgic Remains of a Once-Bustling Depot in Louisiana


 Photos and Story by Ken Hulsey

I have a knack for finding all kinds of pieces of Louisiana railroad history. This past week, I was traveling down Highway 1 from Shreveport towards Natchitoches when I spied a structure off to my right that my keen eye immediately recognized as a railroad depot. My suspicion was soon confirmed as I pulled up in front of the old Texas & Pacific Railroad depot that once served the nearby town of Powhatan. The location also included an old railroad crossing signal, a replica railroad water tower, and an old gas station.


It is apparent that the location was once some sort of tourist destination at one time, but today it looks abandoned and ultimately neglected. 

There isn't much information about this old railroad depot online. From what is out there, I learned that it was built in 1910 by the Texas & Pacific Railroad and served the town of Powhatan. Sometime after that, the railroad was acquired by the Missouri Pacific and later the Union Pacific railroads it was decommissioned and moved to its present location in Coushatta, where it was turned into a gas station. Sometime after that, it was restored to its original form as a depot.


That's all I could find out. Sadly, this could have been a really neat tourist destination for railroad enthusiasts in the area.   

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Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 15, 2026 at 12:20 PM

    It is worth noting that the depot is a "jim crow" depot. The doors on the end are for each of the waiting rooms, black and white. Most Louisiana depots were built like that. If you look closely, you can see that this depot and the RR&G Depot at Lecompte, were built to the same basic plans, just flipped.

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