Bristow Train Depot and Museum(46)
- Jonathan Elmore
- Sep 19
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 24
When I was in school, we had an Oklahoma History class. To be honest, I don't remember much about the class since it was six thousand years ago, but I remember liking it. Most of history has always fascinated me. If you don't think there are boring parts then you're a bigger history nerd than I am. Ha! Ever since that class I've just thought of Oklahoma history as "these things happened to this state." But as I'm exploring all these museums, I'm finding that history can be very local in its scope. And that's where the good stuff is. We talk a lot about the land run and the state capitol, but the really interesting history has been preserved by dedicated individuals and the historical societies like the one in Bristow. What better way to get a full history experience than to see every town's local stories? It's awesome because no two towns, and no two museums, are the same. And that makes our lives better.
I drove about an hour to get to Bristow, a town that lives on old Route 66. I always remember Bristow because when I was a kid, we went to go see my Uncle George and Aunt Pauline and passed by the big water tower with the pirate on it, the school's mascot. I always wondered what life was like in Bristow and now I can say that I've been there and I'm glad I went. Mainly because I got to see the wonderful Route 66 Toy Museum (see that post as well), the amazing Train Depot and Museum, and the huge Chrysler/Plymouth tower that's about to be refurbished thanks to a Route 66 renovation grant. I got to meet Joe who showed me some of the highlights of the museum and his wife Linda who was helping take care of it as well. As with all my stops, I walked in with no expectations and was thrilled by the local history. Honestly, any place that has a Gene Autry exhibit is okay in my book! Some of this is paraphrased from stories that Joe told me. I tried to take notes but I get too rapt in the story and forget to write down important facts. So, I'll try to get it right, but you can always go and get the information for yourself from one of the volunteers like Joe.
The original Frisco depot was built as a wooden structure in 1989 and in 1924 it was redone as a brick building. The huge water tower outside the depot is still standing which makes it the only Frisco depot in the U.S. that still has its water tower that serviced the steam engines and passengers. And it's right here in Oklahoma! The Bristow depot serviced passenger trains until 1967 and freight trains until the depot was closed in 1976. As a final farewell, they had one last train ride for passengers that went to Sapulpa. Two men that worked for the depot years before got to take that last ride, one of the men being 100 years old at the time. They rode to Sapulpa in style, but their wives had to drive to Sapulpa to pick them up. HA! You can get a reproduction of that last train ticket. You can see mine below.
The depot went through some harrowing times nearly getting demolished by new owners Burlington Northern Railroad, but the newly established Bristow Historical Society saved it from the bulldozer. And I'm glad they did because it's a great building full of cool things to look at like photos of the town as it progressed, an old piano played by Gene Autry who also worked at the depot for a time, military history, artifacts, and a display about the Bunion Derby, a Route 66 foot race. Wow! There has been a lot of painstaking effort to get all the photos and descriptions in easy to view displays. Kudos to the volunnteers that have made the Bristow Train Depot and Museum a bright star in our great state. A couple of high points for me was the photo of men lined up outside the depot who had been drafted into the Army and were headed off to the first World War. Heartbreaking when you know what happened during that horrible war. At the other end of the spectrum was the Ozark Trails Route Book. Before it was properly named, Route 66 was the Ozark Trail. The book had the directions to get from Tulsa to Oklahoma City. After about 60 turns, jogs, crossroads, train tracks, and bridges, you were about half way there where you could stop in Bristow and have a 20¢ bacon and egg sandwich and a 5¢ cup of coffee. It's crazy to think about that when now the road is one shimmering concrete stripe and that breakfast will set you back 8 bucks or more.
So, if you find yourself halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, stop in Bristow and check out the Train Depot. If you're nice, they'll let you in to see the caboose exhibit too.
1 Rail Road Place, Bristow
918-367-9335
Jonathan Elmore ©2025
