HistoricDepot

In 2002, over one hundred Lake Hubert and area residents celebrated the completed restoration of the historic Lake Hubert Train Depot. Funded by donations from area residents, a bequest by the Cote Family and donation of land by Mrs. Emma Kletschka and overseen by Ellie Ellingson and John Holbrook, the depot restoration conserved a treasured piece of Lake Hubert history.

The depot was built in during the logging boom in 1896 by the Northern Pacific Railway and was the only way to reach the town of Lake Hubert, then known simply as “Hubert”, for many years, there being no usable roads. In 1969 the Railroad Company closed the railroad line and the old open-air depot was purchased for one dollar by Mr. Hugh McCaffrey, the Lake Hubert Postmaster and store owner, and donated to the Lake Hubert Conservation Association with the understanding that it would be moved to another site. Mrs. Emma Kletschka donated property across the road from where the depot originally stood and with the help of many people including long-time resident Jim Boberg, the depot was moved to its present location. It is believed to be the only original open-air depot remaining in the United States.