Dayton Historic Depot Society

Dayton days: community members experience the magic of Dayton days with us right after the parade. There are fun activities for all ages: from corn shelling to rope making, butter churning to apple peeling, and even old- time games and more. All wheels weekend: we celebrate fathers day weekend and showcase our 1934 chevrolet, a beloved tradition each year. Art in the garden or quilts in the garden: every alternating year, usually on the last weekend in june, these enchanting events bring together art, culture, and the beauty of our garden surroundings. Dayton on tour: on the first saturday in october, the boldman house museum proudly takes part in the Historic home tour. Admission to the museum is always free. Christmas kickoff: the museum brings festive cheer on the friday and saturday after thanksgiving. Community members enjoy live piano performances, and they can explore our beautifully decorated house adorned with vintage boldman ornaments and local greenery, and dive into the joy of the season with free copies of boldman family recipes and a special scavenger hunt for the kids. The musuem has a float in the kickoff parade on friday eveningwith volunteers to help decorate.

The newland/pioneer cemetery was created in 1863 when j.h. Newland donated five acres of his homestead to the community of Dayton. Located on a hill west of town, this cemetery was the first developed east of fort walla walla in Washington territory. The location of the graveyard on a wind blown hill just outside of town was typical of western cemeteries. Because of health concerns, the community picked this location on well-drained ground. Newland/pioneer cemetery became the burial ground for the communitys prominent citizens, including daytons founder, jesse n. day, and the boldman family. By the middle of the 20th century, the cemetery was run-down and not well- maintained by the city. In 1954, the nonprofit pioneer cemetery association of columbia county took possession of the graveyard. In the 1990s, gladys boldman secured in perpetuity an easement to the burial ground from highway 12. She had her familys burial stones cleaned and polished, and other descendants of the pioneers buried on this ground did the same. In 1999, when gladys died she was interred in the boldman family plot. At this time, the gladys boldman estate bequeathed 100,000 to the pioneer cemetery association of columbia county to maintain and manage newland cemetery. In 2010, those funds were released to the Dayton historical Depot Society for the continued maintenance of the burial ground. As is typical of early cemeteries throughout the west, the ground of the newland/pioneer cemetery has been left in native grasses that require some upkeep. The Dayton historical Depot Society works closely with daytons american legion to maintain the burial ground. The american legion meticulously cares for the ground, mowing, trimming, and spraying for weeds. This work is financed by the funds left by gladys boldman. The partnership between the historical Society and the american legion has resulted in a beautiful old cemetery and a solid relationship between the two nonprofits.

Dayton historical Depot museum: 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. The main floor of the Depot has had very few alterations since it was built in 1881. It houses the waiting room, the station agents office, and the freight room. The waiting room and office are both have the original beadboard walls, with horizontal beadboard above the chair rail and vertical beadboard below it. They also have an unusual shallow panel of alternating vertical and diagonal beadboard at the wall and ceiling juncture. The original beadboard ceilings are also still in place. The station agents office still has the original desk and cabinetry and one of the two original ticket windows in still intact. Both of these two rooms have many of the original furnishings, including benches for the passengers, and the pot- bellied stove. The freight room has the original horizontal plank walls and ceiling and the built-in-the-floor fairbanks scale is intact and usable. The second story of the Dayton Historic Depot originally housed the station agent and his family. We have opened up the original parlor, dining room, and one small bedroom to create a large gallery space for rotating exhibits. In the gallery, the walls again have the original vertical beadboard below the chair rail and horizontal beadboard above the chair rail. Through the years, there have been changes made to the floorplan as electricity became available and lifestyles changed. Presently, the original station agents home houses our upstairs gallery, a butlers pantry, a large eat-in kitchen, and a master bedroom. There is also some limited storage for our museums artifacts. The Depot was originally located on the southwest edge of Dayton. It was moved to its current location in 1899. A kiosk at the edge of the courtyard holds a display of early Depot artifacts and tells the story of the relocation of the Depot using the capstan method. A beautiful mural painted by local artist jackie penner shows the capstan method being employed. The city of dayton-owned park adjacent to the Depot is the showcase for a restored union pacific caboose that is open for tours during special events. The caboose was donated to the Dayton historical Depot Society in 1992 by union pacific railway and restored by donation from weaver construction of lagrande, Oregon, the general contractor for daytons main street revitalization project. The Dayton historical Depot Society is always accepting gifts that will add depth and breadth to our collection. If donors wish to establish a value for tax or other purposes, they should consult an independent appraiser prior to contributing to the historical Society. Please contact us if you have an item you would like to donate. Historic objects of particular interest include the following: 1. Photographs that document columbia county history of its people and places. 2. Photographs that document columbia county and Dayton yards, gardens, and homes and associated artifacts that we can store at the Depot. 3. Memorabilia that documents columbia businesses, events, and people. 4. Furniture that is reasonably documented as baileysburg, that was made and used in columbia county, and can be displayed or stored at the Depot. 5. Objects that were made or used in columbia county that can be displayed or stored at the Depot that directly relate to the mission of the Depot and are essential to telling the story of the Depot. 6. Books that contain columbia county history or northwest train history. 7. Train memorabilia or objects that can be stored at the Depot that are specific to the railroad history of the columbia county railroad line. 8. Clothing that was worn by a member of the columbia county community which is documented by photograph and/or receipt and is iconic of a particular event or era of columbia county history. With the original fairbanks scale as a backdrop, the depots former freight room houses a wonderful gift shop. The shop is filled with local western and specialty books, commemorative Depot gifts, low technology games, and unique hostess gifts, thank you gifts, and other incidental gifts for friends and family members.