1980's railroad depot sign donated to museum

By Anna Noel

Yorktown News-View

The Yorktown Historical Museum has recently received the sign that hung on the outside wall of the Railroad Depot in Yorktown until the late ‘80s.

“It was this gentleman, Joe McMillan [who donated the sign],” Beverly Bruns with the museum explained. “He grew up here, in Yorktown, and as a kid he rode a red bicycle all over town. He would visit the gins and watch them gin, he would go to the bottling company and watch them make ice cream, and, the way I understand it, every day he went to the railroad. Then, he started collecting railroad memorabilia and took all these pictures. They started tearing the depot down, and he was able to get the sign, and he had it in his home. He said now he’s getting to the point where he has to give things up, downsize, and he wanted his railroad collections to go to the places they came from.”

McMillan writes, “It was a hot, muggy nine-block bike ride from my home at Eighth and Church to the T&NO station at the south end of Reidel Street. Nevertheless, I could usually beat the train to the station if I heard it whistling as it approached town.

“The depot agent and train crews were wonderful, friendly people who took an interest in me and unwittingly helped me develop a lifelong interest in railroading. From early 1955 to August 1957, I kept a journal of the railroad activity that I witnessed. The summer entries are a day-by-day account of the train activity in Yorktown, including engine, caboose, and car numbers. I also recorded my experiences when visiting surrounding towns, such as Cuero, Yoakum and Victoria.”

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