By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
Attendees to the Crawford Park District’s Tellin’ Tales series on Saturday found themselves in a different location than the Nature Center at Lowe-Volk Park, as the series shifted to the T. & O.C. Depot in Bucyrus.
Dave Pirnstill of the Bucyrus Preservation Society led the discussion of the train station, noting that it was built at the turn of the 20th century due to demand from residents on Rensselaer Street wanting a really good train station. Pirnstill then spoke about the restoration efforts of the depot, which to date has cost about $350,000 with another $50,000 being saved for later use on the restoration and preservation project.
Pirnstill spoke about the train depot being the reason the Bucyrus Preservation Society began.
“This is the reason we formed the preservation society, because of this building, and then we look after other bricks and mortar buildings in town and try and see that they are saved or repaired or renovated if we can,” Pirnstill said.
When taking on the project Pirnstill noted that he had found the original design plans for the rail station at a railroad museum in Lima, Ohio. Pirnstill described that the opposite ends of the main room were built the same due to one side being used for male rail passengers and the other side being used for female rail passengers.
Pirnstill then moved on to the different aspects of restoration that had taken place at the station, reporting that the original floor had to be removed due to the condition of the floor braces, and a floor salvaged from an old school house was used to repair the floor. Pirnstill noted that the fans within the depot were donated by Fanimation in memory of the company’s founder, who began his fan business selling the fans to passengers on locomotives.
Pirnstill spoke about what it takes to get a restoration project going.
“It takes a lot of volunteers,” Pirnstill said. “That is what we base all of our work on, and people come out.”
Pirnstill spoke about the importance of restoring the T. & O.C. Depot.
“It is on the National Register and that is one thing, so it is important in its architecture and also in the culture of the railroading. So those two things really designate it for the status of being on the National Register. We are fortunate in Bucyrus,” Pirnstill said. “We have, I think, six or seven structures on the register. We just didn’t want to see this one go down. It is important to save those buildings.”
Crawford Park District Director Bill Fisher took over for Pirnstill and handed out a paper on Col. Wilson C. Lemert who began operating the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad in 1877. Fisher also spoke of the numerous area businesses that Lemert had purchased within the city including consolidating the gas and electric light properties, the Bucyrus Manufacturing Company, and the American Clay Working Machinery Company, among numerous other ventures.
The Tellin’ Tales session on the Leesville jail was postponed due to the temperature inside the depot. Fisher did however show those in attendance hinges from the cells which had been provided by Gary Ogle.