Welcome! The Historic Southern Pacific Depot in Kingsburg, California is operated by Friends of the Historic Kingsburg Depot ("Friends"), a non-profit California corporation. Friends mission is to preserve and operate the Kingsburg Depot as an educational facility for the benefit of students and the public in the San Joaquin Valley of California; and to discover, preserve, and make known the history and importance of the San Joaquin Valley Railroad Line completed from Sacramento to Los Angeles in 1876. A historically accurate restoration and refurnishing of the Depot was completed in 2016, the result of 1,600 private donations and receipt of a federal grant.
The Leon. S. Peters Learning Center is a living history program operating at the Depot that hosts an average of 3,500 public, private, and home school students each year. Costumed actors playing roles of actual people from the year 1923 interact with students to bring history alive. Why 1923? US Railroads reached peak route mileage in 1916 and by the early 1920s had a profound influence on small town America. Depots were community meeting places and their activities were a microcosm of society.
The Depot Freight House operates as an event venue. Click "CONTACT" on the menu at the top of this page for information about reserving it.
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Please consider making a tax deductible donation to Project 1238. The Project will move SP Locomotive #1238 to the Kingsburg Depot, preserve it in a historically accurate context, use it for educational programs, and make it accessible to the public. Locomotive #1238 is a 1918 Baldwin S-10 0-6-0 steam switch engine that served industries in Kingsburg and other area towns 1918-56. Friends obtained ownership of #1238 in 2022. A new display track has been completed at the Depot, and #1238 will move to it in 2025. |