Welcome! The Historic 1875 Southern Pacific Depot site 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 Historic 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 of the Depot was completed in 2016, the result of 1,600 private donations and 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 per year. Costumed actors playing roles of real people from the year 1923 interact with students to bring history alive. Why 1923? US Railroads reached peak mileage in 1916 and by the 1920s had a profound influence on nearly every town in America. A century ago train depots were community meeting places and their activities a microcosm of society.
The Depot Freight House also operates as an event venue. Click "CONTACT" on the menu at the top of this page for information about using it.
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Please make a tax deductible donation to Project 1238. The Project is moving 1918 SP Locomotive #1238 to the Kingsburg Depot, preserving it in a historically accurate context, using it for educational programs, and making it accessible to the public. #1238 is a Baldwin S-10 0-6-0 steam locomotive that served industries in Kingsburg and other area towns. Friends obtained ownership of #1238 in 2022, and it will be moving to Kingsburg in 2025. |