Colmesneil Train Depot
Colmesneil Train Depot in its current location in Colmenseil, Texas. Note: the colors are exact to the Sabine & East Texas Railroad Company.
The Colmesneil Trail Depot was originally located on the railroad right-of-way two blocks north of the flashing light in Colmesneil and was about twice its current size.
The Railroad history here is that the Sabine and East Texas Railroad was completed in 1882 to haul rock from the quarry at Rockland to the Sabine Pass jetties. A post office was established in Colmesneil that same year. In 1902, rock from the quarry was used to build the seawall in Galveston after the 1900 Hurricane.
The first conductor of the train through the area, W. T. Comesneil, lived only three years in the town, which still bears his name. The house he built in 1883 has been restored and is a library and museum now.
Prior to the advent of the railroad, logs were floated down the rivers to the saw mills. The railroads could haul lumber as well as logs, and by 1900, there were nineteen sawmills between Rockland and Beaumont. At one time Colmesneil was larger than Beaumont. The Yellow Pine Lumber Company, the largest sawmill in the area, burned in 1893.
In 1992, removal of the railroad tracks began.
In 1999 Bill Gregory purchased the Depot and moved it to a site on FM 3065 in Colmesneil, Texas. The Depot was moved again after Bill’s death, just down the street from the W. T. Colmesneil House.
Depot tours are available upon request to the W. T. Colmesneil House.