The 1909 Railway Depot located in Bonne Terre is a bed & breakfast inn and a National Historic Site. The 1909 Depot has four guest rooms located on the second floor of restored historical site and three additional suites located in adjacent train cars. The first floor is a nostalgic English-style pub called the “Whistle Stop Saloon” and is open only for scheduled events. The 1909 Depot originally operated under the name of “Mississippi River and Bonne Terre Railway” and owned by the St. Joseph’s Lead Company.At the Depot, St. Joseph Lead arranged many traveling excursions for its employees, and at the height of operations, 12 trains a day arrived at the depot. The depot is a 2.5-story frame building on ashlars foundations, with a broad, hipped roof that was sheathed in gray slate. The 1909 Depot has the combined architectural styles of Queen Anne and late Stick resulting in a unique design and it reflects the late 19th century style of construction for small railroad stations throughout Missouri.The depot was modeled after a fire destroyed the original 1898 depot. St. Joseph Lead Company employees constructed the Depot in 1909 and left to the elements in the late 1950s after the lead company moved their operations west. The nationally historic depot was saved from demolition when present owners, Doug and Catherine Goergens purchased and restored the depot in 1989. West End Diving now operates the 1909 Depot and the Bonne Terre Mines.
