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Earliest Slaton photos

gculver • August 22, 2015

Slaton, Texas was established June 15, 1911. Before that could happen, the railroad tracks had to be laid and the local depot be built. Here are a few, rare photos of Slaton’s earliest days.

1910 ATS&F rail laying machine near what will soon be Slaton, TX

1910, Slaton Santa Fe depot roundhouse building in construction

1909, laying of the railroad tracks near Slaton. Slaton incorporated in 1911.

Circa 1915 Slaton Santa Fe depot and yard

Circa 1922 Slaton Santa Fe yards. By then we can see an established community in the background.

1912 Slaton Santa Fe Roundhouse, prior to the rails leading to its doors.

Circa 1911, construction of the Slaton Santa Fe turntable to the shop

Circa 1910, Slaton Santa Fe roundhouse

Circa 1910, Santa Fe rail laying nearing Southland, shown in a then-50 year old newspaper photo.

Notorious Harvey Girls!

By gculver • April 26, 2018
By Rosa Walston Latimer. The story of the hiring process of the Fred Harvey company is well known.  Harvey’s advertising in women’s magazines and newspapers for “educated women of good character to go West to work” enticed young women to the Kansas City office for a personal interview. If they met Harvey standards  the women […]

A Lasting Legacy of Hospitality

By gculver • February 5, 2018
By Rosa Walston Latimer. Research of Fred Harvey and his inventive approach to business has revealed his contribution of many familiar hospitality-related practices such as the “blue plate” lunch special and requiring men to wear coats in the dining room. However, perhaps the Harvey “way”’s most influential and long-lasting impact is dedication to exemplary customer […]

A Harvey Girl Christmas Story

By gculver • December 22, 2017
By Rosa Walston Latimer.   When the railroad forged its way through the West, it brought Fred Harvey restaurants and hotels with it. Certainly Mr. Harvey had a unique vision and was an astute businessman, as were his sons and grandsons who continued the business after his death in 1901. However, it was the employees, […]

Ozzie and the Sobbing Black

By gculver • May 25, 2017
by Jessica Kelly Slaton Harvey House April 4, 2017 He is just a little guy, but his dreams are big. Ozzie, his brother, and his parents came to stay at the Slaton Harvey House Bed & Breakfast in September 2016. It was his sixth birthday and, being the train enthusiast he is, spending the night […]

Engine 1809

By gculver • February 27, 2017
Built in 1906, her career lasted 49 years, including service to Slaton.  Donated to Slaton in 1955, now residing in the town square park.   (photos courtesy argusrail.com)

Souvenirs, Cold Cures and Flat Fifties: Fred Harvey Newsstands

By gculver • November 7, 2016
By Rosa Walston Latimer, Author of Harvey Houses of Texas Visitors to the Slaton Harvey House have an opportunity to experience firsthand one of the lesser known Fred Harvey merchandising successes – the Harvey newsstand. The Slaton newsstand remains intact along the west wall of the area that was once the Harvey lunch room. In […]

The Waitress and The Whaler: A Love Story

By gculver • August 5, 2016
We are grateful for Rosa Latimer’s support of the Slaton Harvey House by serving on it’s board and providing wonderful ideas, offering illuminating stories for your reading pleasure. (Such as below) and, coming soon, having her delightful play “The Harvey Girls” acted out in our own Harvey House. Here’s Rosa: The year: 1913. The place: […]

Waiting for the Train – A Slaton Harvey Girl Love Story

By gculver • June 29, 2016
By Rosa Walston Latimer Rose Heilers sat on the window sill of her second floor bedroom of the Harvey House in Slaton, Texas. She leaned against the glass so she could see further down the railroad track below. Since meeting Bill Farschon, a railroad man, a few months ago this is how she has spent […]

LITTLE RED CABOOSE, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG!

By gculver • May 11, 2016
By Jessica Kelly As a child, bouncing along in our family’s VW van, I always looked forward to the times we passed a train. I loved joining in as all seven of us broke out in the same tune, gleefully singing about the “little red caboose behind the train, train, train, train.” My generation saw […]
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