The Dennison Railroad Depot Museum, designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011, is the best example of a building still reflecting its WWII Canteen Heritage. Built in 1873, the Depot was once the site of some of the most extensive railroad shops & yards in the country with 3,000 employees and 22 passenger trains a day. It was located on the National Defense Railway Route and was the site for a WWI Red Cross Canteen and a WWII Salvation Army Canteen that served 1.5 million soldiers, earning the town the nickname "Dreamsville USA,". Today, the Depot houses a Museum, Restaurant (Trax Diner) and gift shop (The Whistle Stop Railway Shop.) Open year round except Mondays and holidays, the Depot has a full calendar of events including Polar Express Train Rides in December, the Railroad Festival and American Soldiers Homecoming Festival in June. Exhibits are in the original Mens and Womens Waiting Rooms, Baggage Room and Railway Express Building. In 2008, a new wing was added to the Museum composed of Railroad cars. The wing includes the Childrens Interactive Railroad Exhibit, a rare WWII Hospital Car (recevied Save America Treasures) that houses the canteen artifacts, a fancy parlour car that displays changing feature exhbiits, an Art Deco Local History Car and a Postal Car that houses the Museum Archival Research Library. The Museum also operates two additional museums, Historic Schoenbrunn Village owned by the Ohio Historical Society and the Uhrichsville Clay Museum
Specialties
Polar Express Train Rides, WWII Canteen Reenactment, WWII Hospital Car Display, Trax Diner Restaurant
