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Harvey House of Slaton, Texas
The Historic Harvey House is now a Bed and Breakfast, Event Center and Historic Santa Fe Landmark

View Model Train April 26th, 2008

The Harvey House invites you to see model trains provided by
The Lubbock Model Railroad Association, in conjunction with the
Slaton "Arts of the Square" Festival.
Downtown--all day trolley and buggy rides leaving from the Harvey House.
Lots of Food, Art, Music and Fun on the Square!

See details below

The city of Slaton has historic ties to the railroad. For decades the site was ranch land until the Santa Fe railway sought a location for a division point to service trains. The Santa Fe bought the land in April 1911, naming the town site for rancher and banker O.L. Slaton. Passenger and freight service became central to the economy, and the company built a passenger depot and Harvey House the following year. Scottish immigrant Fred Harvey created the Harvey House chain in 1876, partnering with the Santa Fe railway, which built the restaurants and provided space on their trains for food and supplies. Harvey provided the equipment, management and hospitality staff, including hostesses known as Harvey girls.

The Slaton Harvey House served efficient but elegant meals to 42 passengers at a time around a horseshoe-shaped counter on the first floor, which also housed the kitchen, bakery, gift shop and manager's office. The manager and his family and the Harvey girls roomed on the second floor. The Slaton Harvey House, a commercial and social center, operated for thirty years, briefly reopening to serve troops during World War II. The building remained a passenger depot until 1969; the railroad later converted it to a freight depot and operations center before vacating the property in the 1980s. Slaton citizens coordinated the preservation and restoration of their landmark building.

The two-story mission revival Slaton Harvey House features one-foot thick concrete walls, and arcaded track side pavilion with stepped parapet, overhanging eaves with brackets, divided light windows and a flat upper story parapet decorated with the Santa Fe railway company symbol.

RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK 2007

MARKER IS PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

Welcome to the Harvey House of Slaton your West Texas adventure headquarters...

Adventure lodging has arrived on the South Plains of Texas with the opening of the Harvey House of Slaton, Texas. Railroad enthusiasts, history buffs, and modern-day explorers looking for the ultimate B&B adventure will be enchanted by the magic of this historic, and fully-restored, West Texas and Santa Fe Railroad landmark. From the Harvey House, couples, families, singles and friends will discover even more adventure as they venture out into the wide-open spaces of "The true Wild West". From Slaton, adventure can be found in every direction...

Located alongside the Burlington-Northern-Santa Fe Railroad and only 15 miles southeast of Lubbock, Texas, the City of Slaton sits only minutes from the impressive Yellow-house Canyon, the upper reaches of the Brazos River. In this area, Cotton is King. With the mystic of the cowboy and cattle trails in ones mind, the endless plains provide the vista for unforgettable sunrises and sunsets. Hunters, bird watchers, photographers, and artists will be attracted to the rich environments of the High Plains. And remember, the stars never shine brighter than on the prairie.

In Slaton, everything old is truly new again, as this community nears its 100th birthday. Visit the Slaton Museum and Antique Mall, the Slaton Confederate Air Force, Mercy Retreat Center, and the revived downtown square with a new City Hall. Here visitors will find the famous Slaton Bakery, Klemke's Sausage Haus, and several art galleries and shops. Slaton will soon be home to a new model railroad museum. Several award winning wineries are located just down the road.

The Harvey House of Slaton is a small, intimate, smoke free, heritage lodge built in 1912 and first operated by Fred Harvey and the Harvey Girls from the golden era of the turn of the century. The Harvey House of Slaton, open year round, offers you and a friend or loved one, warmth and comfort in one of our 4 jewel-toned bedrooms. Included with your stay, as you watch the trains roll slowly by, is a Continental breakfast, prepared with care, or breakfast-out coupons, your choice. In-house catering is available through the Events Center. The facility is handicapped accessible and has access to high speed Internet.

A wonderful start and finish to a day spent exploring the best of West Texas... your Harvey House adventure can soon begin!

Upcoming Schedule of Events

Date	Time	Event
Saturday, 4/26/2008	ALL Day 9 to 4	The Lubbock County Model Railroad Association invites you to a day of train viewing at the Slaton Harvey House.
Everyday		View BNSF Trains and Texas Historic Landmark
Thurs.-Sat.	9-4	Tours $2.00

Models trains provided by the Lubbock Model Railroad Association at the Harvey House, visit Mercy Center & The "Arts of the Square Festival," Downtown Slaton, April 26th. Events throughout Town.

Riders of the Orphan Train

The one-hour multi-media presentation, Riders on the Orphan Train, tells the story of the 250,000 orphans and unwanted children who were put on trains in New York between 1854 and 1929 and sent all over the United States to be given away. An estimated 1200 of these children came to Texas. The presentation is comprised of original music, an audio-visual presentation of archival photographs and interviews with surviving orphan train riders (one who came to Mineola, TX) and is followed by a dramatic recitation from a forthcoming historical novel about the Orphan Trains by Alison Moore.

After the presentation, there is an informal discussion led by Alison Moore and Phil Lancaster about the origin and demise of the largest child migration in history and the part it played in the formation of the American Dream. The human struggle to belong, to define one's self in the place we call home is exemplified in the stories of these children that have shaped all of our lives.