Drawing Sonoma: The Kenwood Depot

Drawing Sonoma is a collection of ink and vine-charcoal illustrations of historic and unique properties in Sonoma Valley, with stories of each property’s past. The last Friday of every month the Index-Tribune runs illustrations and historical essays from Sonoma Treasure Artist Barbara White Perry’s book to celebrate some of Sonoma Valley’s most iconic buildings.

KENWOOD DEPOT, 1887

314 Warm Springs Road, Kenwood

Although there are no railroad tracks left in Kenwood, the magnificent Romanesque stone depot on Warm Springs Road still stands today. Designed by Arthur Brown Sr. and built in 1887, the Kenwood Depot was constructed of locally cut basalt and slate roofing from Pennsylvania at a cost of $11,500. It was the only stone station on the 36.7 mile stretch of the Northern Pacific Railway Line which ran from Napa Junction through Sonoma Valley to Santa Rosa. There are doors on both the east and west sides of the building and the front door to the north. Two tracks existed on the east side of the depot.

The Kenwood Depot was an important railroad station as it carried passengers from San Francisco visiting resorts in the area, and commercial freight from fruit to great quantities of stone used for paving Embarcadero and Market streets in San Francisco.

The last train from the Bay Area to Kenwood ran in 1936. Due to the popularity of the automobile, use of trucking, and the pressure of war, the line was abandoned and the rails removed in 1942.

The depot sat quietly until 1940 when the Kenwood Improvement Club's Agnes Morton convinced Southern Pacific to sell the abandoned depot for $500 with the stipulation that the depot be held and used for the community.

The trains are all gone but the Kenwood Depot remains today as a gathering place, protected by the Kenwood Community Club, a nonprofit organization.

“Drawing Sonoma” is available at Readers’ Books in Sonoma.

Email Barbara@BarbaraWhitePerry.com.