{"id":61,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:40:05","latitude":47.60383014697399772785502136684954166412353515625,"longitude":-110.265725255010011096601374447345733642578125,"title":"Geraldine Milwaukee Depot","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/04f7cfb8d374cf6c8bd670d4a53999c9.jpg","address":"191 Railroad Avenue, Geraldine, Montana","all_locations":[],"zoom":17,"creator":["Montana National Register Sign Program"],"description":"The Chicago, Milwaukee &amp; St. Paul Railway completed its line across Montana in 1909 as settlers began to populate rural areas under the Homestead Act. In 1913, a branch line stretching from Harlowton to Great Falls was nearly finished. Midway between Lewistown and Great Falls, the brand-new town of Geraldine, named for the mother and daughter of Milwaukee Railroad financier William G. Rockefeller, anticipated a bright future. The Geraldine Review reported that Milwaukee officials planned to make the town “the show place of the new line.” Workers put the finishing touches on the only custom-built depot on the central branch and a gala New Year’s Eve dance ushering in 1914 christened the building. Its hardwood maple floors were pronounced “splendid.” The special design, described as “a rustic bungalow of the California pattern,” featured two waiting rooms, a ticket room, freight room with scales embedded in the floor, nickel-trimmed hot-blast stoves, and a ventilating system that changed the air every five minutes. Geraldine was a busy stopover serving two daily passenger trains and freight crews until passenger service ended in 1965. All the other depots were sold and, after the Milwaukee’s demise in 1980, salvage companies removed the rails from the Great Falls-Geraldine section. The nonprofit Geraldine Historical Committee acquired the depot from Central Montana Rail in 1995. A model of expert workmanship and quality materials with most original details intact, the depot is still Geraldine’s centerpiece and central to the town’s history.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Private","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/337cf7f3-fbcc-42d5-beda-244b946aa109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Read about the Geraldine Milwaukee Depot</a>","<a href=\"https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/b6272a8f-3e20-4f2b-a591-bf48bcb18e5e/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See photos of the Geraldine Milwaukee Depot</a>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/04f7cfb8d374cf6c8bd670d4a53999c9.jpg":{"id":5533,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Geraldine Milwaukee Depot","description":"Facade | Montana Historical Society | July 25, 2022 | Eric Newcombe","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/04f7cfb8d374cf6c8bd670d4a53999c9.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/afc6845ad7b20de03e84e35b1cf309af.jpg":{"id":954,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Geraldine Milwaukee Depot","description":"Geraldine Milwaukee Depot, facing northeast, front/side view. | <a href=\"https://www.montanapictures.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MontanaPictures.net</a> | Apr. 2011 | MontanaPictures.net","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/afc6845ad7b20de03e84e35b1cf309af.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/5219b85d30bf5a401be50c9fef0af9f2.jpg":{"id":183,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana","description":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana<br />\r\nPhoto by Henry L. Armstrong<br />\r\nNorth Side - Looking South<br />\r\nDecember 16, 1995<br />\r\nNeg. - Geraldine Historical Committee<br />\r\nChoteau County (verso)<br />\r\nb&amp;w print | Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana | December 16, 1995 | Henry L. Armstrong","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/5219b85d30bf5a401be50c9fef0af9f2.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/4cba9c438aef3aec968d4e3aa28461db.jpg":{"id":184,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana","description":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana<br />\r\nPhoto by Henry L. Armstrong<br />\r\nSouth Side - Looking North<br />\r\nNeg. - Geraldine Historical Committee<br />\r\nDec. 16, 1995<br />\r\nChoteau County (verso)<br />\r\nb&amp;w print | Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana | Dec. 16, 1995 | Henry L. Armstrong","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/4cba9c438aef3aec968d4e3aa28461db.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/74dfa19cfb8852ca65bca7a4535842cf.jpg":{"id":185,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana","description":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana<br />\r\nPhoto by Henry L. Armstrong<br />\r\nWest End - Looking East<br />\r\nDec. 16, 1995<br />\r\nNeg. - Geraldine Historical Committee<br />\r\nChoteau County (verso)<br />\r\nb&amp;w print | Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana | Dec. 16, 1995 | Henry L. Armstrong","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/74dfa19cfb8852ca65bca7a4535842cf.jpg"},"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/fullsize/5f129d05a753b37a2f320c9ad2267bde.jpg":{"id":186,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana","description":"Milwaukee Depot - Geraldine, Montana<br />\r\nPhoto by Henry L. Armstrong<br />\r\nEast End Looking West<br />\r\nDec. 16, 1995<br />\r\nNeg. - Geraldine Historical Committee<br />\r\nChoteau County (verso)<br />\r\nb&amp;w print | Official records of the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Helena, Montana  | Dec. 16, 1995 | Henry L. Armstrong","thumbnail":"https://mail.historicmt.org/files/square_thumbnails/5f129d05a753b37a2f320c9ad2267bde.jpg"}}}