Spooner Railroad Park

09/09/2026

This is a huge step forward for the railroad park! Volunteers and the City of Spooner have been working so hard to get the Roundhouse restored for public use over the last many years.

We look forward to this and many future opportunites for this historic space to serve the public! ❤️

Greetings!

I am happy to announce the upcoming Winter Artisan Market at the Historic Spooner Roundhouse. All applications will go through the Spooner Farmers Market manager Cerissa Stockton. The applications will then be juried to make sure our market is diverse and offers a great holiday shopping experience. Point of contact for the entire market season will be through the market manager. Here is what you need to understand:

- Location: The Historic Spooner Round House (inside the building of course!)
- Market dates November 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, December 5th, 12th, and 19th (7 dates total)
- Time: open for vending 9am- 1pm
- Vendors who are accepted for these dates will sign up for a load in time. There is no space for your vehicle in the building, so we will have 10 minute time slots that you will pull up to the door, a volunteer will be there to help unload onto carts and then you will need to go park your car. You can then head to your booth and set up for the morning. Load in times will start at 6:30am
- No electricity will be provided
- The building is not heated.
- Single Stall is 12' by 12' and will be $20 per a day (20 spots to fill)
- Double Stall 16' by 24' and will be $40 per a day ( 8 spots to fill)
- End Caps ( these booths are for you to set up one 6' table and sit behind it.) $10 per a day
- All dues for your approved dates will need to be paid in full and a contract will be signed by our Vendor Meeting on Sunday October 4th 1pm. This meeting is mandatory. If you send me an email saying you do not have time to attend this meeting you will be placed on the waitlist and the next vendor will be notified.

I will have a firm cut off date of September 20th for applications. Once I have gone through and mapped out vendors, you will be notified whether you have a spot or you will be placed on a waitlist. We are the first group to get to use the inside of this historic building, let's blow them out of the park with how great we can make this market!

The application for the Artisan Winter Market 2026.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2Co8dZpzmst8oyT3_1jnKOAK61dhj8iguBMKi4kyLH0l0bA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=108643256735260658945

06/15/2026

Spooner Railroad Heritage Day, June 20, 2026

Imagine you are ten years old in 1890 and rolling a hoop with a stick along Front Street on the east side of Spooner. The scream of a high-pitched steam whistle pierces through the muffled sounds of rolling horse-drawn wagons, switching yard activity, and onlooker conversations. Omaha engine #211 is rumbling down the track belching smoke and steam as it slows to a stop near the water tower. You stop and stare in awe at the boisterous arrival of the mighty locomotive, a scene you never tire of watching. After delivering grain to Superior, Omaha #211 is pulling cars loaded with coal on its return trip to Spooner. The switching yard is busy with men and engines moving freight and passenger cars to assemble trains loaded with coal, grain, logs, and people bound for points north and south of the “Great Omaha X” where the rail lines from Eau Claire to Superior and Hudson to Ashland converge, forming a geographic “X”. The engineer waves a greeting as the train rolls to a stop. You wave back and dream about driving the train someday…when you are older.

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway established a logical location for its northern hub near the center of the “X” in 1882. This hub became Spooner as it grew with switching yards, a large round house and turntable, a passenger depot and restaurant, railroad offices, locomotive, rail car, and machine shops, freight depots, lumber yards, and a hotel. Eventually, over 600 people were employed by the railroad in Spooner, where 18 passenger trains and 21 freight and log trains arrived and/or departed every day during the railroad heyday.
In celebration of Spooner’s rich railroad history, Spooner Railroad Heritage Day 2026 will take place at the Railroad Memories Museum on Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum, housed in the historic Omaha Depot, is well worth a visit. Bill Thornley wrote of the museum in the Spooner Advocate (June 22, 2023), “…it didn’t take too much imagination to let yourself drift into yesterday, feeling the tremor under your feet as the big iron horses rumbled through the yards. One could almost feel the ghosts of the past looking on as visitors marveled at the incredible collection of railroad artifacts at the museum”.

After a museum tour, enjoy a picnic on the Railroad Park grounds. A Brat Fry will be held outside with picnic tables nearby.

Proceeds from the sale of brats, hot dogs, and beverages will help the museum raise funds for maintenance and projects.

The Spooner Memorial Library will again host a popular scavenger hunt for the kids, with prizes for all.

Just east of the museum, across the tracks, enjoy a relaxing stroll through the Spooner Railroad Park and view the Honor Wall, The Del Salquist Memorial Weigh Station, the turntable and turntable shack, and historical points of interest with signs and photos featuring various railroad memorabilia.

Last but not least, don’t miss the Roundhouse!

The Roundhouse will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

12/02/2025

All Aboard! Help Us in Our Preservation of Spooner Railroad Park!!!

We’re on an exciting journey to restore the historic roundhouse and turntable, and even add new playground equipment for families to enjoy. Your donations will help us complete these vital projects and ensure that the park remains a vibrant community hub for generations to come. Please consider giving a donation on Giving Tuesday December 2. Every dollar you contribute helps us preserve the legacy of the railroad and keep the park vibrant and welcoming for everyone.

https://spoonerrailroadpark.org/donate/