The Cherry Creek depot still stands at Skull Valley, where it has been moved to private land and is being restored by the Skull Valley Historical Society, near Dewey until it was moved here in 1926 when our original depot was retired. The last passenger service to use this depot was in April of 1962, and the last freight service to stop in Skull Valley was in March of 1969.
In the fall of 1894, the first train traveled through our valley. A depot was built in 1898 to serve the large ranches of cattle, sheep, and Angora goats, the truck farmers, passengers, and the mining interests of this area.
The track generally followed the old mule train route winding up the mountains from Martinez, now Congress Junction, to Hillside, north to Kirkland, Skull Valley, and on to Prescott.
When the train reached Skull Valley, engines were added to pull the train up the steep mountain grade to Iron Springs. They made one stop on the way up the mountain at Rams Gate to take on wood and water.
The Santa Fe Railroad donated this building to the Skull Valley Historical Society in late 1969. In November of 1970, the depot was moved to the present location to become a museum.
