Palatine’s first railroad depot was built in 1855 by Hiram Thurston with wood and land donated by Joel Wood, who would later become the village’s first mayor. Some old timers claim the depot was merely an old freight car.

The second station, built on the north side of the tracks in 1866, remained in use for 83 years. In 1948, an etching of the building hung in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., as an example of an early American depot.

There were separate waiting rooms for men and women, and the building was illuminated by oil lamps and heated with wood-burning stoves.

The “modern” depot, the third, was dedicated Feb. 19, 1949. It had fluorescent lights and modern bathroom facilities. The crossing at Bothwell Street had been eliminated and became the site of the new building. Automatic gates were installed at the Palatine, Plum Grove and Brockway crossings.

The “Palatine Transportation Center” opened in September 1971 north of the tracks and west of Smith Street, with parking for more than 800 cars. The building had space for nine stores. It lasted 20 years but was never really successful.

Today, the Palatine Station Townhouses occupy the south side, and on the north side are a multilevel garage and a strip mall which includes Durty Nellie’s.

Today’s Palatine station, built in a style reminiscent of the 1866 depot, was dedicated June 22, 2001. It sits on the north side of the tracks at Wood Street, east of Smith Street. A coffee shop is on the premises. The motto on the dedication program was “Remembering Our Past ... Embracing Our Future.”

• This is the 51st of 150 vignettes about Palatine history to be published in the Daily Herald, as part of the village’s sesquicentennial celebration