THE FRISCO RAILROAD

The power of the railroad was enormous during the 19th century. Long-established communities often withered when bypassed, while new towns were born. On May 10, 1881, an enthusiastic crowd greeted the first St. Louis & San Francisco (or “Frisco”) passenger train in the new town of Rogers.

In the early 1900s the Frisco helped Rogers become an important fruit-shipping center. In the following decades the Frisco brought tourists to the Apple Blossom Festivals, carried local boys away to two world wars, and linked Rogers to the world through regular passenger service.  (To see a Frisco Railroad pass and learn more about the Frisco, click here.)

The era of rail travel came to an end on September 18, 1965, when the last passenger train pulled out of the Rogers depot. Ten years later the depot was torn down. In 1982 the Frisco vanished into history when the line was bought by the Burlington Northern.