The Whitewater Historical Society will hold an event at 7 p.m. tonight to celebrate the Whitewater Train Depot building’s recent listing on the State Register of Historic Places.
The depot was once home to the “Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company,” and “Milwaukee Road,” until it was converted into a local historic museum in 1974.
The main festivities will take place in the Cravath Lakefront Community building, where Historian Carol Cartwright will give a presentation about the depot.
Cartwright said students and community members of the City of Whitewater could attend the celebration and learn more about a piece of Whitewater history.
“The secrets and origins of many Whitewater rumors can be revealed at this depot,” Cartwright said.
The depot is currently under renovation and will be reopening in April 2013. Most of the money for the $400,000 restoration came from a Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant.
To pay for the additional $80,000 of rennovations, the City of Whitewater pledged $40,000 and the Whitewater Historical Society sold memorial bricks to come up with the other $40,000.
Ellen Penwell, president of the Whitewater Historical Society, said the Whitewater Train Depot is important because it can help the community learn about how Whitewater came to be.
“The restoration will be beautiful,” Penwell said. “The process is coming to conclusion, and it will be fantastic. I couldn’t be more excited about it.”