Allen Heritage Center

About Allen Heritage Center

Allen Heritage Center houses a replica of the original Allen Depot, a Houston & Texas Central Railroad station that burned in the late 1940s. Visitors explore permanent exhibits covering the railroad, early settlers, Native Americans, local figures including Ebenezer Allen and Sam Bass, the Interurban line, the station master's office, a telephone exchange, and a baggage cart. The museum displays rotating exhibits on freestanding panels and offers DVD programs about Allen's history, the Stone Dam, the railroad, Sam Bass, the Interurban, St. Mary Baptist Church, and the Allen Telephone Company. Group tours are available by appointment. The building itself reflects the original depot's construction from around 1919, painted dark yellow, with only the old cistern from the original site remaining on the property's south side. The center, located in Allen, Texas, was built in 2002 and 2003 through community effort and serves as a repository of historic materials documenting the city's development.