Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainA Classical Revival depot built in 1901 that processed 72 trains daily — and reportedly still hosts at least one employee who never left.
2 North Water Street, Decatur, IL 62521
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to browse as an antique mall; individual vendor pricing varies.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-level retail floors; historic station interior
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1901 · Theodore Link architecture · Wabash Railway division headquarters · Central Illinois rail history
The station at 2 North Water Street opened in 1901 as the flagship Decatur depot of the Wabash Railway. Its designer, Theodore Link, was already well known for the Union Station in St. Louis (1894); the Decatur station reflects his Classical Revival approach on a more modest civic scale. At its operational height the facility served as a Wabash division headquarters, processing upward of 72 trains daily.
President Theodore Roosevelt passed through the station during his presidency, one of several notable figures who moved through Decatur by rail in the early twentieth century. The station represented the apex of the Wabash's central Illinois network, connecting Decatur to Chicago, St. Louis, and points west.
Passenger rail service through Decatur collapsed across the 1960s and 1970s as automobile travel and Interstate highways reshaped regional transportation. The Wabash merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1964. The Decatur station closed to passengers in the early 1970s and was subsequently converted to retail use. It has operated as an antique mall for several decades, with its original architectural shell largely intact.
Sources
Troy Taylor, Decatur's most prolific paranormal chronicler, dedicated a chapter of his Haunted Decatur series to the station, titled 'The Ghost of Joe Ricketts and the Haunted Train Station.' The Joe Ricketts identity — whether a former Wabash employee, a stationmaster, or a local figure who frequented the building — is not independently documented in surviving Wabash Railroad personnel records, and the name may be a local oral tradition rather than a verifiable historical figure.
The specific account Taylor collected involves a shopkeeper who, while working inside the converted antique mall, looked up to see a man standing in a doorway before the figure disappeared. No physical cause was identified. Additional reports from other tenants describe a sense of being observed in the building's older sections.
The station's haunting reputation is modest compared to other Decatur sites and appears to derive primarily from Taylor's documentation rather than independent corroboration.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The former Wabash Railroad station has operated as an antique mall since passenger service ended. Visitors can explore the Classical Revival interior — including the original waiting hall and architectural details designed by Theodore Link — while browsing vendor stalls.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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