Founded in 1873, the town of Terrell was located on the route of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Robert A. Terrell, for whom the town was named, was a surveyor and landowner in Kaufman County. Portions of land were given to the Texas & Pacific by the Terrell Family, Judge W. D. Irvine, C. C. Nash, and John G. Moore, with the condition that a permanent depot be established within the donated land here. The first depot, a 20' x 60' frame structure, was completed by June 1873. The depot nearly doubled in size by 1884 to a 20' x 102' structure with an office, waiting room and freight room, surrounded by a freight platform of 8,360 square feet. By 1892 a separate passenger depot was built across the street. This freight depot was constructed in 1911, in an era of infrastructure expansion of the national rail system. This utilitarian building retains most of its original features, including three bays on its primary facade, a broad hipped roof, and freight doors on the north, south, and east sides. Once an integral part of the region's economy, this depot was closed in 1977. It remains a significant element of the town's railroad past.