Originally built in 1852 for the Northern Indiana and Chicago Railroad a predecessor road of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, the wooden structure burned down in 1913. It was replace in 1914 with a brick structure. By 1914, Cornelius Vanderbilt of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad held a majority interest in the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The Southern Railways trackage provided an ideal extension of the New York Central from Buffalo to Chicago. On December 22, 1914, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form a new New York Central Railroad.The New York Central Railroad, built the new Chesterton Depot out of brick and to the west, across Fourth Street, they built a freight house that same year.In 1968, the New York Central merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad. In 1976, the Penn Centrals freight service was consolidated into Conrail and it ended passenger service altogether. Passenger service to Chesterton ended in 1964. The rail lines are currently operated by CSXArchitectureThe Passenger Depot is identified in the National Register materials ad Bungalow/craftman, whereas the Indiana State Historic Office (SHP) and Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana identify the structure as Spanish Eclectic The Porter County Interim report also identifies the contraction date as 1924. This contradiction with the National Register information may reflect a building upgrade in 1924. The adjacent Freight House retains the Bungalow/craftsman styling, which may be the original style of the Passenger Depot, before 1924.
