This watercolor was painted in the studio from a photograph I had taken on location. The depot was built in 1909 by the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad (MR&BT) which was owned by the St. Joe Lead Company. In the late 20’s, the MR&BT became part of the Missouri & Illinois Railroad which was a subsidiary of the Missouri Pacific Railroad (now Union Pacific). The MR&BT hauled lead ore up to Herculaneum, Missouri to a smelter which processed the ore into refined lead. Bonne Terre, which in French means, “Good Earth” is located in an area of Missouri known as ‘The Leadbelt.’ The Leadbelt was once the largest lead mining district in the world.
The original colors of the depot were yellow and brown. The color today is a light red, which has faded to an almost pink color. The depot is now a bed & breakfast/bar and grill, but I do not believe it has been used as such for several years. The tracks that run alongside the depot were abandoned back in 2001.
I liked the way the light and shadows contrasted in the photo I had taken back in 2007. The interesting light, shadows, and composition of this scene led me to paint it.
D. Tom Conboy
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