The Writing on the Wall: Historic Graffiti at the Depot

The measureable outcomes for this project were listed in the Intermediate, Short Term and Long Term. The Expected Impact in the Intermediate stated that - Area residents will have access to a greater base of knowledge regarding Hutchinson's railroad history and that the Progress Indicator would be that 100% of graffiti will be researched, and a research report will have been written. Every inch of the Depot that contained graffiti was sectioned off and photographed by a Photographer, the product of which are included in the Final Research Report. Historic Hutchinson donated digital copies of the photographs and a physical copy of the final research report to the McLeod County Historical Society for their visitors to have more than one way of learning about the histories left behind in the Depot. The group is also looking into ways to publish the research to increase its accessibility to the public.

The expected impact in the short term read as, Local awareness of and interest in the depot's graffiti and history, with the progress indicator being that participation in the public input phase of research. This goal was reached during and after the research phases; there were some cases where local citizens with the same surname as a piece of graffiti was contacted by the Researcher to confirm that that name was indeed a relative and to provide additional information about that person. The local newspaper, The Hutchinson Leader, published an article about the project that included miniature versions of some biographies and photographs from inside the Depot. This generated public interest in a unique city landmark that many previously did not know anything about; the local population was excited to know that the graffiti had already lasted for over a century and showed support for making it last for another one hundred years.

The expended impact in the Long Term was - Increased public interaction with local railroading history with the progress indicator being that the researched history will create a knowledge based upon which to base a preservation and exhibition project. The Depot has a newly attached meeting space that is available to the public to rent, but the section of the building with the floor-to-ceiling graffiti is closed off. This research project has brought more awareness on the vast history that the graffiti represents and a good amount of local pride when it was realized that the Hutchinson Depot is alone in Minnesota when the amount and age of railroading graffiti is compared to other Minnesota train depots. Discussions are occurring with the owners of the Depot property on ways to preserve the graffiti and make it accessible for the general public to learn about their local history.