If you can't get enough of Evanston's railroad history, drop by Historic Depot Square, just a few blocks away from the railyards, at 1020 Front St.
* The Uinta County Museum is there, and museum staff can show visitors around other buildings the city has restored. The museum has a room set up to look like an old mercantile store, an arrowhead collection, and a working model of an oil rig, made using Erector Set parts.
* The Historic Train Depot, built in 1900, used to be divided -- the side with the fireplace was for women, and the side that had a pot-bellied stove for men.
"I'm sure it had to do with smoking," said Kay Rossiter, executive director of the Uinta County Museum.
The depot still has working scales, once used for cargo, now to weigh children on a tour.
* The Chinese Joss House Museum, also on the square, focuses on Chinese immigrants who lived in Uinta County from the coming of the railroad through the 1930s.
"One of the definitions of 'Joss' is 'deity,' so it's kind of like a church," Rossiter said of the building, which is a replica of the original.
When they were finished building the railroad, many of the Chinese workers went to the coal mines. The dangerous mines were soon closed, and Chinatown was abandoned.
"They (Union Pacific) told the townspeople, 'If you want anything out of these buildings, take it,' " Rossiter said. "Then, 'mysteriously,' it burned down."
Many of the items on display were found during archaeological digs in the Chinatown area, including a vase believed to be hundreds of years old. Other items were donated to the museum by families who salvaged them before the fire.
The museum is hoping for the return of a carving from the original Joss House altar, believed to be in a Bountiful business. In the meantime, prize pieces include two intricately carved large wooden panels; one conveys information about the Chinese emperor who was in power at that time, and the other about people who donated to have the panels carved for the original Joss House.
"They're absolutely incredible," said Rossiter.
Another gem is a post from a grocery store, covered in Chinese writing.
"It says, 'We have fresh chickens, fish and vegetables,' " Rossiter said.
-- Becky Wright
Standard-Examiner staff
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