The railroad was put through Armada in 1877 as part of an extension from Romeo to Rigdeway, a town in Lenox Township, which was later called Lonox and is now annexed by Richmond. This railroad was originally several small railroads, one of which was the Michigan Air-Line Railroad. The original depot, a frame stucture 18' x 55', was built in 1890. This building burned down in the 1920s and was replaced by another building 18' x 35' in size which was steam heated. The new building contained a baggage room and an office/waiting room area.
The railroad was an important part of small communities during the early 1900s. Armada had a horse-and-buggy taxi that "met" each train that stopped and transported passengers to one of the three hotels in town or to their location of choice.
Train passenger service was discontinued in 1954, and a few years later, the mail train was also discontinued. When the depot was no longer needed, village officials moved it to the north-east corner of Floral and Depot streets. In the 1980s, it was bought by a village resident and moved to its present location on Church street.
View original location on a map
View present location on a map
