Stryker was surveyed on September 19, 1853, beside the proposed Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad. It was the first town in Williams County with rail facilities, which provided rapid, inexpensive transportation of raw materials, agricultural products, and finished goods and spurred the village's early growth. The depot was constructed in 1900 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 7, 1989. Stryker was also home to the Toledo & Indiana electric railway's powerhouse, car shops, and depot from 1905 to 1939.