During settlement in the Smoky Valley, few trees stood in the valley, making lumber expensive and difficult to obtain, so settlers turned to more readily available materials such as sod and especially limestone, whose durability made it a popular building material across the state. Several buildings along the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway still show these uses, though other notable limestone buildings have not survived. WaKeeney's first major building was the ornate Union Pacific depot, built of limestone by Warren and Keeney in 1879 and inaugurated during the town's July 4 celebration; it served passengers until the 1930s before being razed for a new depot in 1941. Another important limestone building, the Opera House of the 1880s, seated 400 and featured lavish ceiling and wall murals and an electric brass chandelier, but it was destroyed by fire in 1895. Because of the lack of trees, Kansas established two State Forestry Stations to plant and distribute young trees and seeds to settlers for timber claims, including one at Ogallah in 1887; settlers who successfully planted and cared for 10 acres of trees received 160 acres of land, but the effort had limited success, and few timber claims survived, though one grove planted in 1900 remains visible east of US-283 nearly 11 miles south of WaKeeney. Other limestone buildings tied to the area's settlement and civic life include the Trego County Courthouse, built in 1889 and still in use; the Wilcox School, a one-room limestone schoolhouse built in 1886 south of WaKeeney that served as a community hub for more than 60 years; the WaKeeney Municipal Building, a native limestone structure built in 1937 that housed many city activities and still contains public offices; and Emanuel Lutheran Church, established by Swedish settlers south of Ogallah in 1902 and still holding regular services.