In June 1911, the Bemidji Commercial Club entertained Louis Hill, Governor Eberhart, and others at the Markham Hotel for dinner and toured them around the Bemidji area in hopes that Hill would commission a new Great Northern Depot in Bemidji. On April 24, 1912, James J. Hill gave a speech at the Bemidji armory promising that work would start at once on a new brick depot and that it would be completed before late fall. Construction began in July 1912 with George Kreatz as contractor. The depot was to be 217 feet long by 32 feet wide, with 7,000 square feet. On Jan. 17, 1913, James J. Hill's last commissioned depot was dedicated in Bemidji; Hill died in 1916. From the 1940s to 1983, the Great Northern Depot served passengers until 1959, and after Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific to become Burlington Northern in 1970, it served as a freight depot. In the mid-1980s, service ended and the Great Northern Depot was abandoned. Vandals and the elements caused the building to deteriorate, and demolition appeared imminent. In 1988, Bemidji's Great Northern Depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites. In Jan. 1997, the Historical Society Museum Committee held its first meeting to develop a plan to restore the depot and convert it into a historical museum. In 1998, citizens of Bemidji rallied to save the depot from proposed demolition and formed the Bemidji Heritage Preservation Commission. The City of Bemidji purchased the building and leased land. Grant money from the State of Minnesota, funds raised locally, and money from the City of Bemidji and Beltrami County were used to restore the depot and remodel the interior for use as a museum. In Oct. 2000, an open house celebrated completion of the restoration and opening of the museum, and the Beltrami County Historical Society moved into the building.