Troutdale grew up along the tracks, a one-sided main street facing what is now the Union Pacific line. The town flourished and once boasted a meat packing plant, a five-story distillery, a lumber mill, an opera house, and its own newspaper.

The original 1882 depot burned in 1907. The existing structure was built to replace it the same year. Indoor restrooms were later added and the trackside bay area altered. Otherwise, the building, which was the shipping site of many carloads of fresh vegetables, is much the same as when it was new. The station agent’s office contains railroad artifacts donated by local residents.