In 1897, the Kansas City Southern (KCS) Railroad completed its track through DeQuincy and the first depot was built on this site. The line descended southward from Shreveport through Leesville and DeRidder and forked at DeQuincy with one route going south to lake Charles and the other toward Beaumont and Port Arthur. This fork became the original town site of DeQuincy.

In the early 1920's the railroad company began a building campaign during which several stations along the KCS line in western Louisiana were either rebuilt or remodeled with varying degrees of Mission Revival features. The DeQuincy depot was completely rebuilt in 1923, and is now home to the DeQuincy Railroad Museum. The annual Louisiana Railroad Days Festival is held on the museum grounds on the second weekend in April.

The 1923 Kansas City Southern Depot is important in the area of architecture at the state level as one of the most significant and intact structures of its type in Louisiana. It is an outstanding example of Mission Revival architecture.

The two-story building, which is practically a textbook example of its style, is characterized by the following elements:

•Stucco walls.
•Red Spanish tile roof.
•Round arched windows and arcade.
•Curvilinear gable parapets with copings of red tile.
•Wide overhanging eaves with exposed rafters and heavy brackets.