The Bogalusa Freight Depot was built in 1907 as a utilitarian structure in the growing lumber mill town of Bogalusa, Louisiana. The lumber industry, headed by the Great Southern Lumber Company, was the single most important employer and civic leader in the town of Bogalusa for decades. This lumber industry depended on the railroads and by extension, the all-important freight depot, to transport the freshly milled lumber from Bogalusa out to larger markets, including New Orleans.

While the freight depot was first-and-foremost a utilitarian building in both design and function, it also included the more refined Club Car Lounge at the building's south end. This space was/is a significantly more decorated, interior space that would have allowed workers to relax and revel in Bogalusa's twentieth century prosperity, with the sounds of trains hauling valuable lumber just feet away. The freight depot tells an important story about the role of lumber, railroads, and freight workers in Bogalusa, and is one of few remaining buildings in downtown Bogalusa to do so. It relates directly to the areas of industry, transportation, and commerce that shaped Bogalusa.