Hi,

Most of us know the story of the Frisco coonskin. According to the information I have been able to find, it was displayed in the Frisco Headquarters building at St. Louis for many years, until the railroad merged.

I have often wondered what happened to the coonskin after this, and it seems like I might have found the answer:
https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/h ... 0years.cfm

This tells the coonskin story, and even has a picture of the skin, but goes on to say: "The original coon skin from which the emblem was visualized, is now in a frame in the General Office Building in St. Louis, Mo." Having lived in St. Louis my whole life, I never knew the coonskin was supposedly still around. I've never even heard of the "General Office Building" here.


Can anyone confirm the skin's existence and/or location? Or have some leads?

Thanks,

Edit: The above link contains the story of the Frisco Coonskin, for those who have not heard it before.

That might be a question for someone at BNSF corporate. It's a possibility that someone in their public relations department might be able to give you some information that could lead you to the answer. Sometimes railroads hold on to certain items that have historic value and that could be the case there. If they disposed of it, there might be some record as to where it went.

The Frisco Building is at 906 Olive Street in downtown St. Louis. It's still used as an active office building, with lots of professional office space inside.

I used to go there a lot when I worked in downtown St. Louis. The lobby is small and not very ornate. I never noticed a coonskin hanging anywhere.

We do? I've been into this stuff for almost 30 years and have never heard any mention of it until reading this thread.
I searched for it and found the story here: http://condrenrails.com/Frisco/Frisco-Museum-All-Aboards/AA1986.8.v1.3.pdf

My link in the original post contained the story, as I briefly mentioned, but I should have been more specific. I know not everyone has heard the story, which is why I put it in.

Sorry for any inconvenience. My mistake.

For those of you just tuning in, here is a link to the story of the Frisco Coonskin:
https://thelibrary.org/lochist/frisco/h ... 0years.cfm

This also has a picture of the coonskin as well.

I've been into this stuff at least thirty years and did know of the Frisco coonskin. I think that it may have been referred to in the railroad folklore treasury by B. A. Bodkin and A. Harlow. It's a bit dated, but a real gem for those who can get their hands on a copy.