Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot – Delmar

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot – Delmar is a historic building located in Delmar, Iowa, United States. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Delmar
Former Milwaukee Road passenger rail station
Delmar station in September 2012.
General information
Location100 Railroad Street, Delmar, Iowa 52037
History
Rebuilt1905
Services
Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station
Elwood
towards Omaha
Omaha – Chicago Browns
towards Chicago
Maquoketa
Terminus
Maquoketa – Davenport Welton
towards Davenport
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot - Delmar
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot – Delmar is located in Iowa
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot – Delmar
LocationMain Street, between Railroad St and Clinton Ave., Delmar, Iowa
Coordinates42°00′03″N 90°36′29″W / 42.00083°N 90.60806°W / 42.00083; -90.60806
Arealess than one acre
Built1905
MPSAdvent & Development of Railroads in Iowa MPS
NRHP reference No.97000308[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 14, 1997

History

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The original station was built in Delmar in the 1870s[2] and the present structure was built for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) in 1905.[3] The depot is a rectangular, single story, wood-frame building built of a standard design for rural stations. There were waiting rooms (one for men and the other for women) at one end of the depot and a freight room at the other end. While this was not unusual in the Eastern United States, it was a unique design for the Midwest.[2] In between the waiting rooms and the freight room was the station agent's office.

Delmar owes its existence to railroads.[4] Three railroads converged there in the late 1870s and it was named Delmar Junction. Eventually, only the Milwaukee Road remained and was a strong influence on the development of the town. The depot was located on the Milwaukee Road's mainline from Chicago to Omaha.

The depot remained in use until 1977. After that, it remained vacant until it was purchased by the City of Delmar. The last freight train used the station in 1982. Restoration of the building began in 1995, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.[1] It now houses the Delmar Depot Museum, which contains a collection of over 1,500 historical items.[2] The site also includes an old caboose named "Elizabeth" and a mural on the old viaduct wall that commemorates the Orphan Train.

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c Paulsen, Robin (August 23, 2011). "History comes alive at the Delmar Depot Railroad Museum". Davenport: Quad-City Times. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  3. ^ "Attractions/Events". City of Delmar. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  4. ^ Jim Gonyier; Molly Myers Naumann. "Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot - Delmar". National Park Service. Retrieved 2018-11-30. with photos