Making tracks through Marengo

This year marks the 170th anniversary of the first railroad in Iowa. That original line ultimately led to many smaller, feeder lines which covered about 10,000 miles across the state, transporting freight and passengers.

Travel by rail was available on the East Coast around the early 1800s, and the first passenger rail service came in 1830 when the Tom Thumb locomotive chugged at about 10 miles per hour outside of Baltimore, Maryland.

By that time, Chicago had a population of about 4,500. The city grew to nearly 30,000 by 1850.

This movement westward resulted in Iowa’s statehood in 1846.

Westward

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was formed to prepare for the laying of rails west of Chicago through Iowa to Omaha, Nebraska and beyond. The Mississippi River impeded the progress because no bridge that large had ever been erected to cross such a span.

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific formed a subsidiary, the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, and executives began purchasing land and rails. In July of 1853, a wood-burning locomotive made its way from Chicago to Rock Island where it was placed on a boat and ferried across the Mississippi River.

On the shore, the locomotive was placed on rails and made its way 12 miles west to Walcott, the farthest point of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad rails.

The Chicago Rock Island and Pacific eventually completed a bridge across the Mississippi River at Davenport. In April of 1856, a small locomotive made its way across the river bridge.

But disaster came in May of 1856 when a steamboat collided with the bridge, catching fire and knocking the bridge’s central span into the river.

Lawsuits were filed over this accident, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Rock Island Line could replace the bridge over the river to permit further settlement of the West.

The bridge was rebuilt, and 12,000 passengers were reported to have crossed the river every three months via train. The M and M Railroad line had reached Iowa City by January of 1856.

Iowa County

Iowa County approved $100,000 in bonds to build the rail line across the county. By October of 1860 the line was completed from Iowa City to Marengo where a turntable and stalls for three engines were constructed.

Marengo was the terminus of the M and M line for 18 months.

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The train ran daily on the track. Emigrants wanting to travel west by train were given a $2 discount, making the fare from Chicago to Iowa City slightly over $4.

Freight cars were attached to passenger trains under a $50 charge for those wishing to take their teams and wagons by train. Each day a cattle train was operated on the line.

George W. Wilson had purchased land in Iowa in 1854 at the present site of Victor. When the rail line was being constructed, Wilson gave a right of way and seven acres to the rail company for the laying of track west of Marengo.

Wilson had a depot constructed, and the town was first named Wilson.

Wilson moved to Marengo in the early 1900s. He died in 1911 and is buried in the IOOF/ Marengo City Cemetery.

With the start of the Civil War, labor became scarce and iron was difficult to obtain. Hence it took two years to complete the 12 miles of track between Grinnell and Kellogg.

In 1866, the Mississippi and Missouri Company was dissolved and the Rock Island took over full control of the line; by June of 1867 the track had been laid as far west as Newton.

In September of 1868 the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad announced plans to construct a roundhouse in Marengo. The financial boost that came from the purchase by the Rock Island Line provided funds to complete tracks to Council Bluffs by 1869.

Marengo’s depot was constructed in September of 187, and Western Telegraph line was installed in the depot to facilitate the sending of messages by wire.

Winter weather and flooding caused issues for trains; in March of 1881 a passenger train encountered a snowdrift between Marengo and Ladora that caused 72 passengers to be snowbound for 60 hours.

Many area residents traveled by train to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893.

Several children came into Iowa County on the Orphan Train.

These “orphan” children had either been abandoned by their parents in New York City or were left orphaned when their parents died. They were taken in by various charities in New York City which tried to find homes for them.

The August 1899 Marengo Republican says “several young children, aged from 6 to 14 years, from the New York Juvenile Asylum, will arrive in Marengo in September. Homes are wanted for them with families where they will receive kind treatment and enjoy fair advantages. They may be taken on trial for several weeks, and afterward, if all parties are satisfied, an agreement will be executed.”

Many children were received in homes in Millersburg, Koszta, Blairstown, South Amana, Marengo, Williamsburg, Walford, and Johnson County.

Both Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower made stops at the Marengo Depot during their campaigns.

Several manufacturing facilities were built in the area due to the availability of rail service as well as the proximity to the Interstate Highway just south of Marengo.

Rail decline

Passenger traffic continued on the Rock Island line until June of 1970. By then the Interstate Highway system was in place and paved roads, along with improved automobiles, made rail travel less attractive or profitable.

The Rock Island Line filed for bankruptcy in 1975. The Marengo Depot was destroyed in the 1980s, and the Interstate Rail Service began using the tracks for freight traffic which continues today.

Center Point Historical Society is currently hosting an exhibit that remembers the past 170 years of the railroad in Iowa. The exhibit is open every Sunday from 2-5 p.m. through October 29. Admission is free.

Part of the original Victor Depot is on display at the Iowa County Pioneer Heritage Museum in Marengo.

(Information for this article was taken from the column written by David Wendell, a Marion historian and author, which appeared in the Cedar Rapids Gazette Aug. 20 and from research done for the publication of the Marengo Community History Book 2009.)