Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , Connecting to the Outside World , The longed-for arrival of the railroad in Decorah on September 1, 1869 was cause for much celebration with speeches and opportunities for short excursion trips to Conover as part of the festivities. Decorah historian Charles H. Sparks explains the temper of the times before the railroad arrived in Decorah: “In 1856, everything was booming. The abundant resources of a new country had reached a high state of development, money was plentiful, and the prospects for the future bright. One thing alone seemed lacking to make the people perfectly satisfied with their condition , better facilities for transportation.” The last link in the Transcontinental Railroad was joined with a spike of gold at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869 adding to the “railroad fever raging throughout the West” and infecting even Decorah with the desire to connect to the outside world. , To Market, to market… , Early settlers in Decorah recognized the need for a good, reliable transportation system if they were to prosper. If farmers wanted to market their crops, hauling them via ox team or horses to Lansing or McGregor was the only alternative, a trip that took three days under optimum conditions. Transportation to and from the area for residents was by stagecoach, horse and buggy, or on foot. Any supplies needed by merchant or consumer, or any outgoing shipment of locally manufactured goods had to travel by horse and wagon. Beginning at North McGregor, rail lines had already been laid during the Civil War, fourteen and a half miles to Monona by March 1864, connection to Postville in September 1864, to Castalia in October 1864, and to Conover in August of 1865. After extensive negotiations by Decorah citizens and several false starts, the McGregor Western Railway, and later in 1869, the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company, constructed a branch line to Decorah. By 1873 annual shipments out of Decorah by train included 490,000 bushels of grain, 27,000 barrels of flour, 4,000 barrels of pork and beef, 414 tons of dressed hogs and lard, 76 tons of wool and hides, and 35 tons of machinery, carriages, and implements. By 1882 the Ice Cave and Decorah Creameries were manufacturing 3,000 pounds of butter each day with Chicago one of the biggest clients. Another business located a block east of the first Milwaukee depot exported 250,000 dozen eggs a year packed in paper barrels made in an adjoining building. Trains became a vital part of Decorah's transportation system with several trains arriving and departing daily. , The Depots , The first railroad depot built on Railroad Street received both passengers and freight. Rails were laid on both sides of the depot and the tracks came into Decorah from the southwest with a turntable to reverse the engine located near River and Frances Streets. The original depot still stands at 203 W. Pearl Street. It has a low-pitched roof, pedimented windows, entrances and freight doors, a vernacular style with Greek Revival influences. After land was purchased in 1882, the Milwaukee passenger depot at 203 W. Water Street was added, placing disembarking passengers nearer the business district. Its high-pitched roof with bellcast eaves and deep overhangs, a square tower dormer with decorative roof brackets and trim, and decorative patterned shingles in the gable areas and on lower wall surfaces were influenced by the Queen Anne Revival style popular during the time the depot was built. , Rise and Fall… , The arrival and departure of daily trains was a welcome event in Decorah for many years. During its heyday, the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul line had trains arriving daily. Draymen and horse-drawn omnibuses from the local hotels would meet the trains and convey passengers and freight to their destinations. All mail and freight arrived by train and W.E. Alexander's History of Winneshiek and Allamakee Counties reports that during a three-month period in 1882, the Decorah post office mailed out 13,825 pounds of newspapers alone. , Changes in American society and transportation eventually rendered rail service less profitable in many areas with Decorah being no exception. Milwaukee diesel No. 500 pulled out the last boxcar on June 1, 1979 and literally rode into the Sunday evening sunset, ending nearly 110 years of service to Decorah. The passenger depot has functioned in succeeding years as an automobile sales and service facility, a dry cleaning establishment, and a secondhand store. Dr. A.B. Ludeking restored the depot for his chiropractic offices in 1975, and it remains today a reminder of an earlier era and way of life. , [other photo captions] , . Engine No. 2379, a ten-wheeler (6 drivers, 4 pilot wheels), prepares to pull out of the station in the early 1920s. , . An unidentified group of men are photographed on and around locomotive No. 2379. This locomotive was in service between March of 1921 and September of 1938 so this photo was taken sometime during that time span. , . Baggage stands loaded and ready to go on the station platform in this early 1920s view looking southwest toward the Water Street business district. , . The arrival of the railroad in Decorah was a boon to the local population in marketing crops and goods and providing passenger transportation both in and out of Decorah. This article from an 1870 Decorah newspaper enumerates amounts shipped out and passenger business during a month's time. , . The turntable for the Milwaukee passenger and freight depots was located near the corner of Frances and River Streets. , . Milwaukee diesel No. 500 pulled out the last boxcar on June 1, 1979 and was photographed south of Decorah on its final voyage. , Funding for this sign provided by: Hawkeye Stages