Built 1905 Opened 1905 | NRHP Reference # 97000308 Added to NRHP 14 March 1997 | |
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Location Main Street, between Railroad St and Clinton Ave
Delmar, Iowa MPS Advent & Development of Railroads in Iowa MPS Similar Horace Anthony House, Delmar Calaboose, Ames Creek Bridge | ||
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot is a historic structure located in Delmar, Iowa, United States.
History
The original station was built in Delmar in the 1870s and the present structure was built for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad in 1905. 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. In between the waiting rooms and the freight room was the station agent's office.
Delmar owes its existence to railroads. 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, Illinois to Omaha, Nebraska.
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 placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It now houses the Delmar Depot Museum, which contains a collection of over 1,500 historical items. The site also includes an old caboose named "Elizabeth" and a mural on the old viaduct wall that commemorates the Orphan Train.