Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa

Looking northwest (freight area in foreground) (1995)

Iowa was greatly affected by the development of the rail industry. The railroads connected the two major rivers along the state's east and west boundaries and provided a means to channel people and goods into Iowa, while also carrying agricultural products, livestock, raw materials and manufactured goods from town to town, and out of the state. Following the Civil War there was a tremendous period of growth, with the manpower and materials necessary for railroad construction readily available. The initial phase of railroad building followed the east/west route linking the two rivers, but from the mid-1870s on, construction of north/south and diagonal lines became more important.

The town of Delmar exists primarily because of this rail development. In 1870 two railroads converged on the present site of Delmar, the Davenport & St. Paul and the Midland. The Davenport and St. Paul then proceeded to lay tracks into the town of Maquoketa. The Davenport had established their location for a station about half a mile south of the present town, but the managers of the Midland put in a "plug" side track and left a superannuated Northwestern car for a depot and named the infant town. Less than a year later (October 1871) the Sabula, Ackley & Dakota track was laid across Main Street at the point where the "depot" was located, and they began construction of their own depot nearby. The 1879 History of Clinton County noted "It is doubtful whether the other roads would have made a town where Delmar now stands at all had the Sabula, Ackley & Dakota crossed elsewhere". With three railroads in the community, the town of Delmar Junction began to grow. In 1872 the Sabula, Ackley & Dakota was deeded to the Milwaukee & St. Paul.

The present depot is the second in the community to be used by the Milwaukee. During the so-called "Golden Age of Steam Railroading, 1890-1920" railroads not only expanded their track mileage, but started re-laying many miles of early track (removing hills and curves), and replacing the early depots, most of which were small frame structures. This is exactly what happened in the Delmar area. The 1874 plat map shows a small depot on the original site between two curving sets of track, between Clinton and Vane streets. The 1894 plat map shows no depot at that location, but there is a very small depot a block to the west. The 1901 Bennett Fire Insurance Map shows no depot on the original site, but by 1905 a plat of the city shows a larger depot on the original site. Thus, it appears that sometime between 1901 and 1905 the present depot was constructed along the original rail line. One undated historic photograph which was taken by "Hamley of Maquoketa" shows the present depot, complete with roof cresting, on the old site.

The Delmar Journal, Delmar Centennial, 1871-1971 said "The years 1912, 1913 and 1914 can be looked back upon as the most exciting in all railroad history of the community. During this period, relocation and laying of a second track was in progress." It was at this time that the depot was moved to its present site. Only one page of architect's drawings has been located, but this page contains the floor plan and elevations of the depot and the following comments, "Construction Notes. Work started July 1914. Work completed Aug 1914. Foundation 46 cu. yds. Excavation 25 cu. yds." Drawn by the Bridge & Building Dept. of the C.M. & St.P. Railroad, these appear to been plans only for the foundation for a pre-existing building. Further documentation of this is found in the Delmar Enterprise during the month of July 1914. Each week there was a comment concerning the move, culminating with the July 29th issue, "The freight section of the C.M. & St.P. depot was moved to its new location last week and the passenger section will be moved within a few days." The current plat map shows not only the present location of the rail line and depot, but also the curving double tracks in their original location.

The Milwaukee appears to have used a number of standardized designs for their depots, depending on type and location. Bigger cities would have large brick depots, while small towns often had smaller frame structures. For example, a basic Milwaukee plan for a small frame combination depot containing a waiting room, office, and freight room, measured only 24' x 60'. The Delmar Depot is larger, 24' x 98', and includes two waiting rooms rather than one, plus a larger freight area. It appears that Delmar was not a large enough community to have a brick depot, but there was enough traffic to need a larger frame building. The overall design links it to the Malden Plan as identified by Grant and Bohi (The Country Railroad Station in America, p. 81). The use of simple decorative detailing (a combination of vertical and horizontal cladding, broad eaves, and distinctive "A" shaped eave braces) is typical of these second-generation depots. The Delmar Depot continued in use until 1977 when it was vacated. It retains an unusually high level of integrity for a building in constant use. The major alterations were made to improve the function of the facility and involved additional access to the freight room.

Building Description

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot in Delmar from c.1905 is a single-story rectangular building measuring 24' x 98', with an east/west axis. It is a combination passenger/freight depot of wood construction with a hip roof (flared on the Passenger portion). Although it was originally built next to the tracks approximately one block south of its present location, it was moved when the Milwaukee tracks were relocated in 1914. The location is northwest of the business district, with a grain elevator to the south, and a residential neighborhood to the north.

The building rests on a poured concrete foundation (1914) with a very small crawl space. The exterior is covered with two different types of siding. Below the windows is a band of vertical weatherboard which is highlighted by a simple band of molding at both the top and the bottom. Horizontal clapboard is used above this vertical board area. A wide cornice board functions as a stringcourse across the tops of the doors and windows. Angle braces with recessed cross-piece and gently curved ends support the broad overhanging eaves. The roof features a two-level hip, being a simple hip at the east end over the freight area, but flared over the west end Passenger area. The original roofing material was cedar shingles and iron cresting originally adorned the ridge. A single chimney is located just east of center in the passenger portion.

The depot is located on the south side of the tracks, with the dispatcher's bay on the north (track) elevation. This three-window bay has an exterior door immediately to the left (west) side. Two other doors are located on the north wall of the passenger area, and there are two doors along the north wall of the freight area. Four north windows provide light into the passenger area. There are two windows on the west elevation (passenger area), while the east elevation has a single opening, a wide freight door. This is a raised door, suggesting a ramp or plaform was originally located along this end. The south elevation would have been the "street side" and it has two entrances, one near each end of the passenger portion, plus two freight doors (one with small wooden dock in front). Five windows open into the passenger area. Windows throughout are 1/1 double hung sash, while the regular (not freight) doors all have a single large window and transom above. These five doors are all reached by two concrete Steps, and a concrete platform surrounds 75% of the building. The concrete is all in good condition.

The floor plan shows the large freight room at the east end, with the dispatcher/ticket office and two waiting rooms in the passenger portion of the building. An architect's drawing from 1914 shows that the freight room originally was on two levels, with the east part having a high floor, and the west part having a low floor. That explains why the two freight doors serving the east end of the building are raised. The passenger area features the central office and double waiting rooms (one for male and one for female passengers) that were common in depots of this period. The two waiting rooms were originally connected by a hallway along the south wall. Significant interior features in the Passenger area include vertical beaded board on interior walls from floor to ceiling,

while the ceiling and exterior walls are of somewhat wider vertical tongue and groove siding. A simple molding encircles the room at about the five-foot level. The ceilings are 12' high. The office has two ticket windows with a counter on the interior wall which is curved at the corners. The window and door surrounds are quite plain with a simple cornice. The hallway has arched openings at each end. Floors are of 2 1/2" boards. In the freight area the walls are of horizontal boards with unfinished ceilings. The freight room floor joists rest on 16" x 8" beams. Indoor plumbing was never installed.

There appear to have been relatively few alterations on the interior. The door from the hall into the west waiting room was closed at an unknown date. Locally it is said that the west waiting room was used by the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad which intersected nearby. As already noted, at some undetermined date the floor of both portions of the freight room was changed to a common level. There have been some changes made to the exterior, all apparently involving the freight area: the opening of one new freight door on the south elevation (after 1914), alterations to the other freight door on the same wall; the freight door on the north elevation was enlarged, and another, taller entrance to the freight area added; the freight door on the east end has been closed. The original gutters have been replaced by conventional gutters and downspouts. No date has been determined for the removal of the original roof cresting or the covering of the cedar shingles with asphalt ones, but this was done long before the recent roof replacement.

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa Looking northeast (passenger area in foreground) (1995)
Looking northeast (passenger area in foreground) (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa Looking northwest (freight area in foreground) (1995)
Looking northwest (freight area in foreground) (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa Looking southwest from tracks (freight area in foreground) (1995)
Looking southwest from tracks (freight area in foreground) (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa Looking southeast from tracks (passenger area in foreground), (1995)
Looking southeast from tracks (passenger area in foreground), (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa Eave braces along south elevation, looking east (1995)
Eave braces along south elevation, looking east (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa East part of freight room looking northwest (1995)
East part of freight room looking northwest (1995)

Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Depot, Delmar Iowa East waiting room, looking northeast toward tracks (1995)
East waiting room, looking northeast toward tracks (1995)