Old Milwaukee Road Train Station IA

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Depot, Jefferson Iowa

Date added: October 16, 2023 Categories: Iowa Train Station Passenger Station Freight Station Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad

The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Depot is one of the standard-plan wooden depots the company was still erecting during the early twentieth century. Because Jefferson was the county seat, the depot warranted more decorative treatment than the Milwaukee normally accorded its stations, in this case, pent gables over the trackside and back bays, an open pavilion on one end, and some decorative window treatment.

The Milwaukee line was one of three lines serving Jefferson by the late nineteenth century, the other two being the Chicago & North Western and the Rock Island. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad through Jefferson began as the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad. As such, it was part of the 500 or so miles of track that Jay Gould pieced together in Iowa during the late 1870s and early 1880s in an attempt to break into territory controlled by stronger and well-established lines such as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and the Rock Island? Published sources are vague about when the Wabash entered Jefferson, but it probably was in 1882 or 1883. It certainly was not any later than 1883 since by June 30^th of that year the Wabash had built 114 miles of narrow gauge track from Des Moines to Fonda. Jefferson was on this line. According to the first official history of Greene County, the Wabash operated the Des Moines to Fonda line for eight or nine years. Property owners living in the six townships of Greene County through which the line passes aided construction by paying a tax on their land, which varied from two to five percent of assessed value.

The 114-mile line was also known as the High Bridge Route, so named for a long, high bridge that crossed the Des Moines River between Clive and Boone, Iowa. After the Wabash went bankrupt in 1884, the High Bridge Route eventually was acquired by the Des Moines, Northern & Western Railway Company. The official transfer came in 1891, the same year that new standard gauge track was laid. In January 1895, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway acquired the Des Moines, Northern & Western Railway property and franchises Thus, by 1895, the line was officially part of the Milwaukee Road.

Available evidence indicates that the present depot was constructed from a standard Milwaukee building plan between 1906 and 1909. It is nearly identical in design to the Milwaukee depot constructed at Adel, Iowa, the plan for which is dated April 1906. The Jefferson depot is depicted on the August 1909 Sanborn map, so it definitely was constructed by that date.

Fire insurance maps depict the buildings at the Milwaukee station as early 1893, at which time a combination passenger and freight depot served the community. This structure, smaller than the existing depot, was located on Mulberry Street north of Main Street (after 1912 known as the Lincoln Highway). It was in the heart of the downtown commercial area. Three side tracks served McFarland Grain Co., P.M. West's Elevator, Lee Jamieson & Co. Lumber Yard, and an agricultural implement dealer. Assorted coal sheds, lumber sheds and racks, corn cribs, and loading platforms sat adjacent to the tracks. The August 1909 Sanborn map shows that by then the new passenger depot and brick platform had been erected on Mulberry across Main Street on the south. The former combination depot had been converted to handle only freight, with a new platform extending from three sides of the building. Side tracks still served two elevators and a lumber yard, plus I.J. Mattson Carriage & Wagon Works and Jefferson Ice Co. By this time, the railroad reportedly was the only line in Jefferson carrying passengers straight through to Des Moines without stopping. The Milwaukee line also was the major north-south line connecting Des Moines with the northern lakes region (Spirit Lake and Lake Okoboji). Local resident Jim Andrews recalls that a section house sat approximately two blocks south of the depot. The freight depot remained in service until roughly World War II, and for many years after that, the building was used for grain storage until it was razed in about 1980. Passenger service continued until the early 1950s. After that, Milwaukee continued to use the depot as a freight office until about 1980.

As a county seat depot, the Jefferson station was larger than most, with two waiting rooms, indoor plumbing, an express and baggage room, and an attached pavilion for patrons who cared to wait outside. Prior to 1900, Milwaukee depots represented a hodge-podge of building types inherited from predecessor lines. At the turn of the century, however, the company "clarified its depot design policies; it devised an elaborate set of combination station drawings that would provide a structure to meet the traffic requirements of any community...." These combination stations ranged from tiny two-room depots, containing a waiting room and a freight room with no agent's quarters, to the widely used one-story "Garden City" types with decorative siding and trim to roomier two-story depots with agent's quarters on the second floor. "Six standard plans used...after the turn of the century account[ed] for more than 100 depots" built in the Midwest. For the most part, the Milwaukee railroad relied upon surface decoration rather than structural complexity to dress its depots. County-seat depots, however, usually received some slightly out-of-the-ordinary treatment. In addition to being larger buildings, these depots might have a broken-pitch roof or a complex roof form, gabled dormers, tower dormers, or rounded bays. The Jefferson depot reflects such catering to the local community. The open pavilion on the north end plus two interior waiting rooms provided ample shelter for patrons. Pent gables over the bays and decorative window touches also signified this was a slightly more important community in the eyes of the railroad.

Building Description

Rectangular in plan, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul depot at Jefferson measures 72'6" long x 24'6" wide with a 27'6" x 24' open pavilion on the north end. The entire structure is integrated under a hipped roof which has a central cross gable over mirror-image trackside and back bays. Wood shingles (in poor repair) currently cover the roof. A centrally located brick chimney intersects the gable on the ridge of the main, hipped roof. Wide eaves are supported by oversize, scrolled and notched brackets. The pavilion is supported by two plain wooden posts on the northeast and northwest corners. These are replacements, probably installed sometime in the late 1950s, although the styling of the originals is as yet undetermined. Plans for the Adel depot, of which this is a near twin, show each support consisting of two slender round columns set atop a square pier. The Milwaukee depots at Jefferson and Adel were erected on the same plan, although they differ in overall length and in ornamental window treatment, so the pavilion columns may not have been quite the same, although those at Jefferson are remembered as being round wooden columns.

Building decoration is based primarily on the use of contrasting exterior siding material. Pent gable ends over the trackside and back bays are covered with patterned shingles, and small vent windows are tucked under the gable peak. Upper walls are sheathed with drop siding. Lower walls are covered with narrow, V-notched ceiling boards. Window and door openings are set off with wide, plain surrounds. Windows are predominantly one-light/one-light wood sash, although they are currently covered with plywood to discourage vandalism. Transom windows are located over all the pass and baggage doors. "Jefferson" signboards still hang from the north and south eaves.

The interior plan includes two waiting rooms, one on either side of the ticket office and connected by a hallway behind the ticket office, which also provides access to men's and women's toilets, located in the back bay. The south end of the depot is arranged mainly for baggage and freight handling, although a small coal storage room is also located here. Room partitions are intact, as is the ticket window. Likewise, the ticket office cabinetry is still present. Walls and ceilings alike are covered with V-notched tongue-and-groove siding painted in contrasting colors above and below a chair rail.

Alterations are minimal, limited to replacement pavilion support posts. In addition, a stained glass window from the back bay and the brick platform have been removed. The brick pavers along the main platform area on the east side of the depot were salvaged by the Boone and Scenic Valley Railway after the Milwaukee line went bankrupt and the depot was vacated. Those on the west rear were salvaged by a local resident, Jim Andrews. A cast iron horse trough which sat on the north edge of the depot adjacent to the Lincoln Highway was sold as an antique.

Central Iowa Energy Cooperative (CIECO) currently owns the depot grounds as well as the track right-of-way located on the east side of the depot. The tracks have been removed and the roadbed is slated for redevelopment as part of the North Raccoon Environmental Corridor. Greene County Conservation Board leases the depot from CIECO and intends to restore the depot for uses compatible with the recreational trail.