Late this winter, the Iowa County Historical Society (ICHS) completed its work on the Victor Depot, which is on the grounds of the Pioneer Heritage Museum in Marengo.
A grant in the amount of $10,000 was received through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa to install a steel roof on the depot and remount the signage on the depot (Rock Island Line and Victor). In addition, through this grant, the communication box on the side of the depot was reattached and an audio panel will be placed this spring or summer to give visitors along the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway Route information about the depot. A special brochure about the Victor Depot is being prepared for distribution as well.
This recent work was done by Kriegel Construction of Marengo and the materials were obtained through the Victor Lumber Co.
In 2012, the ICHS was able to receive grant funding to replace the wooden exterior of the depot with vertical metal siding, to install new windows and walk-in doors and to seal the building from small, invading animals. This grant also came through the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa and that work was done by Bear Creek Construction, Marengo.
The completion of these two projects now improves the depot’s appearance and more importantly, protects the building against weather conditions. In maintaining the depot the ICHS has preserved a very interesting history connected with this building.
HISTORY
The Victor Depot was constructed in 1861-1862 on right-of-way land obtained from George Wilson, who had purchased 100 acres in the Victor area. In negotiating for the track through his land, he also planned for a switch yard and station. This was to further the construction of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad between Davenport and Council Bluffs.
The U.S. Congress had mandated that in order for land grants to be awarded, a track must be completed and in running order up to 100 miles west of Davenport by the summer of 1861. By 1856, the track was in use from Davenport to Iowa City and by October 1860, the train was able to continue as far west as Marengo.
Construction materials for the Victor Depot came partially from Wilson’s timberland about 3 miles southwest of Victor, and from firms in Iowa City and Davenport. Jesse and Sampson Gwinn, Rufus Rosenberger and George Wilson performed most of the labor in felling the trees and scoring them for the hewer. Later then the major parts of the frame timbers were moved to the building site in Victor to become the first frame building in town.
Once train travel was complete to Victor, the telegraph office and the passenger waiting rooms were open 24 hours per day. There were two express and passenger trains and at least 15 freight accommodation trains each way daily. Shipment of wheat, corn, oats, timothy seed, hogs, cattle, horses and sheep were regularly made. The monthly business was around $6,000 through the depot.
Later, the line was renamed the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CR&P) between Davenport and Council Bluffs. During the 1950s, much of the freight began to travel to market by semitrailer trucks and in the 1960s passenger service on the railroad ceased. With the completion of Interstate 80, the railroads further lost business and the Victor Depot closed.
The building remained idle until the fall of 1973, when David Seaton and Dennis Norden of Victor decided to “put it back on the map.” The men acquired the depot for $250 and hired a mover to haul the building to a new location 2 miles south of Victor near Interstate 80.
Finally relocated in 1974 and named The Depot, this night sot included a bar and a game room, and featured live music on the weekends. Operation of The Depot was short-lived and the building again was abandoned.
Dale Noyes of Ladora and a member of the ICHS purchased the building for $1 and made plans to relocate it once more, this time to the Pioneer Heritage Museum grounds in Marengo. Moving the depot as a complete unit proved to be too costly and next to impossible. Thus, the building was dismantled piece by piece (which each piece carefully marked) and hauled to its future home site.
With assistance from his friends in the Good Sam Camping Club of the area, Dale had a cement floor poured and one by one, the large hewn frame timbers once again formed a viable building. A new roof was added, missing doors and windows were replaced and the exterior siding was painted after a sandblast cleaning.
Inside, the station agent’s office and passenger waiting rooms were re-established.
A railroad handcar was obtained and placed on the short track beside the depot in 1991. In the mid-1990s, bricks from the Williamsburg and Marengo city streets were laid around the depot exterior to form a solid platform.
LOTS OF MEMORIES
What stories are held within the walls of this building and many who visit the depot have recollections of times in and around the building as it sat in Victor. Others recall its days alongside the interstate.
The ICHS board is ever indebted to the foresight and efforts of Dale Noyes in bringing the depot building to our grounds as the only depot from the Rock Island Line in Iowa County to be preserved. The ICHS is proud to have this building on our grounds and grateful to the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa for the funding supplied in maintaining the building. We also appreciate the fine construction efforts of both Bear Creek Construction and Kriegel Construction in assisting us with the building.
If anyone has a recollection to share about the depot either as a railroad station or as a nightspot, the ICHS would welcome the sharing of those memories. Please send to the Iowa County Historical Society, P.O. Box 288, Marengo, Iowa 52301-0288, or stop in at the museum, visit the depot and share recollections with members in person.
877-292-2126
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