1884 Train Depot Restoration Project Includes New Historic Exhibits

Spirit Lake, Iowa — The project to restore a historic Iowa train depot will include new exhibits to show the influence of railroads on population growth and tourism.

The 140-year-old depot in Spirit Lake has been home to the Dickinson County Historical Museum for five decades. Mary Drier, the museum’s curator, says the first rail line to reach the shore of Big Spirit Lake was the Burlington-Cedar Rapids-Northern Railway and it began bringing tourists to the Great Lakes region.

A different rail line then connected Spirit Lake and Spencer. The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Depot opened in Spirit Lake in 1884.

Eva’s story, along with others, will be featured in the new exhibits.

A brick addition was built onto the depot in 1995 because the depot had no heat or air conditioning and could not be used year-round. Drier says the depot is now properly insulated, with a new H-VAC system in place. There’s been a 10-fold increase in visitors to the museum since 2021 and Drier credits new programming.

A quarter of a million dollars has been raised so far to finance the upgrades to the museum.

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