Moving On Down the Road

As I try to provide a little variety with my postings, I’ll be rambling back and forth from dining with the family in Nebraska to beginning our relatively slow paced ‘back roads’ drive from Omaha back to East Tennessee.

We were in Seward Nebraska in September of 2014…but this time we went through Seward with the family after David III finished a soccer game in York Nebraska.  Laurie and I didn’t spot this old railway depot the first time around but this time I was armed with a photo and an address.

 

Although it’s been significantly modified, the roof line alone should have given this structure away during our previous visit.  I wasn’t able to determine the date that it was built, but this former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad combination freight and passenger depot makes for an interesting looking home.  The structure has been moved about a block from its original location…

This was the first of several depots that we searched out during our drive from Omaha back to the Knoxville Tennessee area.  The former Glenwood Iowa Chicago, Burlington and Quincy depot is still being used by the railroad…in this case it’s now the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe.

Glenwood was established by Mormons in 1848.  They named it Coonsville. The town prospered during the California Gold Rush largely due to a nearby grain mill.  A bit later, Coonsville was the scene of anti-Mormon mob violence.  It became the county seat of Mills County in 1851, and was renamed Glenwood after most of Mormons left for Utah in 1852.

Factoids:

·       Evangelist Billy Sunday was from Glenwood, growing up in a local orphanage.

 

·       Don Hall, film maker and Oscar Winner for the 2015 Disney movie “Big Hero 6” is from Glenwood.

The former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Depot in Red Oak is located at 305 2^nd Street.  This depot which was built in 1903 is now a museum that commemorates the community's significant military heritage and its disproportionate number of casualties in the Civil War and in WWII. 

In the Battle of the Kasserine Pass on February 1943, 45 soldiers from Red Oak were captured or killed.  At the time more than 100 telegrams arrived in Red Oak saying that its soldiers were missing in action!  Red Oak’s population in 1940 was about 5,750… To learn more about this museum, go to http://depothill.net/.

In 1869 the town was officially founded when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (called the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad at the time) arrived.  The community was originally named Red Oak Junction by the railroad. 

The Montgomery County Courthouse in Red Oak Iowa is a massive structure!  With all of the trees around it, we had to take 2 photos to capture the whole building including the huge clock tower.  Construction on this Romanesque Revival style building was completed in 1891 at a cost of $100,00.  Montgomery County was named after American Revolutionary War General Richard Montgomery who was killed while trying to Capture Quebec City in Canada.

Factoids:

·       Clyde Cessna, the founder of Cessna Aircraft was from Montgomery County.

·       So was renowned Tonight Show host, Johnny Carson…

That’s about it for now… Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave