Delmar Railroad Depot Museum

        Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Milwaukee Railroad Depot in Delmar, Iowa is considered historically important for both its architecture and its role in the development of the town of Delmar.  Although  typical of depot construction during the “golden age” of steam railroading, it was unusual for depots to be built in this late Victorian Style west of the Mississippi River.

        The  Davenport & St. Paul railroad and the Midland division of the Chicago and North Western competed to be the first to complete laying track to what was then Bloomfield township.  Competition was fierce and both railroads completed laying track on the same day, approximately an hour apart, creating a junction and a bustling hub of commerce.  A year later a third line, the Sabula, Ackley and Dakota began providing service,  and a booming railroad town was born.

         The last passenger train came through Delmar on May 2, 1971 at 8:30 a.m. The last freight train used the station in October, 1982. 

     While in Delmar stop by the Calaboose. When the first railroads, the Davenport, St. Paul, and the Midland were being built, the area was still a frontier.  Not yet incorporated, it was dubbed Delmar Junction. The area, Bloomfield Township, was still pretty much a frontier, populated by a number of farms and a few businesses. Delmar was incorporated in 1876 and as the economy grew so too did the number of railroad employees laying and maintaining tracks. With little to do during off hours, a prosperous liquor trade developed. Eventually lawlessness reached unacceptable levels and citizens demanded the town council build a jail.  The jail, a single roomed structure with a vaulted roof and walls of 2′ thick quarried sandstone, was completed in October 1878.  Known as the calaboose, the name was derived from the corruption of the Spanish word calabozo, meaning dungeon.

Upcoming Event

Delmar Railroad Depot Museum

100 Railroad Street

PO Box 35

Delmar, Iowa 52037

Open:  May 4, thru September 29, 2024

Time:  12:00 to 4:00 PM

Or schedule a field trip or appointment at another time call or text:

Julie Ann: 563-212-4764; Cathie: 563-212-2364; Steve: 319-480-3346