Osceola Train Depot
Why is train travel less popular today than it was when the Osceola Train Depot was first built?
This train depot has been restored to its original beauty and continues to function in the same way.
Transcript
(Train wheels roll along railroad tracks.)
[Abby Brown] The golden age of railroad lasted from the late 1800s to about the 1920s or 30s, when cars and trucks and airplanes came into the transportation mix. But you can still travel by rail and even depart from a historic train depot in southern Iowa.
(Map marking Clarke County in south central Iowa.)
Osceola is Iowa's modern day hub for passenger train travel. The depot here has been in existence since 1907. It was built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad to replace an old wood station that was here before that. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, because when it was restored, over 100 years after it was built, people worked hard to keep it looking the way it would have looked when train travel was at its peak. When you're inside the depot it's like taking a step back in time.
These benches were part of the original 1907 depot.
(Three long wooden benches with armrests spaced along the bench sit like church pews in a large room. The depot’s frosted glass ticket window is near the benches.)
It's easy to imagine taking a seat, waiting for the next train to come with goods that you might need or people you're excited to see.
For a long time, the people of Iowa heavily depended on railroads to move resources across the country. Train depots were a very important part of any town. You can look at pictures to see what a small town train depot looked like back then.
(Black and white historical picture of the Eldon train depot. People are standing outside the train depot, some with luggage, others just standing, as a steam locomotive idles in front of the depot with steam billowing.)
Or you can experience it for yourself right here in Osceola, where this depot still operates in the same spot it's been for well over 100 years.
Every county in Iowa has a ticket to its past. Sometimes right in front of your eyes. I hope you enjoyed this stop in Clarke County.
Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.