Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Passenger Depot
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Passenger Depot is the only railroad building still standing in Pella. It is now used as a small museum for the adjacent Pella Corporation, which manufactures windows. Built by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRP) in 1906, it represents the role the railroad industry had on the city's development. The museum contains artifacts from the Pella Corporation as well as information about the depot's history.
Images
The historic Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Passenger Depot was built in 1906. It was used until 1980 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The first railroad to reach Pella was the Keokuk and Des Moines Railway (KDM) in 1865. For the next ten years, Pella was the only train stop in Marion County, which enabled the city to become the shipping hub for the county and parts of Mahaska and Jaspeter counties as well. In 1878, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (which was known as "The Rock") leased the KDM lines to Pella and continued to offer passenger service until 1980. The depot was threatened with demolition in the late 1970s and early 1980s (The Rock filed for bankruptcy in 1975) but the Pella Corporation bought and restored it with the intention to use it as a museum. The depot was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Sources
Page, W.C. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Passenger Depot-Pella." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. July 22, 1991. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/91000909_text.
"Pella Rolscreen Museum." Red Rock Area. Accessed January 13, 2022. https://www.redrockarea.com/business/things-to-do/museums/pella-rolscreen-museum.
Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rock_Island_and_Pacific_Passenger_Depot-Pella,_Iowa.jpeg