Colonel William A. Phillips

Ottumwa station is an Amtrak intercity train station in Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. The station was originally built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and has been listed as Burlington Depot by the National Register of Historic Places since November 26, 2008. It became a contributing property in the Historic Railroad District in 2011.

History

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&M) reached Ottumwa from Burlington, Iowa in 1859, and the city remained the western terminus for the line until after the American Civil War. In the summer of 1865 work began to extend the line west of Ottumwa and it reached the Missouri River four years later. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) invested heavily in the project and took over the B&M in 1875. The CB&Q built a combination passenger and freight depot in Ottumwa in 1889. Its design was attributed to the Chicago architectural firm of Burnham and Root, who designed all of the railroad's larger depots.^[4] Ottumwa was the division point for the line. The CB&Q was one of five railroads that served the city, and it shared their depot with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. This depot was known as Ottumwa Union Depot.^[4] The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) and Wabash Railroad served Ottumwa at a depot at Jefferson Street, listed as about .25 miles (0.40 km) away from the current station.^[5]^[6] The since-abandoned Milwaukee Road tracks were on a branch from its main line to Kansas City, which ran through Ottumwa on the northwest side of town. The Wabash Railroad tracks ended at Ottumwa, and crossed the Des Moines River on a bridge that has been repurposed into a trail.^[7]^[8]

After World War II Ottumwa experienced a building boom, and the CB&Q decided to replace its depot with a modern one. The Chicago architectural firm of Holabird, Root & Burgee designed the new depot as well new depot in Burlington, Iowa in 1943. That depot was the standard used to design other CB&Q depots after the war with Ottumwa being one.^[4] The new Ottumwa depot was completed in 1951 by Benson Construction Company using the limestone foundation of the old depot and its exterior walls. None of the old depot is visible today. During construction, the railroad used two passenger cars as ticket office and waiting room. Ballingall Park in front of the depot was completed at the same time. The present depot is a two-story structure designed in a simple Modernist style. The rectangular building features a flat roof, broad eaves, banded windows and an exterior clad with ashlar Lannon stone.

Transit connections

The Ottumwa Transit Authority East-West Route stops near the station. However, under the current California Zephyr schedule, Emeryville-bound trains arrive almost an hour after the system ends its daily operations.

In addition, intercity buses operated by Burlington Trailways stop two blocks away at the corner of Market Street and Main Street.^[9]

References

^ "Ottumwa Dedicates Railroad Station and City Park". The Des Moines Register. May 27, 1951. p. 25. Retrieved July 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Iowa" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c Molly Myers Naumann. "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Burlington Depot". National Park Service. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
^ Waterman, Harrison Lyman (1914). History of Wapello County, Iowa. Vol. 1. Wapello County: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 163. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
^ "Index of Railroad Stations". Official Guide of the Railways. New York City: National Railway Publishing Company. June 1941. p. 1445.
^ Carpenter, Richard C. (2013). "Ottumwa, IA". A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 5: Iowa and Minnesota. JHU Press. p. 104A. ISBN 978-1-4214-1035-7. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
^ Newman, Mark (September 7, 2018). "Historic Wabash railroad society is coming to Ottumwa". Ottumwa Courier. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
^ "Iowa". March 22, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2022.

External links

Media related to Ottumwa station at Wikimedia Commons

[1951opening-1] "Ottumwa Dedicates Railroad Station and City Park". The Des Moines Register. May 27, 1951. p. 25. Retrieved July 1, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

[AmtrakRidershipIA-2] "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Iowa" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.

[nris-3] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[Naumann-4] Molly Myers Naumann. "NRHP Inventory-Nomination: Burlington Depot". National Park Service. Retrieved March 27, 2019.

[5] Waterman, Harrison Lyman (1914). History of Wapello County, Iowa. Vol. 1. Wapello County: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. p. 163. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

[6] "Index of Railroad Stations". Official Guide of the Railways. New York City: National Railway Publishing Company. June 1941. p. 1445.

[7] Carpenter, Richard C. (2013). "Ottumwa, IA". A Railroad Atlas of the United States in 1946: Volume 5: Iowa and Minnesota. JHU Press. p. 104A. ISBN 978-1-4214-1035-7. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

[8] Newman, Mark (September 7, 2018). "Historic Wabash railroad society is coming to Ottumwa". Ottumwa Courier. Retrieved April 9, 2020.

[9] "Iowa". March 22, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2022.

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Amtrak stations in Iowa
Active stations	Burlington Creston Fort Madison ATSF Mount Pleasant Osceola Ottumwa
Former stations	Dubuque Fort Madison BNSF

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National Register of Historic Places in Wapello County, Iowa
Agency	Chief Wapello's Memorial Park
Eldon	Big 4 Fair Art Hall Dibble House Eldon Carnegie Public Library McHaffey Opera House
Ottumwa	Administration Building, U.S. Naval Air Station Ottumwa Agassiz School B'nai Jacob Synagogue Benson Block Benson Building Burlington Depot Court Hill Historic District Dahlonega School No. 1 Fifth Street Bluff Historic District First National Bank Foster/Bell House J.W. Garner Building Greater Second Street Historic District Historic Railroad District Hofmann Building Hotel Ottumwa Jay Funeral Home Jefferson Street Viaduct Mars Hill North Fellows Historic District Ottumwa Cemetery Historic District Ottumwa Public Library Ottumwa Young Women's Christian Association U.S. Post Office St. Joseph Hospital Historic District Vogel Place Historic District Wapello County Courthouse
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Wapello County, Iowa and List of National Historic Landmarks in Iowa