Milwaukee

Road train depots

LA MOTTE DEPOT: HOUSED ON THE GROUNDS OF THE CLINTON ENGINES MUSEUM AND JACKSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

DELMAR DEPOT: 100 RAILROAD ST., DELMAR; 563-212-2364 FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Milwaukee Road was one of the chief railroad lines in the Midwest and meandered through eastern Iowa, both through the hills and along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The company is long gone, but two of its depots remain intact in the Maquoketa area.

Clinton Engines Museum and Jackson County Historical Society

605 E. MAPLE ST. | 563-652-5020

OPEN: 10 A.M. TO 4 P.M. TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, NOON TO 4 P.M. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

ONLINE: CLINTONENGINES.COM AND JCIAHS.COM, OR FIND CLINTON ENGINES MUSEUM ON FACEBOOK

The La Motte depot relocated to Maquoketa in 2016 from its original town about 10 miles northeast, but from 1911 to 1936, the depot served Iowa’s last narrowgauge line, one with rails closer to one another than a standard line. Narrow gauges helped cars and freight maneuver through the hills and curves more efficiently than on a standard line.

Clinton Engines once was a leading producer of small gasoline engines for go-karts, lawn mowers and chain saws. More than 18 million engines were manufactured at the site between the 1950s and 1980s. Displays include engines, small vehicles, an employee database and an interactive go-kart race. The building also houses the Jackson County Historical Society, which features displays of nature, local businesses, toys, agriculture relics and other mementos of county history.

North Bend School

34553 IRON BRIDGE ROAD, SPRAGUEVILLE | 563-689-3781

OUTSIDE OPEN DAWN TO DUSK

About 5 miles east of Maquoketa, outside of the small town of Spragueville, is a restored one-room schoolhouse from 1861 that educated its last students in 1966. The playground equipment remains intact, including the see-saw, swings and an early funnelball pole — only without a funnel and made of connects metal rings instead. North Bend was featured in a 2010 country school documentary, “One Room, One Nation.” The school opens its doors for the occasional special event, and tours and rentals for meets can be arranged by appointment.

Hurstville Lime Kilns

7301 HURSTVILLE ROAD | 563-652-3783

In Delmar, the depot served two standard lines: one going east-west through town, and another south to Davenport. A veterans memorial monument is nearby, and it ties into the depot, where replicas of military posters from both world wars hang outside. Both depots are open for occasional events during the spring and summer months.

OPEN: DAWN TO DUSK

ONLINE AT TINYURL.COM/2U7W3JSF

Limestone makes up the crust of the area, and the stones carved out from local quarries during the late 1800s and early 1900s all came to the Hurstville’s four outdoor lime kilns to be heated to create quicklime used for limestone building construction throughout the Midwest. Now part of a park, the kilns not only tell their own story, but also about the former settlement of Hurstville, which surrounded the site. The last kiln turned off in 1930 and this village 1 mile north of Maquoketa disappeared into history.