Berwick Iowa, When Coal Was King By G.C. Stevens

 

Travel poster created by AI using the authors photos seen below

Along the meandering Four Mile Creek, a small town, a quiet place tucked in the pocket

of the past, when coal was king and the railroads laid the path, an old church and a post office to serve the those who settled the prairie and mined the coal. The old town has no main roads, passed by, almost forgotten, except for the lucky few, who come to feel the solace. 

-G.C. Stevens     

Located near the confluence Fourmile Creek and Muchikinock Creeks, 

Berwick was first settled in 1846. Henry Taylor platted the town in 1884 

and secured a station on the newly constructed Diagonal Railroad. He 

served as the first postmaster and named the town after his hometown of 

Berwick, Maine. In the early 20th century, Berwick was home to several 

coal mines, including the 200-acre Norwood-White’s Klondike No. 1. For 

nearly twenty years Berwick compared in size to the neighboring towns 

of Altoona and Ankeny. By 1920, the mines had played out and these 

other communities began to surpass Berwick in size. 

Ref: Chichaquavalleytrail.org

In the early 20th century, Berwick and Norwoodville, a mile southwest, were home to several coal mines. The Norwood-White shaft No. 1 (also known as the Klondike No. 1) was 215 feet deep, accessing a 4-foot-thick coal seam. By 1908, this mine extended over roughly 200 acres. Norwood-White shaft No. 2 was half a mile to the east. This mine was newer, covering over 40 acres in 1908. The Delaware Coal Company had a shaft a mile northwest of Berwick, with a shaft 170 feet (52 m) deep. By 1908, this mine covered less than 15 acres. In 1914, Norwood-White produced over 100,000 tons of coal, ranking among the top 24 coal producers in the state. In 1912, United Mine Workers Local 318 in Berwick had 220 members, and Local 845 in Norwoodville, one mile south, had 129 members.

The Railroad in Berwick

The Milwaukee Road (officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad) in Berwick, Iowa, was originally built in the late 19th century as a part of the Des Moines, Northern & Western Railway (the "High Bridge Route") before being acquired by the Milwaukee Road. Running as an important branch line northwest of Des Moines, it supported Berwick and the surrounding area's booming early 20th-century coal mining industry.

The corridor is now part of Central Iowa's extensive recreational trail system. 

The Milwaukee Road in Berwick Original Route: The tracks running through Berwick were originally part of a narrow-gauge Des Moines line that the Milwaukee Road took over in 1895 and subsequently converted to standard gauge.

The Post Office in Berwick founded in 1884 by Henry Taylor photo by the Author

The Berwick Congregational Church (Originally the Union Chapel) founded in 1875

Photo by the Author

An old Chrysler 1960 Windsor greets visitors as the enter Berwick from north. 

Photo by the Author

Hunting For Jesse James, With a Metal Detector By G.C. Stevens

 

On May 09th, 2026, a group of metal detector enthusiasts converged on the site of the Jesse James 1873 train robbery in Adair Iowa. The train robbery site which is located along the famed "white Pole Road" is a very significant historic location because it marks the spot of the first train robbery in the American west, an event that would send shockwaves across the nation. This robbery also solidified the reputation of Jesse James as a controversial post-civil war figure, and feared outlaw whose escapades would lead to many large scale man-hunts to try to arrest the outlaw and his gang. The location is also important to railroad history because the Rock Island and Pacific railroad line that ran through here would pave the way west and the rails would contribute to the growth of small towns along the tracks leading to Omaha Nebraska. 

 The event was coordinated by historian, author and blogger Gene Stevens. The objective was to locate and recover any possible artifacts at the site to be given to local museums. Approximately thirty people from the Iowa Metal Detecting Group attended the event and assisted with the expedition. Many items were recovered that revealed the rich railroading history of Iowa in this region. Of particular interest was the presence of narrow gage railroad track and smaller railroad spikes which indicated the presence of a possible connected narrow gauge rail operation or spur in this location. 

Many thanks to all the great people who came out to help! Photo courtesy of Sandy Riley, Adair News.

NEWS ARTICLES,

CRESTON IOWA NEWS ARTICLE ARTIFACTS FOUND

Narrow Gauge Rail Service in Iowa

The Rock Island logo was in the shape of a beaver pelt!

Photo courtesy of wikimedia

                             Frank James and Jesse James photos from the authors collection

                                      Flyer courtesy of the Adair County Conversation Board

 Flyer courtesy of the Adair County Conservation Board

Part of the initial of items included the expected roadway and construction debris, but in the debris was found many significant railroad related items.

An American Style engine of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific Railroad

Photo courtesy of Black Hawk Railway Historic Society

Railroad items recovered, railroad spikes, track bolts, track plates and one track rail anchor

Historian Gene Stevens showing a railroad track bolt that was recovered from the site.

Of particular interest was the large pin at the top of this photo. The pin is part of a "link and pin coupler" which dates between 1873 and 1900. The link and pin was the coupler of the day. Photo by the author

A close up of the pin, photo by the author

                                                       Photo from Voices of Harvey County 

"Historically, the Brakeman held the most dangerous job on the train. They had to walk atop moving cars and manually apply the brakes.  The brakeman was also in charge of coupling the cars.  He stood between the cars while holding the link in position to slide into the receiver of the car being coupled as it was pushed by an engine. The brakeman held the link in one hand an a second pin in the other while the next car is pushed into position. At exactly the right moment, he must let go of the link and insert the second pin into the pocket of the oncoming car. Early cars had no means of cushioning the impact so if the brakeman's timing was off, he could lose fingers, a hand, or even be crushed completely between the two cars. Links were kept short to reduce slack."

ref Tools from Our Collection: The Link and Pin Coupler

By Kristine Schmucker, Curator

                 READ OTHER ARTICLES ON JESSE JAMES

Members of the group spread out across the area in search of artifacts. Photo by the author

Photo by the author

                                 Another large iron casting now believed to be 

                                a part from a Caterpillar D8 tractor photo by the author

                                                             

                                           WILD WEST MERCHANDISE

                                          

           DUSTY TRAILS OF THE OLD WEST ANTHOLOGY

                         DUSTY TRAILS OF THE OLD WEST BOOKS

                                                   250 YEARS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
  

 

Railroad History: Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad; By G.C. Stevens

 

Brochure photos, courtesy BSVRR

 Trains are big part of the American West. It was the rails that conquered the day!

Besides being a historian and writer, I have been a huge railfan most of my life. My father was a Conductor and Brakeman for the Chicago and Northwestern railroad back in the 1950's, and he would tell me the stories of the rails and traveling far from home for his job. I was also very lucky to have lived near the Illinois Railway Museum in Union Illinois for many years and I was a regular visitor and rider of trains and trolleys there. When I moved to Iowa, I found out that I was very close the Boone & Scenic Railroad Museum which is located in Boone Iowa. Boone is a vibrant railroad town that is also the local headquarters for the Union Pacific Railroad. The town is totally dedicated to its railroading history and is a prime spot for railfans looking for a train-spotting. There are plenty of sites and restaurants around the area. It is also close to the Kate Shelly bridge and historic site.

History

The Boone and Scenic Railroad has a very colorful and romantic railroading history. The railway traces its roots back all the way back to 1893, when the Boone Valley Coal and Railroad Company was founded by businessman Hamilton Browne and headquartered in Boone who built a 3-mile spur to mine and ship coal between Fraser and Fraser Junction, Iowa, where it connected with the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. In 1902, the company became the Newton and North Western Railroad (N&NW) and planned to expand their operations throughout Iowa, extending southward into Des Moines and Newton, expanding westward past Rockwell City and into the Dakotas, and connecting with other major railroads. In January 1904, the N&NW completed their southern extension to Boone, where it was connected with the Chicago and North Western Railway's (C&NW) former Cedar Rapids and Missouri River line. Apparently, a brief dispute over the Boone extension occurred: the N&NW initially laid rails on C&NW property, which in turn ordered for them to be ripped up, and then they were re-laid after Browne secured permission to use the property. Then Later that same year, Browne was forced to resign from the railroad, as it underwent a takeover by Boston-based capital firms H. T. Loring and Son and H. V. and H. W. Poor Co.. In 1909, the N&NW was acquired by the Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern Railroad (FDDMS), which electrified the line for interurban service and expanded their freight operations, and they would later ship gypsum along the route.

Photos of engine #2254 a GE 80 ton center cab at BSVRR

both photos taken by the author

 FDDMS obtained GE 70-ton switchers, and all their remaining passenger operations were discontinued. Also in 1954, the FDDMS fell under ownership of the Des Moines and Central Iowa (D&CI), owned by scrap dealer and shortline operator Murray Salzberg. In 1968, the D&CI and FDDMS were acquired and absorbed by the Chicago and North Western, which subsequently filed multiple petitions to abandon the trackage.

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ref Detailedpedia Boone and scenic Valley Railroad vignette

All photos are by the author

Video from Steam Heritage

                                   Above four photos by the author taken at BSVRR

Trolley line brochure BSVRR

Watch for my book, Trains, Trails and Outlaws

Article updated 04/09/2026 ecs