Burlington Depot in Corydon
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BY MIKE AVITT
Well, I can’t find my material for this week, so I’ll tell you what I did Saturday. First, you need to know about this week’s picture.
I take road trips regularly to shot train stations and other historical sites, but mostly depots. On December 28, 2012 I went to Leon and then Corydon to shot the depot. To my surprise, the factory next door had bought the old Burlington depot and had allowed its employees to strip the depot for souvenirs. This explains the bizarre condition the depot is in during my visit. Oh, I got some souvenirs, too – a window sill and a couple of siding boards.
Obviously, the old Burlington train station is gone now, as is the Rock Island depot (Corydon had two railroads). I got photos of this week’s subject in 2005 and 2010.
I had heard good things about Wayne County’s Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon over the years so I visited the museum last Saturday. The most impressive thing was the amount of square feet. The brochure says 29,000 sq. ft., but I think that includes two out buildings. With that much room, there was space for many collections, like taxidermy, ceramic dogs, license plates, and model cars. There was plenty of room for the fire truck and a horse-drawn hearse. It was a BIG museum. I didn’t go to the out buildings because I visited too long with the curator.
Did you know Corydon has two newspapers? Apparently, a former employee of the Times-Republican, Corydon’s oldest newspaper, left and started his own paper, the Corydon Independent. I bought both papers and I liked them both although one had more advertising than the other.
One of Corydon’s claims to fame is their bank being robbed by the James Gang. On June 3, 1871, Jesse and Frank James, Cole Younger, and Clell Miller, robbed the Ocobock Brothers Bank in Corydon. This is the robbery that lead to rumors of the James Gang passing through Ringgold and Worth Counties. Another James Gang robbery took place on July 21, 1873 southwest of Adair, Iowa, when the gang held up a train.
Another thing I noticed about Corydon was the number of retail outlets. Corydon has two factories and I saw the evidence of that.
I came home via Allerton, Clio, Lineville, Leon, and Kellerton. I had supper at Kellerton because Southern Iowa Parks and Recreation was having a barbecue. And I took pictures along the way. I’ll keep looking for my lost material. I should have it next week.
