North Dakota Has The Last Two-Story Midland Continental Rail Depot In Existence, And You Can Visit It
By Leah|Published March 08, 2021
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Leah
Author
Leah moved to North Dakota when she was 12 years old and has traveled from the Red River Valley to the badlands and many places in between. She loves small-town life and currently enjoys living on a small farm in the ND prairie. She's always had a passion for writing and has participated in novel writing challenges such as NaNoWriMo multiple times. Her favorite part about this job is recognizing small businesses that deserve a boost and seeing the positive affect her articles can have on their traffic, especially in rural areas that might have otherwise gone overlooked.
North Dakota’s modern history is deeply intertwined with railroad history. Many of North Dakota’s towns were established just to be a railroad stop every 10 miles to service early trains. The rail expansion westward brought many settlers by train to homestead on North Dakota’s open, untouched prairies. Nowadays, trains are still used all across the state for hauling freight – primarily coal and grains – but a lot of the small towns and rail depots have fallen to the wayside. You can still find some remnants of that history, though. In fact, you can visit the last railroad depot in North Dakota of its kind. It’s special for another reason, too, see why:
Wimbledon, North Dakota is an interesting town with an interesting story. It's a railroad town not like many others in North Dakota, but a railroad town nonetheless.
Although most of the original rail lines that went through here are no more, you can still find a very special part of them left behind: the very last two-story Midland Continental Railroad Depot in existence. Conveniently, it has been made into a museum.
From the carefully curated exhibit to the preserved rooms - such as the kitchen the depot agent would have made their meals and eaten in - it's like stepping back in time.
Speaking of the depot agent, here's another reason why this museum is so cool: a former depot agent that lived here was the father of none other than Peggy Lee. Whether you grew up with her music playing over the radio or remember her from things like singing and voice acting in a childhood classic, Lady and the Tramp, you can learn all about her history here. You can even see her original bedroom!
The Midland Continental Railroad Depot is certainly one-of-a-kind, and even if it may be a bit out of your way to visit, you'll be glad you stopped by!
You never know what you’ll find in North Dakota’s small towns! They are easy to pass by, but worth a detour now and then. Here are more of the state’s best small towns to visit.
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