Nicholas, and others who may be interested. Your location on Tuskeego is
correct. The other spot I asked about was known as "Little Chicago", it
sat about 3(?) miles SE of the town of Kellerton and was bypassed by the
CB&Q when the line was built down through Leon to Lamoni and Mt, Ayr and
on to Grant City, MO. The residents of Little Chicago had lobbied hard
for the railroad and when it passed them by, the loaded their stores and
homes on skids and pulled them to the railhead at Kellerton. Kellerton
was named after a Mr. Keller, who was affiliated with the CB&Q. This
extension was built between 1878 & 1880. The line from Mt. Ayr to Grant
City was abandoned in 1944. The rest I believe was pulled up in 1978.
When I lived in Kellerton in the mid-80's Little Chicago was just a cow
pasture and local folk lore, nothing more.
Beaconsfield was on the Humeston and Shenandoah line, which was built by
the Wabash/Gould interests in 1881to compete with the above mentioned
CB&Q line that ran further south in the center in some of the same
counties. It became under CB&Q control in 1896 when Perkins purchased
it. Beaconsfield is west of Grand River and is the home of the women
Astronaut Wittson who just returned from a six month stay on the space
station.
Doug Harding
Iowa Central Railroad
www.cal-net.net/~dharding/ <http://www.cal-net.net/~dharding/>
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