I've been workin' on the ... Milwaukee Road
A couple of years ago I was contacted by someone whose friend had saved ‘abandoned’ photos of and by my mother’s cousins. These cousins (Lucille and Leona) had lived to a good age (90s) but had no children. I’ve dipped back into Ancestry records to remind myself of how they ended up in Tacoma, Washington. (They were born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. That’s Pottawattamie County to you, folks!)
I always say that ‘the railroad’ is the main reason Minnesotans/Iowans ended up in Washington State, if not following the railroad then following family and friends who had followed the railroad as far as the Pacific.
In 1930 Lucille married Jake Knaff, who was a ticket agent on the railroad. He had arrive in Tacoma sometime in the 20s. Lucille was a stenographer for the railroad, so they probably met at the office!
On the 1920 census Jake was ticket at it in Harlowton, Montana. The depot there is now a museum, which I find quite a nice coincidence! I was surprised to find that it is a museum of the Milwaukee Road, since the major railroads going to the Pacific Northwest from Minnesota/Iowa are the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern.
By poking around the web I found that there was a Milwaukee Road route that went from Chicago to Rapid City (SD). It was later extended to go through Montana, Idaho and Washington - and it was this (now long abandoned) line that serviced Harlowton.
Milwaukee Line extension ‘map’
For more information
Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum
-
I always say that ‘the railroad’ is the main reason Minnesotans/Iowans ended up in Washington State, if not following the railroad then following family and friends who had followed the railroad as far as the Pacific.
In 1930 Lucille married Jake Knaff, who was a ticket agent on the railroad. He had arrive in Tacoma sometime in the 20s. Lucille was a stenographer for the railroad, so they probably met at the office!
On the 1920 census Jake was ticket at it in Harlowton, Montana. The depot there is now a museum, which I find quite a nice coincidence! I was surprised to find that it is a museum of the Milwaukee Road, since the major railroads going to the Pacific Northwest from Minnesota/Iowa are the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern.
By poking around the web I found that there was a Milwaukee Road route that went from Chicago to Rapid City (SD). It was later extended to go through Montana, Idaho and Washington - and it was this (now long abandoned) line that serviced Harlowton.
Milwaukee Line extension ‘map’
For more information
Harlowton Milwaukee Depot Museum
-