Linn

Railroad’s Influence on Rural Iowa

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Sun. June 24, 2 p.m.at the Center Point Depot Museum
Program by Dr. Peter Jaynes, Cedar Rapids, about the railroad’s influence on rural Iowa

More than a hundred years ago when Linn County towns were putting down roots they were liable to die on the vine if they didn’t get a railroad to nourish them.  Retired Kirkwood Community College history professor Peter Jaynes will speak on “The Early Impact of Railroads on Linn County,” at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 24, at the Center Point Depot Museum. Dr. Jaynes , originally from the Boston area, taught at Iowa Wesleyan College prior to Kirkwood.  He has had a lifelong interest in trains and model building.  He did his doctoral dissertation on the impact of the Civil War on northern railroads.  He has served on the Linn County History Center board and is president of the Linn County Historic Preservation Commission. His talk is part of the Center Point Historical Society’s 2012 theme “All Aboard,” about trains and railroading.  Among this year’s special Depot Museum railroad exhibits are model train cars and scenery structures Dr. Jaynes has built from scratch and kits over the last 50 years. His talk is free, as is Depot Museum admission.  The Museum is open every Sunday afternoon from 1 to 4 through October.

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