Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station
former train station in Burlington, Iowa, USA
The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station is a historic building located in Burlington, Iowa, United States. The station was built by the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in 1856. It is the oldest train depot in the upper Midwest that is still standing west of the Mississippi River.
The building served as a passenger station until 1868 when the railroad bridge over the Mississippi River was completed and a larger station in Burlington was required. Prior to that year a transfer ferry boat, the President, carried railroad cars and passengers across the river in warmer weather. Passengers would have to walk across the river ice in winter. The railroad continued to use the building for office space until 1884. In that year the frame, Italianate structure was moved from its Main and Market Streets location so the railroad tracks could be widened. After its use by the railroad, it was converted into a residence. The house that presently sits next door to this one is the old baggage building that was moved at the same time and converted for residential use.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station” as former train station in Burlington, Iowa, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as former train station in Burlington, Iowa, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23073846. Authority coordinates are 40.806, -91.105. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1856, 1868 and 1884.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station primary sources, Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station archive and Burlington research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Passenger Station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.