1868 Italianate/Depot – Marshalltown, IA
Added to OHD on 7/26/16 - Last OHD Update: 4/12/20 -
SOLD / Archived Post
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3184 Quarry Rd, Marshalltown, IA 50158
$15,900- 1 Bath
- 832 Sq Ft
- 1.29 Ac.
Unique one of a kind stone home located in the town of Quarry! Home has one big room with kitchen, bedroom, and living room. Sits on 1.29 acres. Woodburning stove for heat. Affordable living
State: Iowa | Region: Midwest (West North Central) | Associated Styles or Type: Italianate, Stations
Period & Associated Styles: Italianate (1840-1885), Romantic Era | Misc: Fixer-Uppers, Offbeat & Unique
Period & Associated Styles: Italianate (1840-1885), Romantic Era | Misc: Fixer-Uppers, Offbeat & Unique
56 Comments on 1868 Italianate/Depot – Marshalltown, IA
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Click here to read the comment rules, updated 1/12/20.
Commenting means you've read and will abide by the comment rules.
OHD does not represent this home. Price, status and other details must be independently verified. Do not call the agent unless you are interested in the property.
Chestatee, GA
I’m guessing this was once a church? Maybe someone can dig up some information on it.
The title of the listing says “depot”. The design lends to that for sure.
Chestatee, GA
I’m confused, I’m the one that wrote “depot” in the title…
Well you picked the right word since it looks like a Depot building and is right near train tracks. They literally run through the ‘backyard.’ I can almost picture it completely bare, filled with waiting room benches, while people warmed by the stove in cold weather.
I am amazed how many comments, ideas, dreams… about this property. I just bought it 2 weeks ago. I am starting with renovations. My idea is restore it as original as possible. I will build a room with bathroom in the attic. Maybe a dormer. The kitchen will look like ticket selling point. All appliances hidden.
Chestatee, GA
Congratulations! Hope you’ll update us on your progress!
Emporia, KS
How exciting! Congrats!
congrats on your new place… please post photos as you go, I for one would love to see and hear about this great little place.
A few years ago there was a museum in the building. Stop in and found they had pictures of my aunt and grandma in the store across the street. They lived up stairs back in the 1950s. My grandmother was the woman who wrote to the Department of Transportation to get a sign for Quarry on Hwy 30. Do you know what ever happened to the little museum that was in there? It was a Minneapolis St. Louis {now Union Pacific) train station
i wonder if a structure like this could be moved perhaps?
The stone floor would not be possible to move without a lot of effort. The walls might be made in such a way as to move it; but you would have to do the floor stone by stone, I suspect.
I was wondering what it was before as well. It has a simplistic charm. Can’t beat the price.
I’m intrigued. This could be a really nice little house. Unless there’s some big problems, it’s certainly a bargain.
WOW, pretty cool. It’s a foreclosure, built 1868 if I’m looking at the records correctly.
Believe it or not, the house I’m in right now is smaller. 🙂 However, I like the idea of it being one big open room. You could do some fun things with screens or make some unique room dividers. My biggest concern would be insulation–it is Iowa, and I know they can get some major snows. This would be a fantastic first house for an individual or a couple.
On the FB page someone said it was an old rail depot, and I looked at it via satellite; two tracks running right behind it. What a neat old building. I’d want to gut and vault the ceiling, maybe build a bathroom on. but it would be a really neat compact home for someone. Bet it gets cold in winter.
Chestatee, GA
Oh, I hadn’t seen the tracks! I thought it could be a church but the side windows were so unchurch like. Hmmm, a depot…that could have been it.
the bath room looks like it has been redone recently. Very nice looking one also
Im in love….
This would suit me just fine, imagine all the hours you could save when cleaning
Chestatee, GA
Thanks to Donna on the FB page, it was a depot.
Some links.
http://www.iowaunsolvedmurders.com/the-murders/the-czech-marble-cutter-murder-of-matej-straka-1878/
http://www.discoverourtown.com/IA/Marshalltown/Attractions/quarry-depot/21244.html
Built by Howe, Kirby & Co. They had a limestone quarry with a steam-powered saw that produced the stone used in the building, called LeGrand marble. Beautiful little structure!
Old map of Quarry shows the old railroad siding now gone.
http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/471145/Liscomb++Le+Moille++Bangor++Quarry/Marshall+County+1871/Iowa/
Thanks JimH. Without your post I wouldn’t have found it. I have the letter that got it built. 🙂
markhowe@cox.net, 949-496-3453
I think I just fell in love.
The title of this page says “depot”. 🙂 Love it!
I wonder if it could be moved….it would be perfect to sit on the shore of a lake as a vacation cottage!!
I’d take down the interior walls and reconfigure it which would be easy because the outside wall are supporting. I would put a loft in the back half of the house with a master bedroom and put the kitchen under the loft. I would also move the bathroom to the back because the kitchen and bath should not be at the front door. Did you notice there is a second floor window? It could go in the loft and a cathedral ceiling for it all that you could insulate well. What a great project. Is it near any nice sized cities?
Ok it is an hour from Cedar Rapids and Des Moines. It is 10 minutes to Marshalltown a city of 27,000 and growing. My question now is that a train car across the street or a single-wide mobile home? If it is a train car does it go with the station? If it does, I think we just found a place to retire!
This is such a great little building. I have lived in smaller – 800 square feet is actually a lot to work with when it’s all one big space. I think I would tear out the “new” that’s been put in and reconfigure it a bit. I used to have a friend who had remodeled a tiny old carpenter gothic church into a home. It was about this size and had an open layout, and it was absolutely wonderful.
I immediately thought of the movie The Station Agent. 🙂
I live in Marshalltown, Iowa . I will have to look this house up it would be awesome for someone that wants one of those tiny houses. Beautiful.
Cyclones for us
Pamela, please do. Checking out the house would be great. My husband and I are in Georgia and we are looking for a fixer-upper that we could buy free and clear for when we retire and I love stone homes and this looks great to fix up. Plus my husband is a train buff and if that is a rail car across the street that is part of the deal, I think he would go for it. A rail car would make a great guest house!
If it was moved I could see it as an incredible guest cottage or a wine tasting room.
Dusting off my math a little, I believe the building is 32 feet by 26 feet which equals 832 sqft. I think the ceiling at the top of the pitch is 18 feet. So with the back windows shorter than the front windows you should be able to put in a loft for the back of the building at around 9 ft. which would leave 9 feet for the top most point of the loft but you would have to bring in the sides quite a bit. I’ve seen it done before where they made a platform over the kitchen and bath. You could even close off the back door because you already have a second door on the side. Plus the windows and doors in the back look like a relatively new addition. I was also thinking with the house being of such substantial stone if you put hurricane straps on the roof you should be able to weather what ever nature sends your way.
Why would you want to move such an amazing piece of Iowa?! I love this building. Iowan born and raised, Carney coal mines my family settled. Ankeny Iowa as it is currently known just outside of Des Moines, I will have to check out this amazing Depot. Thanks again oldhousedreams.com!
I love Iowa. I was just commenting to someone who was asking about moving it; I would assume it would have to be disassembled and reassembled.
The only downside of the lot to me is that there are no trees/landscaping and there are double rail tracks RIGHT behind it.
I was wondering about the two front doors? It is a cool house and I wouldn’t change a thing!
I’m packing my bags as we speak! Have a sister who lives in Iowa!
Don’t know about Iowa but in the south RR stations were racially segregated until the early 1960’s. There were separate entrances and waiting areas. That could account for the double front doors.
IMO, I think it is an in and out door. People are carrying luggage and cargo. You would want an “entrance” and an “exit” door so they don’t crash into each other coming from and going to the train.
Looking at the stone and doing a little research the stone is limestone. That explains the color of the front and it looks different from the sides because the front is “dressed stone”, cut and polished, and the sides are undressed limestone.
The stone blocks seem to be 1 foot square by 5 feet long, to move it you would have to take the building apart stone by stone and unless it is the Taj Mahal the price of doing that then putting it back together would be exorbitant and not worth it.
Both black people in 500 miles would be thrilled.
The blacks only door would have been very simple.
It would have been around back.
It would be great to see historic photos. Rail stations generally had a passenger and a separate cargo area. This station is so small it’s difficult to ascertain how it functions. I suspect there would have been other structures around it. There isn’t much around hear, except I imagine farming and maybe rock queries. The tracks are far enough out back that a road could have been in between. My thought is that a separate cargo structure would have been adjacent.
Did you notice all the sides are different?
If anyone could find historic photos that would be great!
There were no racially segregated public accommodations in Iowa. Men and women, however, were segregated. This is a rather small depot, but certainly in larger ones there were separate waiting rooms for women and men often served by separate doors with equal access to the ticket counter (restrooms in the little sheds out back).
I love this place… just wish it wasn’t in Iowa. Lovely and sturdy little home, with a few tweaks it could be wonderful!
THIS?
For $16K? $16K!
What am I missing????????
Chestatee, GA
Hmmmm…used car or house…used car or house…used car or house…such a hard (yes, I said yard before…been doing that all day) choice! 🙂
The solid rock structure has a very good insulating quality. It would need very little cooling in the summer, however it would require much more to heat in the winter. But once it is warm it would stay warm as long as there are no drafts to take the heat away. The cold from the outside would stay out. My 1907 house has foot thick solid brick construction and I am always astonished at how well the structure heats and cools.
A little reminiscent of a mausoleum. But is somehow adorable.
Hello,
I am interested in this property, Maybe, in a position to offer cash. I live in the Richmond Virginia area. Thank you!
Chestatee, GA
Agent info. Jeff Heiden, New Horizons Realty Phone: (828) 828-8280
Hi Carl, I just bought the property few weeks ago. I will live there and restore as original as possible. Maybe in the future if you are still interested we can talk.
Any updates? How’s the renovation going?
Hi Christine.. renovation is going slowly because I am doing everything by myself. However I promise will show you some pictures later.
60 trains per day 75ft from the tracks.its a decrepit trailer beside the house needing a roof.new owner is responsible for water fees of approx $1000.what looks like the front of the house is the back ,facing the tracks.its a cheap drop ceiling that needs to be removed.roof will need replacement soon.septic needs iowa state approval before occupancy.on the plus side it can and will(except the roof)survive iowa cyclones!
Thank you, rumplestilskin. I knew there was some important facts being left out of all the realty listings.
That explains the price. It would have been nice if they had disclosed this information in the ad. I wouldn’t want to be the new buyer not knowing all of this.
This RR station at the LeGrand Quarry was built by my GGFather Isaac B. Howe with his partner Geo. Kirby. Anyone wanting more history, letterhead, letters etc. email me markhowe@cox.net. Phone 949-496-3453.
Thanks for the photo!!
I live in So. Calif. but lots of Iowa history in the family.
I welcome comments from folks interested in Iowa RR history as well as Iowa history in general.