CB&Q: (Satellite)
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| Jimmy Fiedler posted North Aurora IL Chicago & Northwestern depot? Photo circ 1910 photographer unknown Mark Egebrecht: When did C&NW invade Aurora? Bill Edrington: The branch from Geneva to Batavia opened in 1872 and was extended to Aurora in 1883. It was still in service when I worked for the North Western and lived in Batavia in the late ‘70s. Joseph Peter: Does anyone know where the location of this depot was? |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Joseph's comment Based on this 1939 aerial photo and the depot's photo, I'm guessing it was on this embankment: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9NvUtAQcHrsYtyha7. |
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| Dennis DeBruler commented on Joseph's comment The C&NW was close to the river. The CB&Q was further inland. And the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River did street running on today's IL-31. 1932/32 Geneva Quad @ 62,500 |
CB&Q Depot
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| Andy Zukowski posted North Aurora Illinois, view of the Railroad Depot c1940 Thomas Whitt shared |
I had to get an excerpt that was further west to include the CB&Q depot. It looks like it was in the southwest quadrant of Oak Street and the tracks.
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| 1939 Aerial Photo from ILHAP |
I think the first image is looking generally southeast with the horse standing at State St. looking north. The Fox River should be right behind those trees. The Sanborn map of Aurora (with North Aurora) from 1907 is here: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104am.g017201907/?sp=85 One corrected to 1950 is here: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104am.g017201950/?sp=88 The 1907 one shows "Passenger & Freight Depot" just south of State St. on the west side of the river. In 1950 the depot has been covered up with a correction patch.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of the area: the North Aurora Creamery is shown in 1907, by 1931 the building was part of a lumber yard. I wonder if that is the building where Harner's Bakery is today. Sort of the same footprint. By 1931 the North Aurora Elevator Co. (a co-op) concrete silo was there, I don't know if the lumber yard was the same business. I think the silo was still in business until 1975-1985. North across State St. was a large wooden grist mill, by 1907 it was the Aurora Motor Works, in 1920 the foundation and wheels (2 X 150 hp) were for sale by a plumbing supply company (creditor?) in the Chicago Tribune.
North Aurora's Messinger Library has a couple of pictures: https://www.messengerpl.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NA-101-PowerPoint-Slides.pdf PDF page 10 has the platform and station bottom to right. The horse would be in front of the barrels. Note the white mill. PDF page 8 has the horse's view north past the white mill. PDF page 16 shows that the North Aurora Creamery has become a lumber yard by 1931. The depot would be off to the left, you can see the silo over the roof.
Some sources: the entire Sanborn 1907 Aurora volume with no corrections is here
https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104am.g017201907/?st=gallery The entire volume corrected to 1950 is here: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g4104am.g017201950/?st=gallery Neither USGS or IHAP are of much use and there's not a lot about North Aurora online. Nothing Sammy or Joon post is from Wikipedia.
Back to North Aurora. On Google maps it looks like the Northwestern depot was roughly where the bike trail parking lot is. Roughly, but the Forest Preserve has had their bulldozer there and elevations don't quite fit. The tracks would be on the path immediately west, there is a bush line along the edge of the ROW. The bike trail itself then curves east off and below the embankment. It runs south parallel and fifty feet east of the embankment until it jogs back onto the embankment around John St.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where the Burlington depot was, at least the one in the photo. There is an 1872 drawing showing it at River St. (IL 25) and (Butterfield Rd. (IL 56) and a building there in the 1939 IHAP but it doesn't really match well. I was wondering about the buildings just south of there? Leonard and Joseph Felts started hauling coal with horse wagons in the 1910s so the photo is after that. They were at the SE corner of IL 25 and IL 56 and dug a quarry, but the shed could be anywhere.
The major landmark must be Harner's Bakery and Restaurant at 10 W. State St., just west of the depot. Started as the North Aurora Creamery in 1873 (before the Northwestern even came to town), they closed and sold the property to the North Aurora Farmer's Co-op around 1920. They put the silo up in 1923, it seems to have still been in service in the 1970s, maybe 1980s. Harner's bought it 1989 and opened in 1993.
North Across State St. was John Schneider's grist mill from 1850, first in town (there was already a sawmill across the river). 100 barrels of flour a day, which may mean something to somebody. By the 1907 Sanborn map it was the Aurora Motor Works, it burned down in 1919. The foundation was up for sale in 1920 but I doubt anybody bought it, 1920 was pretty late for water power here. Today the Forest Preserve has it and runs a bike path down the race (with stone walls) then under the bridge and to the depot site. Very cool.
Some sources: North Aurora: 1834-1940 Edwards & Edwards ISBN: 9780738563749, a 1834 Schneider's Mill North Aurora 1984 (no other info.) booklet from North Aurora Messenger Library, and the same other stuff.