The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad (CR&MR) was a railroad chartered to run from
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...
, to
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The population was 62,799 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, te ...
, on the
Missouri River
The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
. Under lease by the
Chicago & North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...
, it was the first railroad to reach Council Bluffs from the east. This therefore connected
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
with
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
which was the eastern terminus of the
First transcontinental railroad
America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...
on the opposite side of the river,. It was one of four railroads that were built as result of the Iowa Land Bill of 1856 that gave land grants for railroads.
Background and construction
The Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska Railroad Company (CI&N) was a
'land grant railroad' organized in 1855 in conjunction with the Iowa Land Co. in
Clinton, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020 United States census, 2020.
Clinton, along with DeWitt, Iowa, DeWitt (also located in Clinto ...
. As the name indicates, its plan was to build across Iowa and cross the Missouri river but it had only reached Cedar Rapids by 1859 when it ran out of money. It had, however, managed to build a short bridge from the east side of the Mississippi to the Little Rock Island at a place opposite Clinton called "the narrows". This determined the location of the rail connection with Chicago and the eventual location of the
Clinton Railroad Bridge
The Clinton Railroad Bridge, also called the Chicago and Northwestern Railway Bridge or more simply the Clinton Bridge, is a bridge that carries double tracked rail lines across the Mississippi River between Clinton, Iowa, and Fulton ( Alban ...
. In the meantime the connection was by steam ferry.
The CR&MR railroad was chartered on January 20, 1856, organized on January 16, 1860, and composed largely of stockholders in the CI&N, which had been unable to get beyond Cedar Rapids. Its purpose was to complete the road to the Missouri river at Omaha.
Land grants had also been made to the
Iowa Central Air Line Railroad, but they too were not able to fulfill their charter to build a line across the state. State legislators then advocated for those land grants to be transferred to the CR&MR in 1859. But, since the Central Iowa Air Line had already transferred 76,800 acres of land grants, mainly in
Woodbury and
Monroe
Monroe or Monroes may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Monroe (surname)
* Monroe (given name)
* James Monroe, 5th President of the United States
* Marilyn Monroe, actress and model
Places United States
* Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...
Counties, to construction contractors as payment for work they had done, those contractors filed suit to keep the land. The case, Courtright vs. The Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad Company, worked its way up to the
Iowa Supreme Court
The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices.
The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...
where their claims were affirmed in 1872. By 1876, the total of land grants awarded to the CR&MR amounted to 628,589.71 acres.
Meanwhile
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
baron
Thomas Clark Durant was manipulating railroad stocks to add to his fortune. "Doc" Durant controlled another of the Iowa land grant railroads, the
Mississippi and Missouri Railroad
The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad (M&M Railroad) was the first railroad in Iowa. It was chartered in 1853 to build a line between Davenport, Iowa, on the Mississippi River and Council Bluffs, Iowa, on the Missouri River.Dix, John Adams. Speech ...
(M&M) and ran up its stock by saying the transcontinental railroad would connect to it. Then while selling high priced M&M stock, he was buying the depressed CR&MR stock. Durant then declared that the CR&MR would be the railroad of choice for the transcontinental connection. After buying back the newly depressed M&M stock, Durant and his cohorts made about $5 million.
The CR&MR began construction soon after it was organized, with of track laid westward from Cedar Rapids in 1860. Construction continued and was completed to
Marshalltown
Marshalltown is a city in Marshall County, Iowa, and is the county seat of the county. With a population of 27,591 at the 2020 census, it is the 16th largest city in the state. Marshalltown is home to the Iowa Veterans Home and Marshalltown C ...
in early 1863.
The city of
Ames, Iowa
Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...
, was created as a station stop on the line. Ames was chartered in 1864 for the railroad and was named by CR&MR President
John Blair for
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
Congressman
Oakes Ames
Oakes Ames (January 10, 1804 – May 8, 1873) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being ...
one of Blair's directors.
Construction reached the Missouri River in late 1866, making the CR&MR the first railroad to cross Iowa on an east-west route and reach this river. The first train arrived in Council Bluffs over the line on January 22, 1867. There the line connected with the Union Pacific.
The Galena and the Chicago North Western take-over
Meanwhile, the
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago, intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena, Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16, 183 ...
was envisioning a grand design for a road from Chicago across the Mississippi River and across Iowa to connect with Durant's Union Pacific in Omaha at Council Bluffs. To do this they needed to get control of Blair's CR&MR as well as the CI&N and the Mississippi railroad bridge. In the spring of 1861 they planted a young civil engineer from Vermont, Isaac B Howe, to assume control of construction on the road. The previous engineer and superintendent, Col. Milo Smith, would soon be leaving to lead the 26th Iowa Infantry Regiment to war against the Confederate rebellion.

In July 1862, the
Galena and Chicago Union Railroad
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) was the first railroad constructed out of Chicago, intended to provide a shipping route between Chicago and the lead mines near Galena, Illinois. The railroad company was chartered on January 16, 183 ...
leased both Clinton Iowa lines in perpetuity. The Galena line was in turn consolidated with the
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...
on June 2, 1864, and the line to Council Bluffs was completed in January 1867.
The lease was formally turned into a sale in 1884.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cedar Rapids Missouri River Railroad
Defunct Iowa railroads
Predecessors of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company
Railway companies established in 1860
Railway companies disestablished in 1884
Rail lines receiving land grants
1860 establishments in Iowa