midland continental depot transport museum

The bottom floor of this museum offers an overview of the history of the construction of a railroad conceived just before World War One that was supposed to link Canada with Texas. But it was a failed plan, because only about 80 miles of it was built, and part of it ran through Wimbledon. The displays show how optimistic that time was, when railroads linked America from coast to coast, and the Midland Continental was to be the first one to span north to south. Among other things, money ran out, and backers lost interest.The upper floors are the nicely restored and preserved stationmaster's quarters: the Peggy Lee connection is that her father was stationmaster here in the 1930s, and she lived here, and assisted him in his duties, as a teenager.I'm not a great fan of railroads, but I am of jazz music, so the upper floor was fascinating. You get the sense that Peggy's life was difficult, but she persevered and was determined to make something of herself. One of the rooms is crammed full of mementos of her life and career through the decades. You can see some glamorous gowns she wore when she performed, plus listen to excerpts of more than 200 of the songs she recorded.The exhibition is a bit of an overkill, and if you're not a Peggy Lee fan, it will leave you cold. The curator gave me a personal tour of both floors, and even showed me some extra evening gowns Peggy wore [kept in drawers]. I got the sense he was glad to see me, and that there are usually not many visitors.The reason for this is that the museum is in a tiny village northeast of Jamestown, driving through rather desolate countryside. [Get directions to it in Jamestown.] The trip is really a special pilgrimage----but very worthwhile. The museum makes you ponder on Peggy's life: first, small-town North Dakota, then New York City and Hollywood, and great fame! All in all, it's a somewhat Surreal experience!Be aware that the museum is open daily from 1 to 4 p.m. only from the end of June to early September, and there's no decent place to eat in the town, so bring a lunch! Admission is by donation.It's one of the most poignant and evocative---and oddest---museums I've ever visited!

This is a great reason to get off the interstate to learn about the idea far ahead of its time to build a north/south railroad from Winnipeg, Canada to Galveston, TX at the turn of the last century to allow midwest farmers to bypass the Mississippi River and eastern middlemen for a direct market outlet and newly built Panama Canal. Wish we had it today! This depot was also the former home to Jazz singer great, Miss Peggy Lee, when she lived there with her family from 1934-1937 and the community of Wimbledon stepped up to see to it that this little girl with a remarkable voice, got launched on her way to international fame. Well worth the stop!http://themidlandcontinentaldepot.com/

This new museum, just opened in May of 2012, is the only original Depot ofthe Midland Continental Railroad. It is restored to its original state, and has aprofessional interpretation done of the history of the area, and how theMidland Railroad got its start, until it was retired in the 1970's.Also the upstairs is the previous home of famed singer Peggy Lee, whose fatherwas depot agent in the 1930's. Peggy Lee graduated from Wimbledon HS.There is a display of her music with a modern sitdown area to listen to someof her hits. Also on display are a dress, and other interesting momentos.