End O Line Park had its beginning in 1972 when Colleen Illg and Roxanne Probst, junior leaders in the Poco-a-Poco 4-H club in Currie, decided to clean around the turntable in the railroad yard.
With the help of 4-H Leaders their 4-H project called Community Pride inspired them to preserve the manual operation turntable for the future. The 4-H club cleaned the pit of the turntable and picked up and mowed the area around the turntable. What had been an eyesore now attracted attention as a pleasant roadside stop. One of the 4-H Leaders, Louise Gervais, continued working at the park for 37 years helping to restore and maintain this "gem" of southwestern Minnesota. As Director of the Park, Louise put a tremendous amount of time into the park making it the showcase it is today.
One reason the 4-H Club started the park was to remind people about how the railroads helped pioneers by bringing in all kinds of supplies like the mail, milk, coal, farm implements, canned goods, dry goods, etc. Little communities sprang up about seven miles apart on the railroad lines.
The 4-H Club next purchased the abandoned Chicago and Northwestern Depot for one dollar and were asked to remove it from railroad property so they decided to purchase about three acres of land across highway 38 to the east of the depot. This parcel of land contained the turntable. To help pay for the land and the moving of the depot the 4-H Club asked for monies from the City of Currie and the Murray County Board of Commissioners.
Over the years countless volunteers have been the planners, promoters, and the moving force in the year to year development of the park. Each year brought new challenges such as the construction of the engine house, the moving in of the Chicago and Northwestern water tower from Walnut Grove, the purchase of a Grand Trunk Western caboose, the moving in of a Chicago and Northwestern section foreman's home from Comfrey, the moving in of District #1 schoolhouse, the moving in of the little wooden Currie family store and the purchase of a Georgia Northern steam engine and coal tender.
Each year new projects and opportunities to improve the park present themselves and so we attract more school groups, more adult groups and more visitors from the general public. |
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