Rock Island Railroad
The first settlement in Eldon was in 1843 and Eldon owes its growth to the convergence of the Rock Island and the Keokuk / Des Moines Railroads. The Rock Island line to Leavenworth, Kansas was completed in 1869 and the first train chugged into Eldon October 28, 1870. The railroads were the major employers until 1980 when both lines folded.
The first railroad through Eldon was the K & D--a 166 mile road from Keokuk to Des Moines. This included the four mile branch of the Keosauqua & Southwestern from Mt. Zion to Keosauqua. It was organized as the Keokuk, Fort Des Moines and Minnesota Railroad on Sept 1, 1853. It took two years before grading began, and in 1856 a boatload of 4000 tons of rail arrived to begin laying the track.
By 1861 trains were running from Keokuk to Eddyville, but the Civil War halted any further work until 1864. At this time the railroad name was changed to the Des Moines Valley Railroad (DMV), which reached Des Moines Aug 29, 1866. This was the first railroad to reach the state capital.
The DMV went bankrupt in 1873 and was split in two. The parcel North of Des Moines became the Des Moines & Ft Dodge Railroad. The southern route was reorganized as the Keokuk & Des Moines Railroad (K & D).
As an independent line the K & D was at the mercy of its connections, but when integrated into the Rock Island its future was secure. The Rock Island purchased the K & D in 1924. The building known as the KD Center used to be the old sleeping quarters for the men coming from Trenton MO, Silvis, IL, and Des Moines IA.