| A CN work train parallels Union St. as it shoves its train into the north end of the former SOO yard at Neenah, WI, on 9 May '20. The train was traversing the wye in order to turn around. The Edward Smith Octagon House, 347 Smith St., stands at left. The house was erected between 1851 and 1854. Edward Smith, who operated a flour mill and had an early interest in the Neenah Paper Co., purchased the home in 1855. It is commonly referred to as the Hiram Smith Octagon House, Hiram purchased it from his brother Edward at some point. It has been owned by the Neenah Historical Society since 1993. The City of Neenah wanted to demolish it when the over-priced and over-budget Main St. overpass (out of frame to left) was built. Thankfully there were enough intelligent people around to save it by having it moved a short distance from its original site. Some references claim the historic structure was not moved, but the overpass design was modified to accommodate it. Other references support my recollection that the house was moved, included an article from the local newspaper on 15 Apr. '98 which stated, "federal rail safety funds will cover 90% of the additional $200,000 needed to move the historic Octagon House, 336 Main St., about 500 feet east to the corner of Smith and Torrey streets." (although, if it was actually moved, it wasn't moved that far). Of course, some question why those funds were utilized for a project that had no direct relation on rail safety. The process of trying to move the house dragged on for at least 3 years. An article in the local newspaper on 18 Oct. ’01 stated that the relocation was still going to happen, but the estimated cost to move it had tripled by that point. Regardless of whether it was moved or remains at its original site, I’m just glad that it was saved. The area between the tracks and Union St., from Main St. to Monroe St., used to be the yard. I don't know when the current, significantly larger yard (extending southwestward from Winneconne Ave.) was built, but a map from 1909 shows the yard still here. |