06/10/2026
Spooner Railroad Heritage Day, June 20, 2026
Imagine you are ten years old in 1890 and rolling a hoop with a stick along Front Street on the east side of Spooner. The scream of a high-pitched steam whistle pierces through the muffled sounds of rolling horse-drawn wagons, switching yard activity, and onlooker conversations. Omaha engine #211 is rumbling down the track belching smoke and steam as it slows to a stop near the water tower. You stop and stare in awe at the boisterous arrival of the mighty locomotive, a scene you never tire of watching. After delivering grain to Superior, Omaha #211 is pulling cars loaded with coal on its return trip to Spooner. The switching yard is busy with men and engines moving freight and passenger cars to assemble trains loaded with coal, grain, logs, and people bound for points north and south of the “Great Omaha X” where the rail lines from Eau Claire to Superior and Hudson to Ashland converge, forming a geographic “X”. The engineer waves a greeting as the train rolls to a stop. You wave back and dream about driving the train someday…when you are older.
The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway established a logical location for its northern hub near the center of the “X” in 1882. This hub became Spooner as it grew with switching yards, a large round house and turntable, a passenger depot and restaurant, railroad offices, locomotive, rail car, and machine shops, freight depots, lumber yards, and a hotel. Eventually, over 600 people were employed by the railroad in Spooner, where 18 passenger trains and 21 freight and log trains arrived and/or departed every day during the railroad heyday.
In celebration of Spooner’s rich railroad history, Spooner Railroad Heritage Day 2026 will take place at the Railroad Memories Museum on Saturday, June 20, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum, housed in the historic Omaha Depot, is well worth a visit. Bill Thornley wrote of the museum in the Spooner Advocate (June 22, 2023), “…it didn’t take too much imagination to let yourself drift into yesterday, feeling the tremor under your feet as the big iron horses rumbled through the yards. One could almost feel the ghosts of the past looking on as visitors marveled at the incredible collection of railroad artifacts at the museum”.
After a museum tour, enjoy a picnic on the Railroad Park grounds. A Brat Fry will be held outside with picnic tables nearby.
Proceeds from the sale of brats, hot dogs, and beverages will help the museum raise funds for maintenance and projects.
The Spooner Memorial Library will again host a popular scavenger hunt for the kids, with prizes for all.
Just east of the museum, across the tracks, enjoy a relaxing stroll through the Spooner Railroad Park and view the Honor Wall, The Del Salquist Memorial Weigh Station, the turntable and turntable shack, and historical points of interest with signs and photos featuring various railroad memorabilia.
Last but not least, don’t miss the Roundhouse!
The Roundhouse will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
