A history of Marceline,
since 1887
Postcards, papers and photographs of Marceline from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1887, the Chicago, Santa Fe, and California Railway began construction on a rail line between Chicago and Kansas City, Kansas. It ran through southeast Linn County, prompting new towns such as Marceline. The completed line was absorbed into the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. The first land parcel in what became the town was sold in January 1888, and the town was incorporated two months later. By the end of the year, it had a railway roundhouse and yard.
In March 1903, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway divided the line into two districts, with the Missouri district headquarters in Marceline.
The town was named after Marcelina, the wife of a railroad man. A post office called Marceline has operated since 1887.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Marceline’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMarceline (vicinity), Missouri. C…, 1943: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Marceline, decade by decade
LOCMarceline (vicinity), Missouri. Cattle grazing on a farm al…1943
LOCMarceline, Missouri. The Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Rai…1943
LOCMarceline, Missouri. A train going through the Atchison, To…1943
LOCMarceline, Missouri. A dispatcher at work in the Atchison, …1943
LOCMarceline, Missouri. A dispatcher at work in the Atchison, …1943
LOCFarm landscape along the tracks of the Atchison, Topeka and…19431990s
5 historic places in Marceline
5 places in Marceline are on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Marceline (vicinity), Missouri. Cattle grazing on a farm along the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad between Fort… (1943) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.