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In our local area Labor Day corresponds to railroads and Tracy's annual Box Car Days.
It's a very appropriate connection because of how railroads shaped our region, its farms and our communities. Development happened quickly in the late 19th century. It was spurred by rail expansion.
Our town street configurations were based on railroad designs. We had through towns with development on both sides of the tracks and T-towns, which had a street parallel to the tracks and a Main Street branching off. Residential blocks were laid out on both sides of the business district.
There usually wasn't much development on the opposite side of T-town tracks. These places were "the wrong side of the tracks" with development that tended to be haphazard.
Houses and commercial buildings were often put up rapidly. Town founders built many of the first ones. In Cottonwood founder Martin Norseth paid extra money to have his first choice of lots after a plat was finalized. He chose a location on Main Street almost next door to the railroad.
A similar process occurred in Marshall with Marshall Milling Company owner William Gieske. He built his home at North 6th and West Lyon, about two blocks from the mill.
Both the Norseth and Gieske houses are on the National Register of Historic Places. They stand as symbols of the past, when movers and shakers wanted to live where the action was.
It's important to note that local railroad history isn't just about land agents and town founders. The railroads were built on the backs of many thousands of people.
They included depot personnel, engineers, conductors, track crews, grain handlers and the many business people and employees who benefitted from economic activity generated by the railroad.
In the center of Tracy a visitor gets a very good sense of how railroads have changed. The rail yard used to have a roundhouse, a depot and more sidings.
I remember back in the 1990s when I made a special trip to Tracy to photograph the former depot before it was demolished. One of my photos showed a for sale sign hanging crookedly in a depot window, an indication of past efforts to find a new purpose for the property.
In Marshall it's hard to tell that the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad once went through town. One of the only indications is the grain elevator south of town on U.S. Highway 59.
I moved from my parents' house to my first apartment in 1988 to a downtown building that was formerly used by the railroad. There was a large amount of new apartment construction next to me, including the Downtowner Apartments on South 4th and South 5th streets.
On the south side of downtown the former railroad area has the Schwan's headquarters, the Marshall Area YMCA, the Marshall Fire Hall and Memorial Park. South toward the bypass there's Hy-Vee and plenty of parking in the Perkins and Brau Haus area.
Railroads still serve grain elevators, the Archer Daniels Midland corn plant on the north end of Marshall and other businesses and industries. They're still an economic success story.
It's just a different kind of success. We're far more dependent in the 21st century on trucking and highway systems.
There have been proposals to make railroads grow again. The Brookings South Dakota-based Dakota Minnesota and Eastern Railroad looked at major expansion in the 1990s.
They were strongly supported by Tracy and other small communities along rural parts of the line. There was greater opposition in population centers, particularly in Rochester.
It's good that the golden age of railroads is kept alive at places like the train depot at Wheels Across the Prairie in Tracy and at the turntable, engine house and manager's residence at End O' Line Railroad Park in Currie. The tools and furnishings of the time period offer a realistic look at the past.
As we celebrate Labor Day weekend we can look back with gratitude at how leaders and laborers helped to establish a way of life in our region. We can also recognize the many ways that both groups of people contribute to our society in 2026.
-- Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent