Last summer as I was wandering about the countryside looking for the Green Mountain Train Wreck sight, I was fascinated with the windmill setting right in the middle of the main street in Green Mountain. A small park had developed around it with a park bench and some flower beds. I knew there had to be a reason for it being there, but unable to find anyone out and about in town, I had to assume it was something left from the rail road days.
The town of Green Mountain, population 126, was established in 1883. It was the site of the Green Mountain train wreck, the worst train wreck in Iowa history. On March 21, 1910, 52 people were killed in the accident as the train made its way from Gladbrook to Green Mountain.
A train wreck earlier that morning rerouted Rock Island Line trains from Cedar Rapids to Waterloo over Chicago Great Western tracks via Marshalltown. No. 21 St Louis-Twin Cities and No. 19 Chicago-Twin Cities had been combined into a 10-car train. The 2 locomotives were travelling backwards, tender first. The combined train had two wooden cars between the locomotives, a steel Pullman car, and other steel cars. The lead engine left the tracks coming to a sudden stop when it hit a clay embankment. The steel cars sliced through the two wooden coaches: a smoking car and a ladies' day coach containing many children. A relief train arrived 2 hours after the accident. (My original post regarding the train wreck - with pictures - was posted Sunday, July 31, 2011)
Finally, this summer, I received an answer to my question. The windmill donated by W.B. Crystal. It was moved from it's original location on his farm to town and installed for the town’s centennial in 1986. According to the Mayor, John Worden, it is there to pay homage to the previous wooden windmill that sat at that location and pumped water to all of the homes in Green Mountain.
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