The railroad first came to the old “Dawes City”  area as the Fremont, Elkhorn, Missouri Valley Railroad in about 1885.  However, the track actually ran about one mile north of the community, disappointing many citizens of Dawes City.  According to Mabel Kendrick in her book Still Alive and Well - Whitney, Nebraska, the Pioneer Townsite Company platted a new town called Earth Lodge.  Slowly, Dawes City withered away and buildings were either moved to Earth Lodge or torn down.     Not long thereafter, as a tribute to the FE&MV official Peter Whitney,

Some years later, the rail line became the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.   The C& NW provided both passenger and freight service to Whitney for many years. Passenger service was discontinued in the 1950s and the depot was moved to Wayside, near the South Dakota border.

Interested in C& NW History? Click on the link below for a great historical trip. All Aboard!