All Aboard the Lake Manawa Railway
by Ryan Roenfeld
Price: $6.00 USD. 16630 words.
Published on March 9, 2011. .
After Lake Manawa was formed during an 1881 Missouri River flood a resort grew with a short-line railroad that hauled pleasure-seekers all summer long. By the turn of the 20th century Lake Manawa was the "Mecca of the Midwest" offering amusements aplenty. The "trolley park" closed in 1928 and the lake is now an Iowa State Park.