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After thirty years of village progress, more
business and trading was being transacted. With
more produce coming in from surrounding farms,
there was seen a need for ready transportation to
and from the area.
In 1900 through the efforts of James A. Ander-
son, a railroad came to Dallas. Mr. Anderson
gave the land for the depot and the right of way.
The Rice Lake, Dallas, and Menomonie Railway,
known as the "Soo Line" had come to Dallas.
With the coming of this transportation, four
potato warehouses were built. In those days the
children were given a two week vacation from
school, and they helped pick potatoes.
M. A. Gedney of St. Paul had a pickle sta-
tion, which provided a market for this cash crop.
There were three grain elevators, a stockyard,
snd other storehouses.
The railroad was sometimes called the "Blue-
berry," as the train would carry passengers to the
north woods to pick blueberries.
At one time a "special" was run to bring in
ball fans for a local ball game.
Eventually other modes of transportation took
over and the railroad began to fade. By 1962 the
"Blueberry" had seen its last service so the tracks
were torn up and the bridges taken down. The
land was taken over by the farmers and fenced
for fields and pastures.
Dallas had taken one more step away from
"The Old Days."