10/14/2026
HAHS HISTORY MOMENT: Monthly Meeting, Monday, October 12, 2026. Information was shared about the Highland RR Depot which still exists on the north edge of Highland. The train came to Highland for 25 years, from 1904-1929. The spur ran from Highland Junction somewhat south of Linden, crossing Highway 18 at Whitson Junction east of Cobb, and then to Highland. This was a passenger train. One HAHS member shared that his Aunt took the train everyday to work at Mineral Point. In addition, farmers would get their products to market. Heibel and Dickerson, must have been stock buyers, and one old photo shows 20 carloads of cattle leaving Highland in one day. Perhaps most important, was the transportation of material from the zinc mines in Highland to be processed elsewhere. HAHS has a mining map identifying about 25 mines within a 2 or 3 mile radius of the Village of Highland. Sanbourn Maps from the early 1900's shows numerous buildings existed on the depot property, just to mention a few, the Depot itself, Water Tank, Ice House, Cheese House, Cattle Shed, and Coal Shed. The book "Cheese Factories of Iowa County" mentions the years the Cheese company existed. It seems after the train stopped coming to Highland in 1929, the Depot building was moved about a quarter turn and attached to the old ice house, which is said to have once been 5 stories high. The thick walls with sawdust in them can still be seen in the existing first story. Ice was apparently harvested from the pond at the brewery and stored here. In addition, it seems the Cheese House was attached to the Depot and was used as a cheese warehouse to wax big blocks of cheese. At HAHS we have lots of old photographs of the Depot, old tickets, RR Stock Certificates from 1904, etc. Come take a tour and see what we have!
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