RAILROAD AIDS DELTA IN GROWTH

DELTA -- The town of Delta is situated 15 miles southwest of Cape Girardeau. It originally was nothing more than part of a vast swampland.

In the 1880s, fur trappers, hunters and a few venturesome loggers went into the swamplands in the area now known as the Missouri Delta.

The area was heavily wooded and the rich land produced many wildcats and fur-bearing animals. But it was the logging business, plus a railroad station, that gave Delta its start.

The Bellmount Iron Mountain Railroad was the first line through the town. having been built in 1869, said Allen Henderson, lifetime resident of Delta. The line went through Lutesville, to Fredericktown and Bismarck, he said.

By 1887, three railroad companies went through the depot there: the Cotton Belt, Iron Mountain and the Houck Railroad, which later became the Frisco Line.

But at the beginning of the 20th century, Delta was only one row of houses perched on stilts to stay out of the water, which flooded the swampy land regularly. A boardwalk made it possible for residents to go from one house to another, down to the one store, up to the church and across to the railroad.

In 1898, the town of Delta applied for a post office, but it was turned down because there was another post office called "Delto" in Laclede County, said Henderson. The town's name was then changed to Deray, and a post office was established under that name, he said.

Attempts had been made by every postmaster since the office was established to have the name changed back to Delta. The post office in Delto was abolished by the establishment of a rural route, which finally made the change back to the name of Delta possible in March 1914.

Flooding was a recurring problem for the town, and the area around Delta could not be used for serious farming until the Little River Diversion Channel was built after 1912. This carried off the excess water and provided some of the finest agricultural soil in the country.

Drainage of the lowlands really started the town's growth. Farm interests developed and the railroads made Delta a crossroads for business.

In the early 20th century, Delta had several businesses, including a hotel, a live poultry business, a sawmill, a village, a blacksmith, a bank, a two-chair barber shop, a restaurant and a grocery store.

Henderson said when he was young the people either worked in the sawmill, on the railroad or on their family farm. It wasn't until he was in high school that people began working in factories.

Most people at one time or another worked on the railroad, Henderson said. There were five section crews that maintained the railroad lines, he said.

"We also had a depot in Delta and the telegraph office was also located there," Henderson said.

The railroad is really what helped the town grow, Henderson said. At one time Delta had six passenger trains going through town a day, he said. Each of the three lines had a train that ran north and one going south each day, he said.

"We probably had between 20 and 30 trains a day going through Delta," Henderson said. "Each of the lines also had several freight trains, along with the passenger trains that went through Delta each day."

In the 1960s the Cotton Belt, which was the last line in operation, was bought out by Southern Pacific Railroad. Currently there is not a depot in Delta, but the Southern Pacific line still comes through town on a regular basis.

The community is governed by a mayor and town board. The city water system went into operation in 1968 and Delta's sewer system also began in the 1960s, said Leon Kelly, town resident.

"The water and sewer systems have been the biggest changes in Delta in the last 25 years," Kelly said. "Both have definitely helped the town because we now have water for firefighting."

The businesses in Delta today include a retirement home, a hardware store, a grocery store, a quick shop and a truck stop.

"Farming is still big in Delta," Henderson said. "But many of the people who own the land rent it out to others."

The population has grown really slowly, said Henderson. The town never really did develop as was hoped, he said.

"We're still the third largest city in Cape Girardeau County," said Mary Maud Hosea, retired Delta elementary principal. "But I look for Gordonville to soon move ahead of us.

"There are a lot of people who move from Delta to Gordonville so that their children can attend Jackson's school. They want to see their children in a bigger school district than ours. But without the school and the churches, we wouldn't have anything in town anymore."