Travels with Children

Historic General Dodge House

• 605 Third Street, Council Bluffs, Iowa
• www.dodgehouse.org
• 712-322-2406
• Open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. - 5 p.m. on Sunday. Closed most holidays and during the month of January.
• Admission: Adults: $7, Seniors (62+): $5, Children (6-16): $3, Children under 6 are free.
There are discounts for group of 20 or more. See website for details.
• Definitely NOT stroller-friendly or handicap-accessible.
• Limited on-street parking

There were actually two houses on this part of the tour. The first house we visited as part of Railroad Days was the August Beresheim House. It is next door to the Dodge House and functions as the orientation center for the Dodge House. It was built in 1899 and used to belong to close associates of General Dodge and his family. There are three floors, although the third floor was roped-off so we were unable to tour it. With a central staircase, bathroom, and four bedrooms - it was definitely spacious for the time period. The original den is now decorated as a child’s playroom, complete with child-size dolls wearing period clothing. There are supposedly bathrooms available behind this house, but we did not utilize them so I can’t comment.

From there, we continued across to the Historic General Dodge House. It is a registered national historic landmark. General Grenville M. Dodge was the chief construction engineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. He participated in the Civil War and hobnobbed several people whose names you will recognize: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Jim Bridger, and Jay Gould.

It is listed on the attraction page of www.councilbluffsiowa.com page as: “This three-story, 14-room, lavish Victorian home, is one of Iowa’s premier historic homes. Built in 1869 by Gen. Grenville M. Dodge, a Civil War veteran, was dubbed “greatest railroad builder of all time.” The mansion is historically authentic, complete with the majority of original furnishings. Events include a garden walk in July, annual fall tea and a five-week Christmas celebration where the house is decorated in Victorian splendor with more than 25 themed holiday trees.” In 1869, it cost $35,000 to build. That would be over $775,000 in today’s money (based on 1913 to 2008 inflation calculator).

There are some neat items in this house - including a bear trap in the basement, very narrow shoes in the closet of Mrs. Dodge’s room, and a ballroom on the third level. Don’t bring your stroller. Watch your toddlers as they attempt to climb up and down the relatively steep stairs by themselves. (Mine said, “I do it!”)

The volunteers who take you through the tour move you through fairly quickly, so this was not a lengthy stop. I don’t have a lot of interest in this period, but even I found things fascinating - like the pictures in the basement or the stories the volunteers tell you about the house’s history or stories of ‘the day’ such as the ladies cutting off their little toes so they can fit into the very narrow boots we saw.

One of my daughters loved the dolls in the basement with their beautiful clothes. My kids all agreed they liked the real bear trap best, though. Who woulda thunk it?

[This post was submitted by a guest author. You can read more by going to her blog, "Learning As I Go."]

The following is a guest contribution to Travels With Children. You can read more from the author at her blog, “Learning As I Go“.

Mark next year’s calendar now.
“Road trip! June 20-21, 2009. Railroad Days.“

If you are within a day’s drive of Council Bluffs, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska, you really should plan to make next year’s “Railroad Days.” What is this Railroad Days? Why should you go? What’s so special?

• http://www.omaharailroaddays.com
• $10 for two adults and unlimited dependent children

Railroad Days is a five-for-one deal. You can visit five different (mostly “train-related” attractions in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area in the two day event for only $10. Not $10 per person. But $10 per FAMILY (two adults, unlimited children). You park at one of the locations and FREE bus or TROLLEY service will take you between the other locations. Here is what the website has to say about RR Days:

“Celebrate our region’s railroad heritage and spend the day visiting some of the best railroad-themed attractions that Omaha and Council Bluffs have to offer. Explore Lauritzen Gardens, The Durham Museum, the RailsWest Railroad Museum, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum and The Historic General Dodge House. You can leave your car at any of the five locations and take free trolley service to each destination. ALL ABOARD for $10 per family!”

These attractions EACH normally cost at least $5 for each adult and $3 to $4 for each child. The event is sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad and the Iowa West Foundation with donations from a variety of other local businesses, individuals, and foundations. The third annual Railroad Days took place on July 12-13, 2008. In the follow-up installments, each attraction will be featured in “Traveling With Children” fashion.

For now, here are some general comments:
The trolleys were great, although we didn’t get to ride on any of them until the second day because of none of them were available after 2 p.m.

The ride across the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs (and back) took an hour each way. If I were to do it all over again (and what we did the second day), was ride the trolley back to the place we parked our vehicle and drive ourselves across the river. It would have been much faster. The trolleys don’t cross over, so we rode a “tour bus.” All of us would have rather rode in our own vehicle and used the saved time to pick up some cheaper food along the way.

The attractions were very diverse - some were stroller friendly and others were definitely not. Some took a fairly short time to go through and we could have stayed at a couple of the others all day long.

There was definitely some hit-and-miss on the bathrooms and water/food availability. Plan ahead, use the facilities when they are provided, and be flexible. There is some more detail in the follow-up installments.

Four of the five attractions have admission fees. Only the Union Pacific Railroad Museum is free to the public. For Railroad Days, my family of two adults and four children got into all five for only $10. It would have cost us $74 for entry to these places normally. Railroad Days is a great experience for the whole family at an even greater price!