In 1881, the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad built a narrow gauge rail line from Des Moines through Green County to Spirit Lake. Ten years later, the line was widened to standard gauge and taken over by the Milwaukee Road, which operated it until 1980. From 1984 to 1990, the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad used the line for a few years. The last passenger train ran on April 12, 1952, and the rails were removed during the winter of 1991–1992.