Origins of Our Easement Rights

As the Rock Island railroad corridors were sold off, the Bankruptcy Trustee expressly reserved and excluded from each conveyance the exclusive, perpetual right to grant easements on, in, under, over, above, across, and along the corridors.

In 1984, as the Rock Island bankruptcy concluded, the company was renamed the Chicago Pacific Corporation (CPAC). The Bankruptcy Trustee then conveyed all remaining assets of the bankruptcy estate to CPAC, including the residual exclusive, perpetual easement-granting rights over both sold and unsold corridors.

CPAC continued selling Rock Island corridors using this established protocol, consistently reserving the exclusive, perpetual easement-granting rights in every conveyance. (Which rights would later be transferred to HLC)

In 1985, Rick Stickle, sole owner of the Hawkeye Land companies, contracted with CPAC to acquire all remaining CPAC real property interests located in:

• 64 Iowa counties
   
• Two Minnesota counties
   

CPAC subsequently granted quitclaim deeds to Hawkeye Land Co. for:

• 64 Iowa counties
   
• Six South Dakota counties
   
• Two Minnesota counties
   

In 1987, Rick entered into a second contract with CPAC to acquire all remaining CPAC real property interests located in:

• Fifteen Illinois counties
   
• Seven additional Minnesota counties
   
• Twelve Missouri counties
   

CPAC granted quitclaim deeds to:

• Hawkeye Land Co. of Illinois (for the fifteen Illinois counties)
   
• Hawkeye Land Co. (for the additional Minnesota and Missouri counties)
   

Across all 106 counties, Hawkeye Land acquired the exclusive, perpetual easement-granting rights that had been expressly reserved from the original corridor conveyances. Each deed conveyed “all right, title, and interest of the Grantor wherever evidenced, monumented, or located in the County” and included explicit language affirming these exclusive rights.

As a result, Hawkeye Land became the owner—not of the railroad corridors themselves—but of the exclusive, perpetual right to grant easements on, in, under, over, above, across, and along corridors located throughout 106 Midwest counties in five states.

Hawkeye Land also acquired from the CRIP hundreds of parcels of railroad-owned real estate, including:

• Terminals
   
• Stockyards
   
• Rail yards
   
• Secondary tracks
   
• Abandoned rights-of-way
   
• Other miscellaneous parcels
   

While these parcels are not actively marketed, they are sold periodically. Interested buyers are encouraged to contact us for more information.

Since 1985, Hawkeye Land has managed these holdings by:

• Selling crossing and longitudinal easements to utilities, municipalities, and other applicants
   
• Selling real estate parcels from our broader portfolio
   
• Maintaining long-term stewardship of exclusive easement rights across five states
   

Our headquarters is located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where we continue to support applicants and manage our portfolio of easement rights and real estate holdings.