Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/556

 CHAPTER XXXVI RAILROADS Beginning of Railroad Agitation — Companies Formed — The First Railroad — St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern — Cairo & Fulton — Present Condition op the Iron Moun- tain — The Cape Girardeau, Pilot Knob & Belmont — The Houck Lines — The 'Frisco System — the St. Louis Southwestern — The Illinois & Missouri Bridge Company — Mis- sissippi River & Bonne Terre Railroad Company — The Williamsville, Greenville & St. Louis Railroad Company — St. Louis, Kennett & Southeastern — The St. Louis & Missouri Southern — The Paragould Southeastern — The Illinois Southern — The Missouri Southern — The Paragould & Memphis — The Butler County Railroad — The St. Francois County Interurban. During tliis period of Missouri history the organization of railroad companies was be- gun. Up to this time there had been no par- ticular interest in railroad building, but the decade extending from 1850 to 1860 was tilled with railroad pro.iects of almost every conceivable kind. Railroads were projected from place to place throughout the state. Many companies were organized, most of which were without any tangible capital and were, therefore, unable to construct rail- roads. Southeast Missouri was no exception to the situation in the state as a whole. There wei'e a great number of railroads pro- jected, and but few of them ever built. One of these was a company called Mine La Motte & Mississippi Railroad, with a cap- ital of $300,000.00, for the purpose of build- ing a road from ]Iine La Motte to some point on the Mississippi river not lower than Pratte's Landing. Another railroad ^vas pro- jected from St. Louis to Caledonia, in Wash- ington county, by way of Potosi. This com- pany had a capital of $2,000,000. Another one was to run from Caledonia to Cape Girardeau by way of Iron Mountain, Mine La Motte and Jackson. It was called the Southern Railroad and was capitalized at $1,000,000.00. The Southeastern Railroad, with a capital of $200,000.00 was projected from New Madrid to Commerce, in Scott county, and the Washington & Ste. Gene- vieve Railroad was planned to be built be- tween Washington and Ste. Genevieve. All of these mentioned were organized in 1836 and 1837, but none of the companies pos- sessed either money or credit enough to con- struct the railroads proposed. The first railroad company which actually built a railroad in Southeast Missouri was the St. Louis & Iron IMoiuitain Railway Com- pany. The fir.st work done looking to the building of this road in this part of the state 496