Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/565

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 505 secured from New Madrid county a large grant of land. The company did consider- able work and opened up the road, but it was destroyed during the war and nothing was done toward rebuilding it by that company. In 1875 Oscar Kochtitzky, the registrar of the land office, George B. Clark, state au- ditor, and A. M. Shead, who was the agent of the Glasgow Ship Building Company, ob- tained the charter and franchise of the Blan- ton Road Company. It was their intention to rebuild this plank road and to secure a confirmation of the land grant frOm New Madrid coimty to themselves. After secur- ing the charter, however, they determined to build a narrow-gauge railroad and applied to New Madrid county for a transfer of the land for this purpose. The county court of New Madrid county assented and the com- pany proceeded to build the railroad. It was begun in October, 1876, and in February, 1878, it was completed between New Madrid and Maiden. After being operated for a short time as a narrow-gauge railroad, it was rebuilt as a standard gauge and extended to Cairo. Shortly after this was done it came under the control of a group of capitalists headed by S. W. Fordyce, of St. Louis, and was reoi'ganized as the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railroad and extended to Texar- kana, on the line between Arkansas and Texas. Through trains were run between Cairo and Texarkana in 1882. It soon be- came a part of the Gould system and in 1888 a branch was built from Maiden to Delta. This branch was afterwards extended to Gray's Point, on the river, and later to the Thebes bi'idge. It is now operated as the main line of the system and the company is known as the St. Louis Southwestern Rail- road Company. One of the great movements in this part of the state in railroad matters was the build- ing of a bridge across the Mississippi river at Thebes. In 1900 a corporation called the Southern Illinois & Missouri Bridge Com- pany was organized for the purpose of con- structing such a bridge. It was composed of men representing the Illinois Central Railroad, the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern, the St. Louis & San Francisco, and the Chicago & Eastern Illinois. Charles G. Warner was president of the company, Myron J. Carpen- ter vice-president, and Charles N. Hillard secretary. It was determined to build a bridge at Thebes. The location was determined by a number of considerations. The St. Louis Southwestern had failed to secure an en- trance to Cape Girardeau and had located its northern terminus at Gray's Point, near Thebes. The Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain, also part of the Gould system, had built the Valley line from St. Louis south along the Illinois side of the river to connect with the St. Louis Southwestern. The other roads indicated, had interests in the same territory. These facts had something to do with the selection of the site. The determin- ing factor, however, was the character of the river banks. At Thebes the river is narrow and the bluffs are at the water's edge on both sides. This afforded an opportunity to build a bridge Avithout the necessity for long ap- proaches. The character of the soil was such as to provide a firm foimdation, as native rock is foimcl at comparatively shallow depths both in the river itself and on either side. These two features make the site chosen an ideal one. In fact it is one of the best if not the best point for a bridge to be