St. Charles Republican intelligencer. (St. Charles [Charles City], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1856-10-23
Cedar Valley Branch Railroad.

Tn reference to our Railroad matters
the Chicago Journal of the goth, in an
article on the Importance of Iowa
Railroads, has the following
est Paul is known to be on a me-
ridian line west of Cedar Rapids, Iowa,
and the rather surprising fact is now
developed that the shortest and cheap
est railroad between Chicago and St.
Paul, vii, in all probability, be by the
Dixon Airline Road to Fulton City,
thence by the Chicago, Iowa and Ne
braska Railroad from Clinton to Cedar
Rapids, and thence up the Ced ar VAL
ley, by the Minnesota branch of said
road, to st. Paul. 1t is now believed
that this will not only prove the most
direct route from Chicago to St. Paul,
but cheaper road by 100000 than
any other yet projected"
They have had elections in many Of
the counties south of us. At Cedar
Rapids, only two dissenting votes
were cast upon the question of taking
$50, 900 stock in the Chicago, Iowa and
Nebraska Road Such unanimity de-
notes the proper appreciation of the
value of Railroads.
Dr. Downs, the agent of the Chicago,
Iowa and Nebraska Railroad, has Just
returned from exploring the route of
the Cedar Valley Branch from Cedar
Rapids in Iowa county, Iowa, to Min
neapolis, st. Anthony and St. Paul, in
Minnesota, and reports the route as one
of the most feasible and important, as
well as the least expensive for it's
length, OH the American continent.
That the country through which it pass
cs is unsurpassed in beauty and fertil-
ity by any on the face of the globe
We give here merely synopsis of his
report:
"The practicability of the route up
the Cedar Valley and down Strait River
valley to Faribault is probably unsur-
passed on the American continent.
From Cedar Rapids to Vinton in Ben
ton county, the grading will be COM
paratively light from Vinton to Water
loo in Black Hawk county, and to
GAINESVILLE in Bremen county, is almost
a level plain. A few light cuts brings
you on to another level plane little
above Waverly, which continues to the
crossing of the Cedar, near Bradford in
Chickasaw county; from there to the
State line, through Mitchell county, the
road will require but very little more
grading per mile than from Chicago
west, the first four or five miles, and
it is the same on through Minnesota to
Faribault. From Minneapolis, the
grading will not be heavier than the
same length of and part of the Chicago
and Galena Union Road. The road
will skirt body of heavy timber the
entire length of the Cedar Valley, va
rying from one to six miles in width.
On leaving the Cedar you pass through
20 miles of beautiful burr oak barrens
to Strait river, there again sets in the
heavy timber of Minnesota, which
you skirt on to Fairbauit, here
you pass through the Big Woods of
Minnesota, varying from ten to forty
miles in width, and extending north
across the Minnesota river, farther
than the white man has explored.
There are large tracts of this timber
almost entirely composed of black wal
nut, white walnut, white ash and oak.
1t is probably the finest body of timber
east OF the Sierra Nevada Mountains"
And here we take the liberty of ex-
pressing the belief that but few men.
it any in our country, are better quail
fled to judge in matters of this kind
than pr. Downs, who has been a pio-
neer for the last twenty years, not on
ly trayersing the length and breadth
OF all the western States and Terrific
ries, but crossing the Rocky Mountains
and exploring the extended plain Of the
Pacific coast, He takes a deep inter-
est in this route, and being connected
with Railroads for many years, is well
qualified to Judge concerning the prac-
ticability Of this route Usage Demo
vdt. /fff yEff