The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1860-10-25
Extension Of the e. 81 c. Railroad.


The accommodating gentlemen of the Ter
re Haute Express have sent US a copy of the
communication which we referred to the
other Gay, in regard TO the extension of the
f. 4 C. R. r. beyond Rockville, and matters
connected Herewith. We copy entire, as OF
as much interest to our business men az
anything we can publish. They are all of
course interested in seeing new avenues of
commerce opened.
The writer dates his article " Waveland,
Montgomery county,, Oct 1860" He
writes as follows:
BRING ON YOUR RAILROAD.
Mr.. EDITOR We are anxiously watch
ing all the steps taken to extend the Evans
willie and Charlottesville Railroad, and every
indication made in that direction tends to
strengthen our hands and invigorate our
hopes We took an early and active inter-
est in that road, attended the first meetings
and many subsequent ones, for the purpose
of adding our mite of inhuence to its encour-
agement. We also travelled two or three
times 10 Evansville, TO attend meetings of
the Board, several years since, to show our
deep interest in the enterprise We have
likewise paid considerable ut this place to
defray the expense of surveying the route
from Charlottesville to Terre Haute We
took an active part to get up stock for said
road, in its first movings, and succeeded in
raising between thirty and forty thousand
dollars in stock. We should have done more
ut just at this time when we thought we
ere about to get this road, in comes Pres
ent Hopkins, with corps of Engineers,
Vnl inn ha hoF en- A.
urdy oak and the tall poplar, and thus
pening their way as if they were truly in
earnest and all natures distinctions must
give way before them, and they offered us
an mir line road from Cleveland to st Louis,
provided we would take hold and help make
1t. We took hold with them to a consider
able extent, and have got no road yet. We
have entirely given up all hopes of the
Cleveland and St. Louis Road We have
hoped and waited and watched for con
tinuatian in this direction of the E. & c,
Road, until hope long deferred has made the
heart sick. But lately we have been much
revived ut the prospect of the road being
made to Rockville. That it will get to
Rockville in a few months is now, we think,
about as certain as any human event yet in
the future. We rejoice with our neighbors
in Rockville at the prospect of Its speedy
AcompletlOn to that place, for if any town
needs a raise it is Rockville We hope it
viii do 1t all the good she has long expected
from IT. But in Justice to the citizens of
Rockville and Parke county, must say that
stnany of them have done generous part to
secure the road, and Gen. G. X. Steele has
. neither spared time, talents, influence nor
money to encourage the enterprise. But
now comes the tug of war. So soon as the
road gets to Rockville we want to have a
lever ready to hook in the iron horses nose
and draw him this way. Some say that he
IS fond OF snufing the Wabash fog and that
his head is q little inclined to turn out of bis
natural course (to the great injury of the
road and the cities on the lower part of the
road and keep up along the Wabash & Erie
canal.
There are many reasons why this road
should keep the route which it was first
designed to take. 1t would in tn route
run through or by the coal mines in Parke
county, yielding superior quality of coal
an abundance Of which is now wagoned to
this place. and to Russelville, Crawfords-
vile, and other towns along and adjacent
to the route; and then it would run for
several miles along the valley of the Lit
lie RaccoOn creek-a more productive val
ley is not perhaps in the Union and then
it would reach WavelaDd, which may be
safely said, TO its size, not to be surpassed
for business, by any town in this State,
and her collegiate school already num-
bering one hundred pupils, and what
would it be had we the railroad to drop
them here and take them away The
abundant surplus of corn and wheat and
flour and rye and oats and cattle and hogs
and horses and mules which want an out
let south, would tell if we had railroad
The city ofTerre Haute would feel it. It's
packing houses of course would pack many
OF our hogs many time we would make
1t convenient to do much trading there had
we the facility of a railroad conveyance
Neither should Evansville be left ont of
mind She would receive a good share of
the benefit. Our groceries OUGHT not to
pass our State along the Ohio river into a
sister State before we get hold of them
Our grocery trade should settle at Evans
vile. The extension Of this road would
much tend to turn our grocery trade to that
point. At Charlottesville it would inter
sect the L., N. A. Il Chicago r. R. There
has been much money spent and a great
deal of labor done between Charlottesville
aud Frankfort. Ii any set of citizens de-
serve a railroad | think it is the citizens of
Frankfort They persevere from the begin
ming to the end and traverse sea and land
10 accomplish the matter They have been
down by delegations to see what we are
doing and to hear what is the prospect. If
tnere' can be anything done for them it
must be done
IhIs road need not turn out of lis char
tered route to connect with the Valley road.
II that connection is desired it can be made
at Lafayette by making the road to Craw-
FrrrA