Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1878-08-01

Of the fur trade, which in the earlier |
history of the state was an important
md lucrative industry.
Marking the tide of colonization as
we see it disclosed in our early his
,ory. it is found that more than half
. century elapsed, after the settle
ment of Ste. Genevieve, before the
country now embraced by the second
tier of counties in Southwest Missouri
was settled.
The fertile lands in the region bor-
dering on the Mississippi, above st.
Louis, and at this time embracing the
counties of Lincoln, Pike, Rails, Ma
rion, Lewis and Clark, attracted an
population and were set
tied with a view to permanency, and
fol the development of the arts and
of the husbandman. With
the exception of Lincoln county, all
the settle nents were made after the
close of the war of 1912.
Returning to the mouth of the Mis-
souri, river, and traversing that stream
to the western boundary of the state,
we find that with the exception of the
settlements in St. Louis, st. Charles,
Howard, Cooper and Boone counties,
and small settlement at Loutre
island, the entire region was under
the bloody sway of the Indians until
after the peace of 1915. Colonization
then rapidly followed, and the star of
empire took it's course inland to vari-
Gus portions of the state, rapidly
overspreading the commonwealth
from the Kansas border to the Ms
sissippi, and from Iowa to Arkansas.
Omitting, in the interest of brevity,
any specific reference to the progress
made in agriculture and manufactures,
we come to note the wonderful activi-
ty which disclosed itself in 1S35-6-7
in the projection of lines of railroad.
This activity assumed the character
istics of a mania, an epidemic; ; and it
attacked our people with no incon-
siderable force, awaking public at
tention to their want of improved
means of intercommunication. and to
their value as agencies of develop
ment. The railroad convention, held
in st. Louis in April, 1886, was the
first ever held in the state; and the
incorporation of eighteen railroad
companies by the Legislature. of 1886 Z
YVES an outgrowth of the popular
frenzy on the subject.
Ali of them were railroads on Pa
per, and really had no other existence
than in the acts incorporating them.
The companies possessed neither
credit, money, bonds nor lands.
Nevertheless, the several charters,
although then and now dead letters
on the statute book, were not without
wholesome influence on the people
and future legislatures. The Louis
lana and Columbia and the St. Louis
and Bellevue charters were almost
literally copied, in 1889 and in
lSsOO-l, III the acus incorporating the
Hannibal and st. Joseph and the st.
Louis and Iron Mountain railways
The same pen drafted the Columbia
and Louisiana charter in 1867, ano
the Hannibal and St. Joseph il
l848-9-namely. hat of Hon James
5. Rollins, of Columbia, who prepared
the latter charter at the request o
Hon. Robert NJ. Stewart, the father
of the road, and its first president.
Sixteen years elapsed after the st
/ Louis railroad convention of 1886
/ before the Iron horse" and the steam
whistle were heard west of the Miss
| issippi on a Missouri rail- DAD. Mean
while. however, not being able, owing
to their great cost, to construct any
part of the numerous lines chartered
and intelligently alive to the impor
tance of improved methods of inter
communication, the people of many
of the counties constructed rock, gray
81 Or plank roads. Plank-road ma
MIA i'm Missouri succeeded the rail
way mania, and largely proving a fail
ure, intensified the feeling in favor o
mere enduring and rapid means o
transportation.
The Pacific railroad charter wa
approved March II, 1919, and IL
Nav following surveys commenced
and on July 4, 1850, the ground wa
broken as initiatory to the work o
construction, on which occasion Hon
Luther Nj. Kennett, then mayor q
the city of st. Louis, cast the firs
shovel of earth on the new track. l.
December, 1852, the first completes
line of railroad in Missouri was open
ed to Cheltenham for passengers, tiv
? miles; in 1858 to Franklin, (no'
called Pacilic) in 1853 to Jefferson
CITY. and in 1865 to Kansas City
283 miles distant from st. Louis.
The opening to the Pacific roa
was closely followed by the Hannib'
and St. Joseph, North Missouri, lro
Mountain and the Southwest branc
of the Pacific, now known as the s
, Louis and San Francisco. All thes
roads received large amount OF al
from the state, and the Hannibal an
St, Joseph, Pacific and Southwe'
branch, large grams vi laio lioni u
general government.
> Lii es of telegraph were built alon
the track of each of these roads. an
of all others in the state. The fir
e line of telegraph which connected >
f Louis with the East reached East 5
Louis on Dec. go, lS47.
q No system of railroads in the wor
= embraces larger and richer territo1
than that which has a common al
natural centre ia st. Louis. Prob
bly no city in the world now sen'
through freight and passenger trail
n over a greater extent Of railway mil
n ace than st, Louis. This is main
# due to the fact that st. Louis is near
Y the geographical centre OF the Unit
5 States than any other large comme
cial city, point from which radis
s ing lines extend one to two thousal
e miles east, west and south, and fl
n hundred miles north"
Ie The fifteen trunk lines entering
d st, Louis as terminal point, SCI
), daily trains of cars oyer routes aggl
le eating 25,640 miles in length,
E. more than the circumference OF t
G, globe Radiating from st. Lo,
4Lni, paada Hai