Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-05-28
Tine Ante-Belium History of the
M: Q. a L. Railroad Company.


M. @. a. l.. RAILROAD Company.
Mr.. John w. Faxon, writing to
the Courier-Journal, gives the fol-
lowing interesting facts connected
with its early history. He says:
Believing it would not be inap-
prOpriate on this occasion to give a
c0ndesned history of this road, j
have taken the pains to examine Its
old records and herewith furnish |
the readers Of the Courier-Journal
with an account of the organization
of what is now one of the most inn
portant lines in the Louisville and |
Nashville railroads. great system. |
As far back as 1913 the subject of |
railroads WAS agitated by the citi-
zens of GAINESVILLE. At that time |
an effort was made to connect |
GAINESVILLE with HopkinsviIIe by a |
railroad, which was to form a nu-
cleus for a more extended line in |
the future, to connect with the
northern system. Then GAINESVILLE
was the main shipping point for all
tobacco grown in this and the Green
river section, a type of tobacco
known in all the marts of Europe
as HClarksville tobacco" This pro-
ject fell completely through for
want of means caused by the great
lack of public interest. The rail-
road fever struck the people again
in 1919 in the shape of a comtemIla-
ted railroad line from Louisville to
Memphis. The scheme, at first,
had but few advocates, as IA large
majority of the people expressed a
decided preference for a road from
Nashville to Henderson, passing
through GAINESVILLE. This route it
was argued, would open up the coal
fields of kentucky and would there
fore offer to GAINESVILLE, which was
iron-produciDg establishments be-
tween Eddyville' and Betseytown,
greater advantages for making
| GAINESVILLE a manufacturing point.
| Through the stupidity of those hav-
| ing the control of the Nashville and
Henderson charter, and certain
strong influences brought to beaT to
prevent the division of any subscrip-
] tiOnS already made Or in prospective
I by this county, city, or the citizens
| thereof between two roads, ClarkS-
vile was thrown entirely out of the
| line of the Nashville and Hender-
son road, and all the means raised
We're donated to the Memphis ClarkS-
vile and Louisville rOad--the link
between Louisville and Memphis.
Had the projectors-sOme of them
the most prominent citizens of
GAINESVILLE Listened to the advice
| of far-seeing men, who look forward
for resultS-Some of whom are now
] living-and divided the subscrip-
tons between the two roads, Clarks-
vile would now be a prosperous
commercial and manufacturing city
with population at least four times
as large as that given by the last
census.
The charter of the NJ, G.. and L
railroad was granted by the Ten
nessee Legislature on the 18th of
January, 1852. The required sum,
5000, having been subscribed May
25, 1858, the Commissioners appoint
ed by the charter met and elected
the following gentlemen as
Il board of directors e. Howard,
| w. Broaddus, Joshua Elder, VIM.
NJ. Stewart, l. b. West, Bryce Stew.
art, w. II. Drane, Joshua Cobb, w.
p. Hume, David Browder, @. A.
! Henry III. F. Beaumont, James A.
Trice, and ThOs. w. Wisdom. The
following officers were elected DIR.
Joshua Cobb, president; Thomas w.
Wisdow, treasurer, and w. P.
/ Hume, secretary. The preliminary
survey was made in 1853 by corps
of engineers under the charge of Mr..
Everett Peabody, and the road,
commencing at the Kentucky line
and ending at Paris, Henry county,
Tenn, was found to be eighty-tiIree
miles. Nothingsfurther was done
in 1858. On the I'd of June, 1854,
Maj. G. A. Henry was elected pres
ident and Julius Adams chief en-
gineer, and the locating survey was
ordered. Here sprung up one of
those hotly-contested war of words
and sstenpesis in teapot for
which GAINESVILLE has ever been
noted. An attempt WAS made to
consolidate this road with the Mem
phis and Ohio road running from
Paris to Memphis. The proposition
had strong advocates and strong
opposers and the project was defeat
ed. At the next annual election
Mr.. VIM. b. Munford was elected
president, and in this position he
continued from the 18th of June,
1856, to the 25th of June 1853, when
he was succeeded by Wn. A.
Quarles. On the 9th of March,
1856, the legislature of Tennessee
having passed a law granting the
M. G.. u l.. and NJ. d D. roads au-
thority to consolidate, convention
of the representatives of the two
met at Paris, but like all former at
tempts the consolidation was a fail
ure. On the 18th of March Presi-
dent Munford advertised for propos-
ais for putting that portion of the
rCad-bed between the Cumberland
river and the Kentucky state line
under contract, and Mr.. Geo. b.
Fleece was appointed chiefengineer.
Again the populace reared and
charged, divided as they were into
two factions, upon the question of
location of the road-Whether it
should come into GAINESVILLE by the
upper or the lower route" Those
living in the northern part of the
I city DTOI6TIGu tIiti 4cWGT IOulS
while those in the southern portion
preferred the "upper" route. Ex-
element was at its highest pitch.
The supper" route faction carried
the day by holding up to the peo-
pie the neighboring town of New
Providence-at that time Il competi-
tor of GAINESVILLE for the tobacco
trade-as bugbear to brighten them
from building the bridge below the
town, or on the lower route, as it
would ruin GAINESVILLE everlasting
ly and build up New Providence.
Angry and exciting discussions
sprung up on the stump, through
the press and around pot-houses,
and the " hole project seemed to be
on the verge OF failure upon the
| question of sup" or "down" town.
/ Quite number of engineers were
consulted about the location, and
all of them, with the exception of
Mr.. George B. Fleece, agreed that
the upper route would not only be
ruinous to the city, but would cause
an unjustifiable expenditure of the
means OF the company. But Mr..
Fleece calculated that the upper
route would exceed in cost the low
err by only $4,000. Upon Mr..