The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-19
'eventy Years Ago.

cincinnati 1881 46,3S2 21,551
Woshiyn Woshigygton 49,. iSsS ss5 SS'7S$ ~ SS Sso
6itLSpurg l2,b4Z n ,Z6 8,8S8
66unaio ......... 6,3Sl 1895 l2,0S5
troy ......... II. .4O5 1882 1887
Computing from the census of 1860,
Dinsmore's Railroad and Steam Nayiga-
ton Guide. published in 1881, gives the
population of the above cities as follows:
New York -. 900, 0OOI Cincinnati ..15s. 900
philadelphia ..625, ,000I Brooklyn :. ..250, 900
Baltmore Baston TPIashingtOn PIf4sbn4ga 400
New Orleans. .150, 900 Buffalo :. -. $4,000
st. Louis ..161. .000l Troy ...... :. SO, ,653
To the above can now be added Chicago
with population in 1860 Of 125,000.
The various cities and towns that have
gone to make Greater New York render
1t impossible to obtain accurate statistics
or present population. The population Of
other cities listed above is at present
as follows:
Chicago :. ..1,859. .0O0ISt Louis 80. 623, 900
philadelphia ,24O, ,000I Cincinnati :. 10000
Baltimore O0.ooJ Pittsburg -. 295. 600
New Orleans 100000
While there was no st. Paul In 1910, we
ftn1 from "Dinsmore's Guide" that In
ls6o the city had population of 12JO),
against fully 10000 at the present time.
Ia lS4c the total population of the United
States. as given by 'Mitchen's Guide"
was but 17,06S,112 Each one Is at liberty
to add as many millions to the 10000, 200
or 1880 as he thinks judfcious.
In 1888 the railroad systems Of the
United States, as given by Mitchell, en-
braced the Lowell & Boston, twenty-five
miles; Boston & Worcester, forty three
miles; Boston & Providence. forry-two
miles; Mohawk &c Hudson, fifteen miles;
Saratoga & Schenectady, 211a miles; Cam
den & Amboy, siXty-one miles; Patterson
& Hudson. sixteen miles; New Jersey
railroad, twenty miles; Philadelphia Ss
Columbia railroad, S11s miles; Portage
railroad, thirty-six miles; New Castle e.
Frenchtown, sixteen miles; Baltimore Sc
Ohio, S01a miles; Baltimore & Washing
ton, forty miles; Petersburg & Roanoke,
ffty-nlne miles; Portsmouth & Roanoke
sixty miles; South Carolina, 1876 miles, and
the Tuscumbia, CORTLAND & Decatur,
forty-five miles. This is total Of rail-
way mileage in the United States Of but
1861 miles. And all of this mileage was
east Of the Allegheny mountains
By the medium Of Dinsmores "new''
railroad map, published In 1851, we find
the only railroad headed directly for ST.
Paul. then city of 1900 population, to
be the Milwaukee & Minnesota 1t was
completed to La Crosse, via Hartford,
Horizon, Beaver Dam, Portage City,
Greenfield and Salem. But the map
shows, a few miles east Of Greenfield. a
contemplated junction Of railroad pro-
ject to ST. Paul and then in process of
construction. To reach st. Paul at that
time one could proceed by boat up from
La Crosse, or he could take the Water
town branch of the Milwaukee & Mime
sofa and go to Prairie du CHEN. and
then take an up-river boat In the win
ter the trip was made by stage. How
ever, the Milwaukee & Minnesota road
was soon completed, and communication
with the east by rail opened for all time.
In 1887 there were in operation in the
state of Minnesota 6,176.46 miles of rail-
road, almost nine times as many miles
as were in operation in the who're Upited
States in 1855. In 1897, IN the United
States, there were In operation 1S4, SOB miles
of railroad. AS illustrating the rapid in
crease of railroad building In the coun-
try, even in the early days, 1t should
be remembered that the mileage increas-
ed between 1888 and 1840 from 1861 to ISIS
miles.
To the present resident of st. Paul, ac-
quainted as he Is with the facilities now
offered for reaching distant points on
such a variety of systems as now center
here, the experiences of those early pio-
HeerS III tIe SIdto Ildy prove interesting.
When farmers hauled their grain Is and
100 miles to the Mississippi river by OK
and horse teams the present realization
Of transportation facilities would have
seemed like dream or Arabian Nights
tale. Yet there are living in this city
today men who can. recall such incon-
veniences and who have watched the
growth of these wonderful transportation
facilities since the day the first North
u IeStarO road wa prOiecfad from -Chicaoo
And today far off Alaska is more Access
sible to ST. Paul than was St. Paul to
Buffalo fifty years ago.