East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-10-17
ST. LOUIS MAN WHO SAW FIRST
RAILROAD BUILT.

Born November 4. 1918. Just think
what that means! To have lived in
time when men wore ruffled shirts
and laces with breeches and pumps.
That is what william q. Clark, of St.
Louis. can go back to, and his recol-
lection Of his childhood and boyhood
read like an old tale of the revolution
AIRY days, says the Book of the Royal
Blue.
at was only July 4, lS2S," said he,
that | saw Charles Carroll, of Car
rollton, dig the first spadeful of earth
for the laying of the Baltimore &
Ohio railroad. This was the first rail-
way built In this country. and Mr..
Carroll took up the earth with n small
silver spade. | see this spade, with
the first locomotives run on this road
at al the eXpositions that | visit.
"Gt took them eight years to build
to Frederick City. which is so miles
out from Baltimore. They sent to
North Carolina for the wood to make
the ties, and these We're inlaid or
mortised in the center with yellow
pine. ON top of these carefully pre-
pared ties there We're wooden rails
held down by wedges ana then on
top of these were iron rails one-half
inch thick, two inches wide and Is
feet long.
when the road had been built out
IL miles to Ellicott City there were
cars put on which We're pulled by
three or four horses each These
coaches would hold about so people,
and | have ridden in them many
times.
Then locomotives We're introduc-
! ed At this time the passenger
coaches were built with wheels that
/ had spokes and not one solid piece,
as they are now. They had found that
| the yellow pine of the ties was perish
able. and about 1890 to 1888 they be-
/ gan taking out these and laid cut
/ stone. and put the rails flat on this
| foundation. The spikes were put in and
molten lead poured in to make them
| firm in the holes that had to be pre-
viusly cut into the stone to allow them
to enter. The company brought stone
cutters all the way from Massachu-
setts to do this work.
when they had laid about nine or
| 10 miles of this stone foundation, they
found that running the coaches over
ii broke the spokes of the wheels and
so it was discontinued. All of these
! things will sound strange enough &c
people in this day and generation"
| When Mr. Clark was IS years old
h.. N a
| fortune further west. He travelled to
the end of the Baltimore & Ohio
which was only so miles out of Balti-
more, and from there by stage and
river boats arrived In st. Louis In
September of 1896, having taken just
10 days to make the journey which
is now made i'm less than "a hours. Or
the morning that he arrived in st
Louis the Republic" which is nov
in its 9Sth year, was published fol
the first time as a daily paper.
"St. Louis at that time had a voting
population of 1000, and it was soor
after that presidential election wa
held. 1t took three days to cas-
votes, and the ballot boxes were plac
ed on tables. and the piazza of [
house on Fourth street. near what Il
now the Planters Hotel. The can
didates for election sat on chairs nea
where the boxes were and chatted am
talked and watched the voters as the!
came up. When man went up t.
vote he was asked his name and age
etc. When he had cast his vote tn
judge who was on duty would rea'
the ballot from beginning to end. l
one of the candidates was near h
would get up and bow and thank tn
man for his vote"