The Greenville times., 1910-09-23

3
and south to the old Howell Goodrum
place, about two miles north of where
Yokena Station now stands. Here the
road came to an end for lack of finance.
I assume the promoters all left for
their respective homes, except old man
Sawyer, the locomotive engineer, who
remained with the road to watch 1T and
take care of the engine, which he ran
down to the old Pace place. a few miles
south Of Warrenton, stopping it at
what the boys called the ''BIue Swim
ming Hole" on the Pace place, he be-
gan farming. Occasionally he would
run an excursion, using fat cars, the
excursiOnists furnishing their own
seats, which generally consisted of old
benches and boxes, but after several
engine failures, or stalling in the weeds
and grass that had covered the track,
even this branch of the service was dis
continued.
The death blow was dealt the road
when the F1ooley Machine Shops, of
Vicksburg, secured an attachment on
the cold Mississippi - for debts incur
red for work and material furnished.
This attachment led to the purchase of
the franchise by a stock company of
local capitalists of vicksburg, compos-
ed of the following gentlemen: Gen
eral n. Fl. Harris, president; L. A.
Campbell, vice-president; Eugene Mar
tin, treasurer; A. L. Jaqueth, superin-
tendent, and Capt J. NJ .Saerles, chief
engineer.
The original line was broad gauge,
and as the new stock company did not
have engines or cars with which to
equip the line, and this was imperative
in order to keep from forfeiting the
charter which stipulated that the road
was to be equipped, the solution of the
Vicksburg Street Railway Company,
and the gauge was changed from stan
dard to narrow gauge.
AS the Vicksburg Street Railway
Company. is connected with the history
bf the road, it will be necessary to ex-
plain its existence at the time In
1876, the marrow strip of land opposite
Vicksburg, known as 'EDeSota Point -
formed the Fcut off, leaving this mar
row strip, the present DeSoto Island,
and leaving the city on what was call
ed Lake Centennial.
This left the city without water
transportation, except i'm high stages,
and in order to have access DO the river
at all stages the street railway was
built from the Old Prentice Hotel on
Levee Street to Klinest0n, about one
mile south, where the Queen 6 Cres-
cent Railroad now crosses the river
with its transfer boat.
This line had two locomotives, about
twelve fat cars and one coach. The
locomotive was named D. W. LampkSn
prominent citizens Of the city, the for
mer president of the Cotton Exchange
the latter an eminent and greatly low
ed physician who remained faithful to
his patients and friends, when the yel-
low fever desoIated the city dn 1878,
and was himself victim to that fatal
malady.
This was In 1879-S0, and with state
| convicts, under Colonel Jonas Hami1-
ton and a Mr.. Hoskins, the new man
agement pushed the road from the
Goodrum field to- the Big Black River
where Allen Station now stands. This
gave Warren County twenty-eSght miles
of railroad track of the new line.
A bridge was built across Big Black
ana In the summer of 1881 the locomo
tive, P. F. Whitehead, was run across
into Claiborne County and returned tc
Vicksburg that afternoon with :. :
bush nailed to its pilot, VIII Co,,n+r =
silent reminder that Va Vas .7ue
railroad appropri9af 1870 the sehe,,n,e
ih 1ne sPen operated between Big
that mad Vioksburg came to an end,
asecount of the overflow, which in
undated the entire line between Mat.
tingly and Vicksbnrg. The original
line from Vicksburg to Mattingly then
ran between the river and the hills,