Woman's enterprise., 1922-10-27
West Feliciana Railroad

ma Railroad y: ;: ;:
planned to me the object Of the inter- a
view. There was pending before the ic
legislature a bill for the relief Of the G.
|Woodville and West Feliciana Rail- '
road Company, in which he was one il
of the stockholders and on which ne J.
desired my favorable consideration: S
| Of course he obtained what he deslr- +
ed at the hands of the legislature. 1t
was but short time after this first &
acquaintance that I became profess i
iionally acquainted with him. !
A few years after the railroad {
above alluded to had been partly con- :
structed, rupture occurred under
the leadership of Isaac McCord, be- i,
tween the railroad contractors and the
railroad company, who were then To-
eating bank at Woodville, Missls-
|sippi, A very considerable amount
of work had been done upon the rail-
road. The contractors had also dealt
: verv literally with the hands. They
=, finally abandoned their contract tor
alleged violation on the part Of the
railroad company, laying their claim
), for damages, loss Of profits, and ar
rearages of payments for work done'
at $35O,000. The case was some
- years in court before it was tried and
special term of the district court
- - for the parish of West Feliciana was
H. H. convened to try it. On March D.
"a "a 1s45, the case was called with the
~ ~ railroad and banking company repre-
o. o. sented by Major Joseph johnson ano
=. Judge f. McGehee. The trial lasted
~ y. some four months and the testimony
y ;, formed about one thousand pages
" At the conclusion Of the trial the jur!
-. returned verdict reducing thF
20 20 plaintiffs demand from $S50,ooo II
A. six and a quarter cents.
m On account of various ditflcultle
the road was not completed to Wood
az vile until 1889. The year Of tn
o. |completion of the road given above a
an 1889 was taken from "Memoirs Q
Fl. Mississippi" published in two masslv
,h- volumes by the Goodspeed Publishin
ee. Co., of Chicago. But, while lackln
or positive information on the subjec
70. the writer feels morally certain it
pse Incorrect. The road was begun fro'
ou- Bayou Sara. AS soon as it was col
rst structed eight miles out to Rosdal
". the homestead of Mr.. Robert H. Ba
hat row, depot was located at that poll
Of land trains put in operation. Th'
eat |were run TO that point for son
md years; construction, in the mea
ex- time, being continued to Laurel HI
- As soon as completed to the latt
- point, the terminal depot was NOV
@|thither and it was some years lat
@|before trains were able to run
/IWoodville.
q An act of the Mississippi Legisl
! ture approved December 2Srd, 19'
Unauthorized the commencing Of {
Z railroad in Mississippi within 0
1|vear, to be completed within {o
I 4years from date.
An act approved February "a
1|1s36 extends the time Of completi
&|to April 1st, 1899.
! 1have 50 far been able to locate
<other act granting a further ext
3|sion from which it might be inter-
f|that the road was completed by
$latter date, but the recollection
+|such of the older citizens as l HI
1|been able to consult is to the eft
fIthat the road was not completed
7 It'll the forties.
! In 1904 the writer employed
9 John W. Bryant, Of Woodville, N
Z sissippi, now an old man, who
I been engaged in the newspaper p
X|lishing business at that point p1
! tically all his life, to make dil'e
3earch for positive information as
lthe date of the completion to WI
x|ville Of the West Feliciana Railr'
4|No positive records could be 10
$|either in Woodville or in the gen
offices of the Illinois Central T
xlroad as to when the road had
4|completed either to Rosdale, La