Morris tribune., 1922-07-07
The Railroads in and
thru SteOens County
By Chief Justice Calvin L. Brown

wilderness of the northwest, and
over the uninhabited prairies of west
ern Minnesota and Dakota, were
not promising. But there were
thousands of acres of land, which
some day would be worth millions.
That was some mental compensation,
though not an unmixed asset, for
there was at that date as now such
thing as becoming land poor"
Many individuals have been forced
to the wall by an over accumulation
OF unproductive agricultural lands,
and corporations fare no better in
that respect So the land grant,
standing alone was not an asset for
the actual construction of the road
was a condition precedent to the
vesting of rights in the land, and
even then they found no market for
many years, in fact not until all
available government land had been
taken up by the settlers.
1t took money to build railroads
and q good deal of it, and the new
company of necessity had to borrow
the same. The management of the
company finally interested in the
the project a number of wealthy
Englishmen and Hollanders who fur
nished the necessary funds upon
bonds issued by the company, Sc
cured by mortgages on it's property
and franchises, including the land
grant rights. This enabled the COM
pany after the close of the civil war
to commence and complete the road
through Breckenridge, reaching that
point late in the fall of 1871.
The act of the legislature incor-
porating the st. Paul & Pacific COM
pany authorized the stockholders
thereof to organize separate divi-
sions of the company for
the purpose of independent con-
struction and management of
branch lines. Under that authority
the First Division of the st. Paul G.
Pacific company was organized, (the
organization being later confirmed
by the legislature in 1867), and to
that company was assigned the line
through Litch1eld, Wil1mar, Ben
son, and Morris; the parent company
constructed the st. Cloud or so-called
main line. The line of the First Di-
vision Company reached Morris in
August 1871. ALI it's box and fat
cars were labeled with it's name,
First Div. st. P. &. P. Ry. Co.," thus
to distinguish it's property from that
owned by the parent of st. Paul &
Pacific company.
The railroad grade as it now ex-
tends south and east of Morris, across
the Pomme de Terre river is not the
original railroad. In the early days
railroad building through new coun-
resistance and least expense, rules
often applied in industrial life, and
by those of our fellowmen who are
not inclined to over-exertion in wag-
ing the battle of life.
The line of road as it now extends
over Pomme de Terre and adjacent
bottoms was constructed along about
the year 1895 Il am not certain of
the date) and as a part of general
/ road improvements then under way
and being carried out by the Hill
railroad management. To avoid ex-
pense of the heavy embankment and
fill as shown by the present line, the
original survey. turned at point as
it came out of the ravine just east of
the river and made an extensive
circle or curve to the west over the
level or nearly level ground, coming
in again at the point of the present
line not far from the Browns Valley
"Y." The first track wa slaid on
that line, and the point was known
to the railroad men and travelling
public as the "Pomme de Terre cut"
1t was bad curve, passing for a con-
siderable distance at the foot of high
land to the west and north, and in
the winter seasons was the occasion
of some train wrecks, in addition to
almost constant snow blockades to
passenger traffic. 1t was a source of
great relief to trainmen as we'll as
passengers in the winter season, when
the "Pomme de Terre cut" had been
successfully negotiated. The curve
was so acute that trains could at
, tain little momentum in rounding it,
and a very small drift of snow
would stall train which on a
straight track would be brushed aside
with no difficulty whatever. But
that perhaps was not an unmixed
evil for it afforded trainmen and pas
sengers alike frequent opportunity
of exercising with the shovels and
picks in clearing the roadbed of
snow; every train in those days car
ried a full equipment of instrument
talities of that kind, as we'll as a well
filled larder of dried beef and crack
ers for use as in the event a train
was delayed beyond meal hours in
snowbanks between stations.
Roth cOmDanieS had hard strYp-