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/£&&Q, h-iuj i_i I f ' . T/OPVEER JfMLROtoS lit Yh$C6*Sjl€. AfPA HAtiNE County ,- It is sometimes said of a profligate young man With wealthy and indulgent parents, that "he- was born with a silver spoon in his mouth." It might be said of you, or most of you, who read these words, that you were born with a railroad in your home town: and not a railroad alone, but a multitude of other conveniences of olvilization, which have been developed to their present state of perfection at a staggering cost of labor and sacrifice and of blood and treasure, And the implication in the first statement that the young man did not know the value of money, carries with equal force in the second, for few people there are today who appreciate the obligation of public service that, residence in Racine and citizenship in America with its guaranty of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, imposes on the person so favored; in other words, there is a lack of public spirit; not in Racine alone, but in most American cities, and it is the conviction of the writer that if the rising generation can in some way be made thoroughly familiar with the history of their home town, that that lack will disappear, and a real public spirit, be developed, the like of which has not been seen or even dreamed of as yet. The study of national and state history has fostered the growth of American patriotism, and of state pride and loyalty, but there has been little or no orderly, systematic effort to promote the study of the historw of smaller political units. Is it no? possible that therein lies the foundation of an effective, true and perma- , nent public spirit in city and county? First Rails Laid in Wisconsin. TVk- :d.'3t railroad built in Wisconsin was the Milwaukee and Waukesha railroad, which was chartered in 1347, and a year later called the Milwaukee & Mississippi. The first rails | laid in Wisconsin were put down by [ this road in 1851. It was completed i, to Waukesha (twenty miles) the same ! year, and a train run to that town I amid popular rejoicing. In 1854 it j reached Madison, and the Mississippi ; at Prairie du Chien in 1857. This ; road was the progenitor of the C, M. ' & St. P. system.//) (Bwia Th waited Wioeonnjm.) . ■■' The first train to Madison over the i Milwaukee & Mississippi, was run on ! Thursday, May 25, 1854. A big celebration was staged at the capital city on the Tuesday preceding, w'th A. A. ' Bird, the "oldest inhabitant," as pres- I ident of the day. A line of stages had ! been established to connect with j Portage City. The earnings of the I, road for June, 1854, a/! reported in ( the Milwaukee Sentinel, and -copied j1 in the Daily Morning Advocate, Ra- | cine, were as follows: Passengers $17,241.50 Freight 27,346.33 Total 44,587.83 I First Racine Project. The first railroad prp.iect in Racine | county chartered by the state, was the l Root River railroad, in 183 8, the in- j corporators being Norman Clark, M. j M. Strong, Gilbert Knapp; Henry P. j Cox and Elias Smith, all Of them j founders of Racine. It was proposed to build this road to the rapids of Root river, and to points beyond—not to exceed ten miles altogether. The capital stock was $10,000. In those days Root river, for a mile or two of its course below the present dam at the rapids, provided an abundance Ij of water power, and as early as 183 8 J: several saw mills, and at least one I, grist mill, were in operation along jj its banks. It is likely also that these J men foresaw the development of the lime, atone quarries, and the manufac-.J ! ture of lime; : the desirability of a j. short rail line to bring lumber and stone into the village, and to tap the i farming country within ten miles, j was undisputed; but for some reason j it was not built. Combination Rail and Wagon Road, j Two other rail projects with Racine1 as a terminal, were chartered by the state in pioneer days and did not get ! beyond the paper stage. When the ■ town was but three years old—in 1838 —a railroad was projected from Ra- I cine to Janesville, and a charter j granted to the Racine and Rock River , Railroad company, with the following incorporators\ Lorenzo Janes, B. B. [ Cary, Elias Smith, Consider Heath, Eugene Gillespie, H. D. Wood, Charles j Leet and Henry Janes. The capital stock of this road was $500,000, and it was intended for the- use of horse- drawn vehicles as well as steam-propelled cars. The following schedule of tolls for teams, and for freight and passenger rates was fixed in the charter: One and one-half cents per mile per ton for tolls; five cents per mile per ton for transportation, and : three cents per mile for passengers. ; It was an interesting scheme, but did j not materialize. Another paper road, that secured a charter in 1853, was the Racine & j Portage City Railroad Co., ' with a capital stock of $2,5-00,000, the incorporators being Sage, Waterman, Doolittle, Tuckerman, Lathrop, Dutton, Raymond, Spafford, Norton, Ela, Chapman and a dozen others. The Racine, Janesville & Mississippi had begun building at that time, and there was hardly room for two big projects in the little town. Fox River Valley Road. The Fox River. Valley Rail Road j Co. was incorporated in March, 1853,! with a capital stock of $800,000. It i was projected to run front the Illi- j nois state line at the point where it j was crossed by the Fox river, through j the -western part of Racine county to Waukesha, With, a branch line to Milwaukee. The right of way Was secured and the greater part of the construction work on it in the- way of grading, culverts, etc., completed, but no track wis laid. The towns, of western Racine county bought stock in the company—Burlington, to tht- amount of $35,000—and issued bonds to pay for it. In the,case of Burlington, the town .refused to pay for a railroad that was not built, and after much time spent in litigation,, $30,000 of the bonds were declared by Judge Drummond to be Outlawed, and the remaining $5,000 with accrued interest was compromised at $6,000 and the right of way reverted to the original owners. • The Milwaukee electric line to Burlington now follows the grade of the old Fox River-valley line. The incorporators were the following: Preston Den-ton, Andrew E, Elmore. Winch ell D. Bacon, Chas. K. Watkins, Wm. K. Wilson, Pliny >M. Perkins, Peter Forbes, Richard E. Ela, Philo Belden, James K. McKesson, Arthur McArthur, Wm. S. Hawkins, Wm. A. Barstow, Wm. A. Vanderpool, H. H. Camp, Stephen Sayles, and A. V. Pratt. Philo Belden, grandfather or Judge E. B. Belden, was president of the company. ' ft] farti'**tt; ffoj^ TH*Am\'%&cQHStM*
Object Description
Pagination | Box 4, Folder 9: "Transportation" |
Title | Box 4, Folder 9: "Transportation" |
Creator | Leach, Eugene Walter, 1857-1938 |
Folder Description | This folder contains information on Racine's railroads, the loss of Lem Ellsworth, and the development of mail delivery systems and descriptions of Schooner H. Rand and the Carhart steam wagon. E.W. Leach gives a short sketch of his father. |
State | Wisconsin |
Place | Racine |
Subject | transportation; Lem Ellsworth; Mail delivery--Racine (Wis.)--History; H. Rand schooner; Carhart steam wagon |
Language | English |
Source | Eugene Walter Leach Papers, 1842-1851, 1898-1938 (Parkside Mss 6 UW-Parkside, Box 4, Folder 9); WIHV99-A283 |
Type | Text |
Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
Publication Date-Electronic | 2017 |
Rights | Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited. |
Digital Format | XML |
Digital Identifier | UWPMss006_B4_F9_000 |
Description
Pagination | Page 50 |
Title | Pioneer Railroads in Wisconsin and Racine County |
Searchable Text | /£&&Q, h-iuj i_i I f ' . T/OPVEER JfMLROtoS lit Yh$C6*Sjl€. AfPA HAtiNE County ,- It is sometimes said of a profligate young man With wealthy and indulgent parents, that "he- was born with a silver spoon in his mouth." It might be said of you, or most of you, who read these words, that you were born with a railroad in your home town: and not a railroad alone, but a multitude of other conveniences of olvilization, which have been developed to their present state of perfection at a staggering cost of labor and sacrifice and of blood and treasure, And the implication in the first statement that the young man did not know the value of money, carries with equal force in the second, for few people there are today who appreciate the obligation of public service that, residence in Racine and citizenship in America with its guaranty of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, imposes on the person so favored; in other words, there is a lack of public spirit; not in Racine alone, but in most American cities, and it is the conviction of the writer that if the rising generation can in some way be made thoroughly familiar with the history of their home town, that that lack will disappear, and a real public spirit, be developed, the like of which has not been seen or even dreamed of as yet. The study of national and state history has fostered the growth of American patriotism, and of state pride and loyalty, but there has been little or no orderly, systematic effort to promote the study of the historw of smaller political units. Is it no? possible that therein lies the foundation of an effective, true and perma- , nent public spirit in city and county? First Rails Laid in Wisconsin. TVk- :d.'3t railroad built in Wisconsin was the Milwaukee and Waukesha railroad, which was chartered in 1347, and a year later called the Milwaukee & Mississippi. The first rails | laid in Wisconsin were put down by [ this road in 1851. It was completed i, to Waukesha (twenty miles) the same ! year, and a train run to that town I amid popular rejoicing. In 1854 it j reached Madison, and the Mississippi ; at Prairie du Chien in 1857. This ; road was the progenitor of the C, M. ' & St. P. system.//) (Bwia Th waited Wioeonnjm.) . ■■' The first train to Madison over the i Milwaukee & Mississippi, was run on ! Thursday, May 25, 1854. A big celebration was staged at the capital city on the Tuesday preceding, w'th A. A. ' Bird, the "oldest inhabitant" as pres- I ident of the day. A line of stages had ! been established to connect with j Portage City. The earnings of the I, road for June, 1854, a/! reported in ( the Milwaukee Sentinel, and -copied j1 in the Daily Morning Advocate, Ra- | cine, were as follows: Passengers $17,241.50 Freight 27,346.33 Total 44,587.83 I First Racine Project. The first railroad prp.iect in Racine | county chartered by the state, was the l Root River railroad, in 183 8, the in- j corporators being Norman Clark, M. j M. Strong, Gilbert Knapp; Henry P. j Cox and Elias Smith, all Of them j founders of Racine. It was proposed to build this road to the rapids of Root river, and to points beyond—not to exceed ten miles altogether. The capital stock was $10,000. In those days Root river, for a mile or two of its course below the present dam at the rapids, provided an abundance Ij of water power, and as early as 183 8 J: several saw mills, and at least one I, grist mill, were in operation along jj its banks. It is likely also that these J men foresaw the development of the lime, atone quarries, and the manufac-.J ! ture of lime; : the desirability of a j. short rail line to bring lumber and stone into the village, and to tap the i farming country within ten miles, j was undisputed; but for some reason j it was not built. Combination Rail and Wagon Road, j Two other rail projects with Racine1 as a terminal, were chartered by the state in pioneer days and did not get ! beyond the paper stage. When the ■ town was but three years old—in 1838 —a railroad was projected from Ra- I cine to Janesville, and a charter j granted to the Racine and Rock River , Railroad company, with the following incorporators\ Lorenzo Janes, B. B. [ Cary, Elias Smith, Consider Heath, Eugene Gillespie, H. D. Wood, Charles j Leet and Henry Janes. The capital stock of this road was $500,000, and it was intended for the- use of horse- drawn vehicles as well as steam-propelled cars. The following schedule of tolls for teams, and for freight and passenger rates was fixed in the charter: One and one-half cents per mile per ton for tolls; five cents per mile per ton for transportation, and : three cents per mile for passengers. ; It was an interesting scheme, but did j not materialize. Another paper road, that secured a charter in 1853, was the Racine & j Portage City Railroad Co., ' with a capital stock of $2,5-00,000, the incorporators being Sage, Waterman, Doolittle, Tuckerman, Lathrop, Dutton, Raymond, Spafford, Norton, Ela, Chapman and a dozen others. The Racine, Janesville & Mississippi had begun building at that time, and there was hardly room for two big projects in the little town. Fox River Valley Road. The Fox River. Valley Rail Road j Co. was incorporated in March, 1853,! with a capital stock of $800,000. It i was projected to run front the Illi- j nois state line at the point where it j was crossed by the Fox river, through j the -western part of Racine county to Waukesha, With, a branch line to Milwaukee. The right of way Was secured and the greater part of the construction work on it in the- way of grading, culverts, etc., completed, but no track wis laid. The towns, of western Racine county bought stock in the company—Burlington, to tht- amount of $35,000—and issued bonds to pay for it. In the,case of Burlington, the town .refused to pay for a railroad that was not built, and after much time spent in litigation,, $30,000 of the bonds were declared by Judge Drummond to be Outlawed, and the remaining $5,000 with accrued interest was compromised at $6,000 and the right of way reverted to the original owners. • The Milwaukee electric line to Burlington now follows the grade of the old Fox River-valley line. The incorporators were the following: Preston Den-ton, Andrew E, Elmore. Winch ell D. Bacon, Chas. K. Watkins, Wm. K. Wilson, Pliny >M. Perkins, Peter Forbes, Richard E. Ela, Philo Belden, James K. McKesson, Arthur McArthur, Wm. S. Hawkins, Wm. A. Barstow, Wm. A. Vanderpool, H. H. Camp, Stephen Sayles, and A. V. Pratt. Philo Belden, grandfather or Judge E. B. Belden, was president of the company. ' ft] farti'**tt; ffoj^ TH*Am\'%&cQHStM* |
Language | English |
Source | Eugene Walter Leach Papers, 1842-1851, 1898-1938 (Parkside Mss 6 UW-Parkside, Box 4, Folder 9) |
Type | Text |
Publisher-Electronic | Wisconsin Historical Society |
Publication Date-Electronic | 2017 |
Rights | Copyright to these documents belongs to the individuals who created them or the organizations for which they worked. The principal organizations have been defunct for many years and copyright to their unpublished records is uncertain. We share them here strictly for non-profit educational purposes. We have attempted to contact individuals who created personal papers of significant length or importance. Nearly all have generously permitted us to include their work. If you believe that you possess copyright to material included here, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org. Under the fair use provisions of the U.S. copyright law, teachers and students are free to reproduce any document for nonprofit classroom use. Commercial use of copyright-protected material is generally prohibited. |
Digital Format | JPEG2000 |
Digital Identifier | UWPMss006_B4_F9_001_1 |