The Houston and Texas Central Railway (H&TC), was an 872-mile (1403-km) railway system chartered in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

in 1848, with construction beginning in 1856. The line eventually stretched from

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

northward to

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one ...

. with branches to

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

History

Ebenezer Allen Ebenezer Allen may refer to: * Ebenezer Allen (Vermont politician) (1743–1806) * Ebenezer Allen (Texas politician) (1804–1863) * Eben Allen Ebenezer "Eben" Allen (15 November 1868 – 20 May 1931) was an Australian businessman and politicia ...

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

obtained the charter to establish a railroad company on March 11, 1848. A series of meetings about the establishment of the company occurred in Chappell Hill and

. In 1852, the Galveston and Red River Railway (G&RR) company became active. Other investors included Paul Bremond, Thomas William House, Sr., William J. Hutchins, Francis Moore, Benjamin A. Shepherd, James H. Stevens,

William Marsh Rice William Marsh Rice (March 14, 1816 – September 23, 1900) was an American businessman who bequeathed his fortune to found Rice University in Houston, Texas. Rice was murdered by his valet Charles F. Jones while sleeping. The murder was pa ...

, and William Van Alstyne.Maxwell (1998), pp. 6–7. The start of construction occurred on January 1, 1853, when Bremond and House broke ground in Houston. Track-laying of the

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

railroad began in early 1856. On July 26, 1856, the track-laying reached the point, at

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...

. The railroad company name changed from G&RR to H&TC on September 1, 1856. By April 22, 1861 the railroad construction had reached the point at Millican. Because of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, the railroad construction was halted. In 1867, with the war over, construction resumed. In 1867, the H&TC railroad company took control of the Washington County Railroad (1856–1868). That railroad consisted of of railroad line between

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

and

Hempstead, Texas Hempstead is a city in and the county seat of Waller County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. History On December 29, 1856, Dr. Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in ...

, which had been chartered in 1856 and completed in April 1861 with a gauge of 5 feet 6 inches. The H&TC completed the line to

on December 25, 1871. H&TC rails reached

Corsicana Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45, 56 miles northeast of Waco, Texas. The population was 23,770 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Navarro County, and an important Agri-business ...

in 1871,

in 1872, and

Red River City, Texas In the early 1870s Red River City was a settlement in North Texas, just south of the Red River, which forms the border with the state of Oklahoma. With a population of about 50, it was served by a post office in 1873 and 1874. In 1873 the Houst ...

(now Denison) in 1873, where it connected with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. This formed the first all-railroad route from Houston to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and the

Eastern United States The Eastern United States, commonly referred to as the American East, Eastern America, or simply the East, is the region of the United States to the east of the Mississippi River. In some cases the term may refer to a smaller area or the East C ...

for freight and passengers. The H&TC was sold to Charles Morgan in March 1877 but continued to operate independently until 1927, when it was leased to the

Texas and New Orleans Railroad The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was a railroad in Texas and Louisiana. It operated of railroad in 1934; by 1961, remained when it merged with parent company Southern Pacific. Location The Morgan's Louisiana and Texas Railroad was a partl ...

, a subsidiary of the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

. The HT&C was merged into the T&NO in 1934. The T&NO was merged into the SP in 1961, and the SP into the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

in 1996.

U.S. Route 75 U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south United States Numbered Highways, U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canada–United States border, Canadian border, wh ...

was built on top of the abandoned H&TC from Downtown Dallas to Elsworth Avenue still in Dallas. This highway was locally named as North Central Expressway in homage of the H&TCENTRAL Railroad. The Dallas Area Rapid Transit railroad purchased the track in 2012https://www.dart.org/about/history.asp and runs the commuter train on the former H&TC from Elsworth Avenue to Plano. From that point, the abandonment continues to

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano and Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about north of Dallas. The U.S. Census Bureau l ...

Impressions of 1891

File:US-TX(1891) p830 HOUSTON RAILROAD DEPOT AT HOUSTON & TEXAS RAILROAD.jpg, Houston, H&TC Depot, (c. 1890) File:US-TX(1891) p819 CUTTING TIMBER ON THE LINE OF THE HOUSTON & TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD.jpg, Cutting timber at the Line of the H&TC File:US-TX(1891) p819 LUMBER MILL AT LINE OF HOUSTON & TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD.jpg, Lumber Mill at the Line of the H&TC File:Houston Texas Central ad1894.png, Advertisement, 1894

References

External links

Abandoned rails

Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library
1902 Houston and Texas Central Map

Schedule of the Houston and Texas Central Railway, 1879 {{North America Class I Defunct Texas railroads Predecessors of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in the United States 1852 establishments in Texas

History

See also

Impressions of 1891

References

External links