The Midland Pacific Railway was a railroad operating in the
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
counties of
Lancaster,
Nemaha,
Otoe
The Otoe (Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.
Historically, t ...
,
Seward, and
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
br>
History
Prior to statehood, Nebraska City and Omaha vied for economic and political dominance in the Nebraska Territory. In the 1850s and early 1860s, Nebraska City had been the eastern terminus of the Platte Valley freight line.
However, when the Union Pacific rail line built westward from Omaha, Nebraska City lost much of its business.
In an effort to regain its advantage, the businessmen of Nebraska City organized the Midland Pacific Railway Company.
By 1870, the company had raised $50,000 in Nebraska City to grade the first ten miles of track.
The rail line was awarded a land grant by the State of Nebraska and a bond from Otoe County.
The railroad was to generally follow the path of the Platte Valley line, however, in a bid to increase its influence, the Midland Pacific line would connect to the nearby newly-founded state capital, Lincoln.
Excited by the prospect of a railway, Lancaster County voted for a bond granting $50,000 to Midland Pacific Railway.
However, the bond was deemed insufficient and Midland Pacific asked Lancaster County for an additional $150,000.
Midland Pacific organized numerous mass-meetings in Lincoln to keep the public interested and supportive of the railroad, at one point threatening to bypass Lincoln entirely if Lancaster County would not supply it with the $150,000.
After much local fundraising, spurred on by articles in the
Nebraska State Journal
The ''Lincoln Journal Star'' is an American daily newspaper that serves Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capital and home of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of Nebraska. It is the most widely read newspaper in Lincoln and has t ...
urging citizens to do their part, the bond issue was passed and Midland Pacific built into the new capital city of
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
on April 22, 1871.
In 1875, it merged with the
Brownville, Fort Kearney and Pacific Rail Road to form the
Nebraska Railway
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
.
See also
*
List of defunct Nebraska railroads
*
History of Nebraska
The history of the U.S. state of Nebraska dates back to its formation as a territory by the Kansas–Nebraska Act, passed by the United States Congress on May 30, 1854. The Nebraska Territory was settled extensively under the Homestead Act of ...
*
Nebraska City, Nebraska
Nebraska City is a city in Nebraska, and the county seat of, Otoe County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,289.
The Nebraska State Legislature has credited Nebraska City as being the oldest incorporated ...
*
History of rail transport in the United States
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
*
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
References
Defunct Nebraska railroads
Predecessors of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Railway companies established in 1868
Railway companies disestablished in 1875
{{Nebraska-road-stub