The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was constructed in the state of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, USA, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of

southern yellow pine In ecology and forestry, yellow pine refers to a number of conifer species that tend to grow in similar plant communities and yield similar strong wood. In the Western United States, yellow pine refers to Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine. In the S ...

forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepreneurs

William H. Hardy William H. Hardy (February 12, 1837 − February 17, 1917) was an American businessman who founded the Mississippi cities of Hattiesburg, Laurel, and Gulfport. Early years Born to Robert W. and Temperance L. (Toney) Hardy in Todds Hill (in L ...

and Joseph T. Jones successfully completed railroad construction. The railroad resulted in the development of a

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

and expansion of cities along its route.

Railroad charter

The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) was developed under three charters provided by the

Mississippi State Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

. The first charter was given in 1850, followed by a second in 1856. The second charter expired and lapsed for 31 years, because of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

. The state legislature validated a third charter in 1887.

William H. Hardy

In 1887, William H. Hardy accepted the presidency of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad with the support of longtime railroad financiers

William Clark Falkner William Clark Falkner (July 6, 1825 or 1826 – November 6, 1889) was a soldier, lawyer, politician, businessman, and author in northern Mississippi. He is most notable for the influence he had on the work of his great-grandson, author William F ...

and

William Wirt Adams William Wirt Adams (1819–1888) was a banker, planter, state legislator, and a Brigadier General in the Confederate States Army. Early life Adams was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, to Anna Weisiger Adams and Judge George Adams (a personal friend ...

. The railroad was to be constructed as

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

, with a terminus at some point along the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. Hardy envisioned a railroad that would run from the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

, north through Mississippi, to

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

. As time passed, Hardy made several important revisions to the lay of the railroad line. He changed the route to cross his

New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad The New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad was a Class I railroad in Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States. The railroad operated of road from its completion in 1883 until it was absorbed by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad subsidiar ...

at a point he named

Hattiesburg Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...

, in honor of his wife (Hattie Lott Hardy). Being the original

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

for Harrison County, Mississippi City was preferred as the Gulf terminus for the G&SIRR, but Hardy determined that the town was too far east of the natural deep-water harbor protected by

Ship Island Ship Island is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. Hurricane Camille split the island into two separate islands (West Ship Island and East Ship Island) in 1969. In early 2019, t ...

and proposed a new city, Gulfport, as the revised railroad terminal.

Railroad construction begins

Until the end of 1888, construction on the G&SIRR was accomplished using prisoners contracted through the

Mississippi State Penitentiary Mississippi State Penitentiary (MSP), also known as Parchman Farm, is a maximum-security prison farm located in unincorporated Sunflower County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region. Occupying about of land, Construction of the railroad continued under the supervision of The Union Investment Company, which fell into bankruptcy, and the Tobey Construction Company. But the railroad remained unfinished. W. H. Hardy worked diligently to seek out investors and financiers in the northern and

western U.S. The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, as well as in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, to bring new capital to the project, but

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

economics compromised his efforts. Hardy's attempts to secure financing could not stop a widespread panic, causing the G&SIRR to fall into receivership in 1896.

Joseph T. Jones

By the late 1800s, Joseph T. Jones had made a fortune in oil wells and oil pipelines in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

. He heard of the potential for investment in the bankrupt railroad being constructed in Mississippi that included 63,000 acres (25,500 hectares) of timberland, as well as another 400,000 acres (161,874 hectares) of timberland available for harvest.J.T. Jones—Early Oil Region Producer
etrieved 2014-04-27 Jones, along with other investors, formed the Bradford Construction Company to buy the bankrupt railroad and pursue the investment opportunity in Mississippi. The longest section of the G&SIRR was completed by the Bradford Construction Company of Pennsylvania, under the leadership and financing of J.T. Jones. In 1901, Jones bought out his partners, and the Bradford Construction Company merged with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. In need of a residence on the Gulf Coast, Jones had the

Great Southern Hotel Yue Hwa Building () is a historic building located at the junction of Eu Tong Sen Street and Upper Cross Street in Chinatown, Singapore, next to Chinatown MRT station. Built by Swan and Maclaren in 1927, it was then the tallest building in Chin ...

constructed at Gulfport. Nearby, a new office building was constructed for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. Although the G&SIRR Company changed hands to Joseph T. Jones, W.H. Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. In 1895, Hardy was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature which kept him at the

State Capital Below is an index of pages containing lists of capital cities. National capitals *List of national capitals *List of national capitals by latitude *List of national capitals by population *List of national capitals by area *List of capital citie ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

, precluding his involvement with the railroad.

Railroad location

On January 1, 1897, the railroad was completed between Gulfport and Hattiesburg.Mississippi Rails: Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
Retrieved 2014-04-27 Another 3.5 years passed before the railroad opened between Hattiesburg and Jackson (July 4, 1900). The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad operated exclusively in the State of Mississippi. The company owned approximately 160 miles (257 km) of standard gauge main rail line, 147 miles (237 km) of branch lines and 106 miles (171 km) of track in Gulfport. The primary rail line began at Gulfport and extended northward to Jackson, Mississippi, with branch lines connected to the towns of

Maxie Maxie is a given name, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American world champion heavyweight boxer, nicknamed "Madcap Maxie" * Max Maxie Anderson (1934–1983), American hot air balloo ...

, Mendenhall, and

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

. Additional rail lines extended to the towns of Pontotoc and Ripley and into territory adjacent to the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...

in the northeastern portion of Mississippi. The G&SIRR opened a vast resource of southern yellow pines for harvest.

Logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

companies sprang up in towns along the rail line and used the railroad to transport logs to

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

s and lumber to markets. By 1902, the 74 miles (119 km) of G&SIRR, between Gulfport and Hattiesburg, averaged one sawmill and one

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...

distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...

every 3 miles (4.8 km). In 1907 alone, about 800 million

board feet The board foot or board-foot is a unit of measurement for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It equals the volume of a length of a board, one foot wide and thick. Board foot can be abbreviated as FBM (for "foot, board measure" ...

of southern yellow pine lumber was transported on the G&SIRR.

Exports and imports

The G&SIRR Company controlled a 6-mile (9.7-km) long

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

in the Gulf of Mexico that connected the mainland to Ship Island. Dredging of a shipping channel was completed by the S.S. Bullis Company in 1902; it connected Ship Island and the main railroad terminal at Gulfport. The G&SIRR greatly facilitated the development of the shipping port. Between 1903 and 1907, more than a billion board feet of timber was shipped out of Gulfport. In 1908, the first shipment of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

was exported by

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

. During the early years after port development, some of the items imported through Gulfport included

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

iron pyrite The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...

, creosote oil,

naval stores Naval stores are all liquid products derived from conifers. These materials include rosin, tall oil, pine oil, and terpentine. The term ''naval stores'' originally applied to the organic compounds used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ...

and

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

. From 1910 through 1913, the Port of Gulfport shipped and exported more timber than any other port in the world. The state of Mississippi derived substantial benefits from the G&SIRR. The railroad facilitated the development of towns along its route, gave rise to a booming timber industry, resulted in the creation of the city of Gulfport, and brought about construction of a deep-water seaport. Beginning in 1924, the G&SIRR operated as a subsidiary of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

but lost its independent identity in 1946.Gulf & Ship Island Railroad Index

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulf Ship Island Railroad Defunct Mississippi railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Gulfport, Mississippi Harrison County, Mississippi History of Mississippi Illinois Central Railroad Railway companies established in 1850 Railway companies disestablished in 1946 American companies established in 1850