The Midland Valley Railroad (MV) was a railroad company incorporated on June 4, 1903 for the purpose of building a line from

Hope, Arkansas Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of ...

, through Muskogee and

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. It was backed by C. Jared Ingersoll, a Philadelphia industrialist who owned

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

properties in Indian Territory (now part of the state of Oklahoma)."Midland Valley Depot in Pawhuska, OK."
Accessed May 11, 2015. The railroad took its name from

Midland, Arkansas Midland is a town in Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas- Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 325 at the 2010 census. Geography Midland is located at (35.092455, -94.353307). ...

, a coal mining town in western Arkansas, which was served by the railroad. The Midland Valley gained access to

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

via trackage rights over the Frisco from

Rock Island, Oklahoma Rock Island is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 646 at the 2010 census, a decline of 8.9 percent from the figure of 709 recorded ...

. In 1967, the Midland Valley Railroad was merged into the Texas & Pacific Railroad, which was absorbed by the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1983.

History

MV reached Tulsa in 1904, and completed construction of its initial system in 1906 upon reaching

Arkansas City, Kansas Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The n ...

. The same year it opened a branch to the Glenn Pool oil field, which generated a lot of traffic and stimulated MV's revenues. MV extended that line as far as Kiefer but closed the Glenn Pool-Kiefer section in 1936.

was reached in 1911, with the lease of the Wichita and Midland Valley railroad. Service to Wichita ended in 1966, and the northern section of the road was pared back to

Barnsdall, Oklahoma {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Barnsdall, Oklahoma , settlement_type = City , nickname = Bigheart , motto = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_se ...

. Passenger service ended in 1934. Competition from other railroads caused a decline in MV's fortunes, especially during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

.Augustus J. Veenendaal, Jr., "Midland Valley Railroad," ''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed May 11, 2015. The line was known as one of the

Muskogee Roads The Muskogee Roads was the colloquial name for a system of railroads under common management operationally headquartered in Muskogee, Oklahoma and controlled by the Muskogee Company of Philadelphia. The Muskogee Roads were the only Class I railroa ...

Muskogee, Oklahoma Muskogee () is the thirteenth-largest city in Oklahoma and the county seat of Muskogee County. Home to Bacone College, it lies approximately southeast of Tulsa. The population of the city was 36,878 as of the 2020 census, a 6.0 percent decrease ...

was home to the Midland Valley's headquarters and shops, and its owner, the

Muskogee Company The Muskogee Company, although a Philadelphia company, was founded in Delaware on February 27, 1923. The company officers were brothers C. Jared Ingersoll, industrialist, as president, and John H. W. Ingersoll, attorney and industrialist, as vice p ...

, operated out of Muskogee even though its corporate headquarters were in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1925, the Midland Valley acquired the

Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway (KO&G) was formed on July 31, 1919 from the assets of the bankrupt Missouri, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway. The KO&G largely consisted of a single line from Baxter Springs, Kansas, to Denison, Texas, prior to ...

, and the Muskogee Company purchased a third railroad

Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

in 1929. The most serious accident on the Midland Valley system occurred February 1, 1958. Westbound train 41 collided head-on with eastbound train 42 on the curve at

Bokoshe, Oklahoma Bokoshe ( ) is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma metropolitan statistical area. ''Bokoshe'' is a Choctaw word meaning "little creek". The population was 512 at the 2010 census, a 13. ...

. Four crew members died and seven were injured.

End of the line

All three railroads were operated as more or less common property by the Muskogee Company until sale of all three to the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

(MoPac) in 1964. The Midland Valley was merged into the

Texas & Pacific Railroad The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. History Under the influence of ...

(T&P), a MoPac subsidiary on April 1, 1967. MoPac merged into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) in 1983. Operated as branch lines for a number of years, most of the Midland Valley has now been abandoned. Much of the former route has been converted from rail to trail, such as the 14.5 mile Osage Prairie Trail between

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

and Skiatook.

Notes

References

External links

Midland Valley

Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory

"Abandoned Midland Valley Depot in Pawhuska, OK."
YouTube video of abandoned Midland Valley passenger station in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. {{DEFAULTSORT:Midland Valley Railroad Defunct Arkansas railroads Defunct Kansas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Predecessors of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Railway companies established in 1903 Railway companies disestablished in 1967 American companies established in 1903 American companies disestablished in 1967