USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > Omaha: the Gate city, and Douglas County, Nebraska, a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 34
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During the year 1915 the road carried 8,075,960 passengers. The average length of each passenger's trip was 103 miles. On account of the Panama Exposi- tion at San Francisco, the company operated 105 special trains and over three thousand extra sleeping cars, most of the traffic passing through Omaha. With all this great volume of travel, not a passenger was killed or seriously injured, and this record has been maintained for three years, during which time approximately twenty-five million passengers were carried upon the Union Pacific lines.
The passengers on the Union Pacific no longer ride on flat cars, with nail kegs for seats, as did the first passengers on the first train out of Omaha in November, 1865. Nearly one-half of all the passenger coaches used today are of steel, lighted by electricity and equipped with every convenience of the modern railway. No wooden coaches have been ordered by this company for several years and in a few years more those still in use will have entirely disappeared. More than four- fifths of the freight equipment is of solid steel or steel construction.
The commissary department, which supplies the forty-two dining cars of the Union Pacific, is located in Omaha, and during the year 1915 it expended about three hundred thousand dollars. Included in the supplies for the year were the following: Twelve car loads of flour, 500,000 loaves of bread, 150,000 dozen eggs, 150,000 pounds of butter, 1,600,000 pounds of fresh meats, 60,000 pounds of coffee, 5,000 pounds of tea, 25,000 pounds of sugar, 160,000 pounds of poul- try, 16,000 bushels of potatoes, 450,000 quarts of milk. 140,000 quarts of cream and 750,000 cigars.
The Union Pacific was the first road west of the Missouri River to run sleep- ing cars, dining cars and electric lighted trains. A movement is now on foot in the State of Utah to hold an exposition in 1919, for the purpose of celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of this great trans-continental high- way. B. L. Winchell, director of traffic, was the first to suggest the advisability of such an exposition, which will show, among other things, a half century of railway progress.
On April 1, 1916, the principal officials of the Union Pacific Railroad Com- pany were: A. L. Mohler, president; J. A. Munroe, vice president ; Charles Ware, general manager ; W. M. Jeffers, general superintendent : James A. Griffith, commissioner of the land department ; B. L. Winchell, director of traffic; W. S. Basinger, general passenger agent, and C. J. Lane, general freight agent.
CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN
As early as January 10, 1836, the Illinois Legislature granted a charter to the Galena & Chicago Union Railway Company, which was authorized to build and equip a railroad from Chicago to the lead mines on the Mississippi River. The first train that ever left Chicago for the West was on this road, October 24, 1848. It was drawn by a diminutive locomotive called the "Pioneer," which is still kept
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by the Chicago & Northwestern Company as a relic and was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893.
After the panic of 1857, in which the Galena & Chicago Union Railway Company became seriously involved, the company was reorganized as the Chicago & Northwestern, an event which marked the beginning of one of the great railway systems of the United States. At that time emigrants from the older states were pouring into the country west of he Mississippi River and the new board of directors immediately began preparations to extend the line of the Chicago & Northwestern into the rapidly developing West. Some delay was experienced in raising the necessary capital, but early in the '6os the first train crossed the Mississippi at Clinton, Iowa, and from that time the progress was more satisfactory. Westward through Belle Plaine, Marshalltown, Ames, Carroll and Denison, Iowa, the Northwestern gradually extended its line until on January 17, 1867, the first train rolled into Council Bluffs.
The completion of this line gave to the people of Omaha and the farmers of Nebraska, especially those living near the line of the Union Pacific Railway, an outlet to the markets of the East and exerted a great influence upon the subsequent development of the city and state. Since the opening of the main line in 1867, the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company has played an important part in the development of the country west of the Missouri. In the State of Nebraska this company owns and operates lines running from Omaha to Lincoln, Hastings, Superior, Norfolk, Sioux City (Iowa), and longer branches to Winner, South Dakota, and Lander, Wyoming. From Chadron, Neb., on the last named division, a branch runs northward to the Black Hills region. Altogether the Chicago & Northwestern has over twelve hundred miles of track in Nebraska, exclusive of side tracks, division yards, etc.
Seven through trains run daily between Omaha and Chicago over the North- western. The equipment of these trains is of the best possible character-solid steel coaches, sleeping and dining cars, electric lighted trains and powerful loco- motives, insuring both speed and comfort.
ST. JOSEPH & COUNCIL BLUFFS
The next railroad to come to Omaha was the St. Joseph & Council Bluffs, commonly called the "Kansas City Line." It was the outgrowth of a consolida- tion of three other companies, viz: The Platte County Railroad Company. chartered by the State of Missouri on February 24, 1853; the Atchison & St. Joseph Railroad Company, which was incorporated on December 11, 1855; and the Weston & Atchison Railroad Company, incorporated on April 22, 1859. By an act of the Missouri Legislature on February 18, 1865, the Platte County Railroad was turned over to the Weston & Atchison and the Atchison & St. Joseph companies, which had been consolidated, and on July 16, 1867. the St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad Company was incorporated.
Under the new management the work of completing a line from St. Joseph to Council Bluffs and Omaha was pushed vigorously and the first train over the road arrived at Council Bluffs on December 20, 1867. Prior to the completion of this line, passengers between St. Joseph and Omaha had the choice of going by stage or steamboat. During the first year of its existence. this road trans-
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ported large quantities of material for the Union Pacific Railroad Company and hastened the completion of that great work. At that time St. Joseph was quite a commercial center and the new road proved a great boon to the merchants of Council Bluffs and Omaha, by opening a market where they could buy goods to better advantage. This road is now a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system.
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND & PACIFIC
In 1847 the Illinois Legislature granted a charter to a corporation known as the La Salle & Rock Island Railroad Company, which was authorized to build a line of railroad from the terminus of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, on the Illinois River at La Salle, to Rock Island. A supplementary act enlarged the powers of the company so that it could build a road from La Salle to Chicago. A reorganization was then effected and the name was changed to the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad Company. The road between Chicago and Rock Island was completed in the summer of 1854, and two years later this company built the first bridge over the Mississippi River, connecting the cities of Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa.
In the meantime the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad Company had been chartered by the Legislature of Iowa, to construct a line of road from Davenport to some point on the Missouri River. A preliminary survey of this road was made in 1852 and Council Bluffs was selected as the western terminus. To aid in building the road, the Iowa Legislature gave to the company a portion of the land grant given by Congress to the state, but land was then cheap in Iowa and private capital was timid about investing in railroads running through a sparsely settled and practically undeveloped country. Consequently the Mississippi & Mis- souri Railroad encountered many difficulties and delays, and ten years after the first survey was made the road was completed to a point a few miles east of Des Moines. There all work was suspended and a little later mortgages given by the company were foreclosed. The road, land grant and right of way for the remaining distance to the Missouri River were then sold to a corporation known as the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, which was incorporated under the laws of Iowa for the purpose of taking over the property under the foreclosure sale. The Chicago & Rock Island Railroad Company, of Illinois, then formed a consolidation with the Iowa corporaton, under the name of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company, and the road was completed to Council Bluffs, the first train arriving in that city on June 9, 1869
Subsequently the company extended its lines through Omaha, Lincoln, Fair- bury and the State of Kansas to Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colo., forming one of the great trunk lines of the Central United States. At Fairbury the main line is crossed by a branch division running from St. Joseph, Mo., to Nel- son, Neb. According to a recent report of the Nebraska Railroad Commission, the Rock Island system operates a little over two hundred and fifty miles of railroad in the state.
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UNION PACIFIC HEADQUARTERS BUILDING, OMAHA
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OMAJIA & SOUTHWESTERN
Articles of incorporation of the Omaha & Southwestern Railroad Company were filed on November 27, 1869, signed by the following citizens of the City of Omaha : Clinton Briggs, Smith S. Caldwell, Henry T. Clarke, John T. Clopper, Henry Gray, Thomas Malloy, A. S. Paddock, Alvin Saunders and Francis Smith. In the articles of incorporation it was stated that the company was formed for the purpose of building "a railroad from Omaha in a southerly direction, via Lincoln, to the southern boundary of the State of Nebraska, in Gage County."
Three days after the company was incorporated the county commissioners ordered a special election to be held on the 30th of December, 1869, to vote on the proposition to issue bonds to the amount of $150,000 to aid in constructing the road. The proposition was carried by a vote of 1,655 to 176 and the follow- ing spring work was commenced. In due time the Omaha & Southwestern was completed to the Platte River, where a flat boat ferry was established for the purpose of conveying freight and passengers across the stream, and from the ferry wagons ran to the terminus of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad about a mile distant. In 1871 the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad Com- pany acquired the Omaha & Southwestern, which is now a part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system.
OMAHA & NORTHWESTERN
The Omaha & Northwestern Railroad Company was incorporated on the last day of November, 1869, by James E. Boyd, Edward Creighton, C. H. Downs, Joseph Boyd, John A. Horbach, Ezra and Joseph H. Millard, Augustus and Herman Kountze, Jonas Gise, William A. Paxton, John A. Morrow and John I. Redick. On the same day the commissioners of Douglas County issued an order for a special election to be held on December 30, 1869, at which the people of the county should express their opinion as to whether the county should issue bonds to the amount of $200,000, "to aid in constructing a railroad from the City of Omaha in a northwesterly direction to the mouth of the Niobrara River, upon such route as the said company shall select," etc. This was the same election at which the bonds were voted for the Omaha & Southwestern Railroad Company, as mentioned above, and the vote was the same in both instances.
Work was commenced as soon as the weather would permit in the spring of 1870 and before the close of that year the road was completed to Blair, Wash- ington County. A little later it was finished to Herman, which place remained the northern terminus for some time. Then, in order to complete the line to Tekamah, Burt County, a mortgage was given upon the property. In 1878 the road was sold under foreclosure proceedings and the purchasers reorganized as the Omaha & Northern Nebraska Railway Company, which extended the line to Oakland. The next year the St. Paul & Sioux City Railroad Company acquired the road and in 1881 it was sold to the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad Company, by which name it is still known, though it is now operated by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company.
Vol. 1-17
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FREMONT, ELKHORN & MISSOURI VALLEY
This railroad company was organized under the general laws of the State of Nebraska on January 20, 1869, and about ten miles of road, starting at Fre- mont and running northward, were completed the same year. Next year it was extended to West Point, and in 1871 to Wisner. During the next ten years the company built lines to Norfolk, Plainview, Neligh, Creighton and Long Pine, and in 1885 it was authorized to extend its lines into Dakota. By an act of Congress, approved on January 20, 1885, a right of way was granted to this company through the military reservation at Fort Robinson, in Northwestern Nebraska, and the following August the road was in operation as far as Chadron, only twenty-nine miles from the fort. From Chadron a branch was extended north- ward into the Black Hills country, reaching Deadwood on December 29, 1890.
In October, 1885, the Wyoming Central Railway Company was organized under the laws of that state and built a line of road from Douglas, Wyoming, eastward to the Nebraska state line. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Company then extended its line to connect with the Wyoming Central and in June, 1888, the two companies were consolidated, after which the road was extended to Lander, Wyoming.
In 1886 the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley Company built a line from Fremont, via Wahoo, to Lincoln, and another branch from Scribner to Lindsey. All these lines have since been acquired by the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Company.
CHICAGO, BURLINGTON & QUINCY
This company, commonly known as the "Burlington Route," has a greater number of miles of railway in Nebraska than any other, connecting practically all the important cities and towns in the central, eastern and southern parts of the state. Its entry into Nebraska was in 1869, when the construction of the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad was commenced. In the spring of 1870 a branch was built from Plattsmouth to the Platte River, where a connection was formed with the Omaha & Southwestern, and in 1871 the latter road was acquired by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Company, which thus gained a terminus in Omaha. In the meantime the branch was completed to Lincoln in the latter part of July. 1870, and on September 2, 1872, a junction was formed with the Union Pacifie at Kearney.
In August, 1880, the company completed the steel bridge over the Missouri River at Plattsmouth and during the next ten years it expended in the City of Omaha nearly one million dollars, including the construction of the lines to the stoekyards in South Omaha. The Burlington Route now has about three thou- sand miles of track in the State of Nebraska. It has been an important factor in the development of the section known as "the South Platte country," its branches touching Lincoln, Table Rock, Wymore, Strang, Superior, York, Fairmont, Blue Hill, Hastings, Kearney, Holdrege, Oxford, Culbertson and Imperial as well as a number of smaller places. From Aurora a line runs north- west to Billings, Mont., and branches of the Burlington system run to Schuyler, Columbus, Ericson, Burwell, Sargent, O'Neill, Randolph, Greeley Center and
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a number of other towns north of the Platte. Through the operation of these various divisions all parts of Nebraska are brought into ready communication with Omaha, and over the great trunk lines from that city eastward with the best market centers of the country. The general offices of the Burlington Route in Omaha are on the northwest corner of Tenth and Farnam, and the city ticket office is in the United States National Bank Building, on the northwest corner of Sixteenth and Farnam streets.
MISSOURI PACIFIC
In the early 'Sos the Missouri Pacific formed a connection with the Union Pacific at Papillion, fifteen miles west of Omaha, and entered the city over the tracks of the latter company until the completion of the belt line some three or four years later. The main line of the Missouri Pacific in Nebraska runs south- ward from Omaha, via Plattsmouth, Union, Nebraska City, Auburn and Falls City, to Kansas City, Mo. Branches from this line run to Weeping Water, Lin- coln and Crete. In Northern Kansas is a division of the Missouri Pacific known as the "Central Branch," and from Concordia, Kan., a branch runs northward into Nebraska, having its terminus at Prosser. Another short line runs from Virginia, Neb., and connects with the Central Branch at Goffs, Kan.
OMAILA BELT RAILROAD
Originally, this road was a Union Pacific project, that company beginning the work of securing a right of way around the city from Fifteenth and Webster streets to South Omaha about 1883. Condemnation proceedings were instituted and considerable progress was made, when, for some reason, the enterprise was abandoned. S. H. H. Clark, then general manager of the Union Pacific, soon afterward resigned his position with that company and was employed by Jay Gould, then president of the Missouri Pacific system, to prosecute the belt line scheme in the interests of the Missouri Pacific. The Union Pacific Railroad Com- pany then began injunction proceedings in the United States Court to prevent the building of the belt line, but after some delay a compromise was effected, Mr. Gould paying the Union Pacific Company about seventy-five thousand dollars and the suit was dismissed. The line was then built, and from a point near Farnam Street a branch was constructed to Papillion, thus giving the Missouri Pacific direct access into the city. This road is used chiefly for the transfer of through freight around the city and for conveying live stock to the yards at South Omaha.
ILLINOIS CENTRAL
As early as 1864 a large grant of land in the State of Iowa was given to the Dubuque & Sioux City Railroad Company, to aid in the construction of a rail- road between those two cities. Progress was somewhat slow for a few years, but on July 4. 1870, the first train on this road reached Storm Lake, Iowa, and the following year the line was finished to Sioux City. About 1879 or 1880 the Illinois Central Railroad Company became the owner of this road, giving Sioux City a through line to Chicago.
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For several years after this it was the dream of the Illinois Central officials to construct a railroad from Fort Dodge to Omaha, but the project did not assume definite form until the summer of 1898. A survey of the proposed route was completed in the fall of that year and early in 1899 work was commenced at Tara, a small station on the Sioux City division a few miles west of Fort Dodge. The company possessed all the necessary means and facilities for rapid construction work and the building of the road was pushed forward with such energy that the first train reached the Missouri River on December 18, 1899. The construction of the great steel bridge over the Missouri was then hurried forward and since its completion the Illinois Central trains run to and from Omaha.
CHICAGO GREAT WESTERN
Toward the close of the last century the Chicago Great Western Railroad was finished to Fort Dodge, Iowa, with a branch from that city running northward through Mason City and connecting with the Minneapolis division at Hayfield, Minn. Early in the spring of 1901 a rumor became current that the Great Western was to build a line from Fort Dodge to Omaha. This rumor gained strength a little later, when A. B. Stickney, then president of the company, visited Omaha, where he was cordially received and given all the encouragement the business men of the city could extend. Mr. Stickney reported the results of his trip of investigation to the board of directors, which then decided to build westward from Fort Dodge to Somers, Iowa, a distance of sixteen miles, where the road was to divide, one branch running to Sioux City and the other to Omaha.
The Chicago Great Western Company was the owner of about seven thou- sand acres of coal lands near Fort Dodge and at a subsequent meeting of the directors it was considered better to abandon the Sioux City branch and use the money it would cost in developing the coal lands, but the line to Omaha was ordered. A survey was made in 1901-02 and before the close of the latter year trains were running as far as Carroll, Iowa, eighty-four miles from Coun- cil Bluffs. During the summer and fall of 1903 this stretch of eighty-four miles was completed and on November 1, 1903, the first train arrived at Council Bluffs. Arrangements were soon made with the Union Pacific, whereby the Great Western trains were permitted to cross the Missouri on the Union Pacific bridge and in this way the new road acquired a terminus in Omaha.
MISCELLANEOUS RAILROAD HISTORY
In addition to the railroads above mentioned, the great Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway system has terminal privileges in the City of Omaha, and a division of the Wabash connects Omaha with Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo. Neither of these roads has any mileage in Nebraska outside of their Omaha terminals, but they add materially to the state's transportation facilities. In con- cluding this chapter it may be interesting to note the value of railroad property. The following table has been compiled from the tax lists in the office of the county clerk for the year 1916:
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ILLINOIS CENTRAL BRIDGE BETWEEN OMAHA AND COUNCIL BLUFFS The two longest raw spans in the world
VIEW OF THE STOCKYARDS
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OMAHA AND DOUGLAS COUNTY
Union Pacific
$2,621,458
Chicago & Northwestern
239,940
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific 95,610
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha
212,094
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. 827,490
Missouri Pacific
251,414
Omaha Bridge & Terminal ( Belt Line)
105,761
Illinois Central 7,700
Chicago Great Western.
99,570
Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul.
20,000
Wabash
10,000
Railroad property outside of Omaha.
173,721
Total
$4,664,758
It should be remembered, however, that railroad property in Nebraska is appraised for tax purposes on the same basis as other property, and that the above figures represent only about one-fifth of the actual value. The actual value of railroad property in Douglas County is therefore over twenty-three millions of dollars, which is a conservative statement. And all this investment has been made within the memory of people yet living .. No line of activity shows more plainly the progress of the American people than the railroad development. Less than a century ago the United States had but one line of railroad, nine miles in length, with wooden rails, employed in transporting coal from the mines to the City of Mauch Chunk, Penn. From that humble beginning the railroads of the country have multiplied until now there are thousands of miles of railway, equipped with steel rails, powerful locomotives, palatial coaches, and represent- ing an investment that runs into billions of dollars. In this progress Omaha has been so fortunate as to keep pace with her sister cities, so that today she stands as one of the great railroad centers of the nation-the gateway to the Northwest.
CHAPTER XIX
COMMERCIAL ORGANIZATIONS
EVOLUTION OF ASSOCIATIONS-BOARD OF TRADE-REAL ESTATE EXCILANGE-REAL ESTATE OWNERS' ASSOCIATION-MANUFACTURERS AND CONSUMERS ASSOCIA- TION-COMMERCIAL CLUB-OTHER ORGANIZATIONS
Far back in the history of the human race the untutored savage-Nature's oldest child-roamed where he pleased, took what he could to satisfy his primi- tive wants, and was a law unto himself. Even in the dawn of civilization the individual reigned supreme. The average man was as it was said of Ishmael: His hand was against every man and every man's hand was against him. But as men grew in knowledge they came to realize that, in a great measure, they were dependent upon each other. Then those engaged in the same line of human endeavor began to organize, in an effort to advance their interests. At first the members of such organizations were prompted by selfish motives, but as they saw the benefits arising from their acting in concert reflected upon the community at large, they learned that there was a common interest that could be best promoted by cooperation. The organizations grew broader in their scope and more unselfish in their aims, until today there is scarcely a city of any con- siderable proportions in the land without its board of trade, commercial club, or association of some character working, not only for the selfish interests of its own members, but also for the common good. Omaha has not been behind in the effort to advance the material welfare of the city through the medium of com- mercial organizations. The first of these was the
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