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Conceived in 1828 by
several planters and bankers, the West Feliciana Railroad spanned
all of twenty-seven miles when completed in 1838. Remnants of the
original tracks are still visible today in remote areas of the
parish between Bayou Sara and Woodville, Mississippi.
In the years between 1835
and 1860, the very rich, fertile farmland adjoining the
Mississippi River between Memphis and New Orleans was home to more
millionaires than any other area of the United States at that
time. Their vast fortunes were the product of many great cotton
producing years in the South, and West Feliciana Parish was the
zenith of accomplishment in this culture. Innovations were needed
to keep pace with the increased productions enjoyed across the
South, hence the hurried railroad charter on March 25, 1831 by the
Louisiana Legislature.
The overwhelming
expectation of impending prosperity and the urgent need for
faster, more dependable transportation of cotton to the packets
waiting at Bayou Sara's wharves produced this first standard
gauge and first interstate railroad system. Though not
eagerly embraced by all whose path she crossed -- inadequate
funding, some incompetent craftsmen, planters who refused to have
their fields split, the town fathers of Bayou Sara demanding the
potentially explosive "iron horse" not to run too close
to town -- the West Feliciana Railroad did succeed. In 1842 the
woodclad iron rails reached Woodville, Mississippi, at a cost of
$25,000 per mile. What a bargain!
In 1889 the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad claimed this line, and at one point the Yazoo
and Mississippi Valley laid claim as well. In 1892 the Illinois
Central Railroad absorbed the system until it was discontinued in
the 1970's. From its inception in 1828 until 1892, Mr. Edward
McGehee, and later his son J. Burruss McGehee, were very ardent
backers of the West Feliciana Railroad, as was Gerald C. Brandon,
Governor of Mississippi, who championed this noble effort. These
gentlemen and others witnessed the arduous struggle during the
years of the War Between the States, and the devastation that
existed afterward. The West Feliciana Railroad Bank was
established and money issued, as well, during their watch.
During its lifetime, the "Old
Tri-Weekly" train - so called from stories that it left Bayou
Sara one week and tried to get back the next - observed a very
Southern tradition: "no trains shall be operated on the
Sabbath", as stated in the original charter.
Modern highway systems
have replaced the tedious yet fanciful mode of train travel and
river travel as well, for the sake of progress. Yet, for only
those visionaries of the 19th century, we might not have had the
historic, even romantic images of the pioneers of the South to
remember.
Town of St. Francisville
West Feliciana Parish
Drawer 400, St. Francisville, LA 70775
Telephone: (225) 635-3688 |
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