Texas and Pacific Railway

United States  >  Migration  >  Railroads  >  [[Texas_and_Pacific_Railway|Texas and Pacific Railwa]

In December 1881 the Texas and Pacific Railway linked to the Southern Pacific Railroad in Sierra Blanca, [[Texas Genealogy|Texa] to create the third transcontinental railroad line in the [[United States Genealogy|United State] by connecting St. Louis (via Texarkana) to Los Angeles. Settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the railroads provided access to markets. Railroads encouraged settlement along their routes to help increase the need for their service. If an ancestor settled near a railroad, you may be able to trace their place of origin back to another place along the

tracks.

Historical Background

The Texas and Pacific Railway started in Marshall, [[Texas Genealogy|Texa] and built track from Texarkana, [[Arkansas Genealogy|Arkansa] to Dallas, Texas in 1873. The Texarkana terminal was important because it gave the T&P access to the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Souther tracks to St. Louis, [[Missouri Genealogy|Missour and much larger markets. T&P extented their tracks to Fort Worth, Texas in 1876. In a burst in 1881 their tracks connected to the tracks of the [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific Railroad from Californi] at Sierra Blanca, Texas, creating the third transcontinental service in the United States. The next year, 1882, T&P built into New Orleans, [[Louisiana Genealogy|Louisian]. Texas and Pacific also came to control many tracks in [[Oklahoma Genealogy|Oklahom].

Settlers and Records

Settlers who used the Texas and Pacific Railway would most likely have come from [[Illinois Genealogy|Illinoi], [[Iowa Genealogy|Iow], [[Missouri Genealogy|Missour], [[Arkansas Genealogy|Arkansa], [[Louisiana Genealogy|Louisian], [[Oklahoma Genealogy|Oklahom], or [[Texas Genealogy|Texa]. They most likely would have settled in [[Texas Genealogy|Texa], [[Oklahoma Genealogy|Oklahom], [[New Mexico Genealogy|New Mexic], [[Arizona Genealogy|Arizon], or [[California Genealogy|Californi].

No known passenger lists for the Texas and Pacific Railway exist.

Route

A typical transcontinental route using the Texas and Pacific line included:

• St. Louis, [[Missouri Genealogy|Missour]
• Texarkana, [[Arkansas Genealogy|Arkansa]
• Marshall, [[Texas Genealogy|Texa]
• Dallas, Texas
• Fort Worth, Texas
• El Paso, Texas
• Deming,[[New Mexico Genealogy|New Mexic]
• Tucson, [[Arizona Genealogy|Arizon]
• Yuma, Arizona
• Los Angeles, [[California Genealogy|Californi]

Internet Links

• Texas and Pacific Railway Museum - history
• [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_and_Pacific_Railway Wikipedia - Texas and Pacific Railwa - timeline, legal disputes, land grants, land trust