The Railroad, part 2

The first of many “Railroad Towns” was now being planed. From a crude collection that included shacks and other unsturdy structures such as livery stables, fur trading posts and, of course, saloons a town was incorporated directly across the Missouri River in Nebraska Territory. The site was land taken from several clans of the Omaha nation of Indians who had been dispossessed of their homes. Perhaps it was fitting, or maybe done in crude jest, that this “town” was called Omaha.

As the railroad progressed across the Plains more was going on than establishing Omaha, Nebraska. Henry Farnam and Thomas Durant were ready to begin railroad construction across Iowa which meant a bridge had to be built across the Mississippi River. It would be the first such structure to span this broad river. This, in its self was an enormous problem but there were other pots also brewing that were liable to bubble, overflow, and possibly scorch some of Henry Farnam and Thomas Durant’s plans.

St. Louis, Missouri got up a real head of steam over the construction of the railroad in general. That bustling burg saw the railroad as a threat to their booming freight monopoly up and down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. They were right, of course. It was a threat—one that proved to be unstoppable. For the moment, St. Louis charged that the bridge that was being planned to span the Mississippi was “unconstitutional, an obstruction to navigation, dangerous, and it was the duty of every western state, river city, and town to take immediate action to prevent the erection of such a structure.” It’s a wonder they didn’t throw in a few more words and declare that it was against Manifest Destiny, as well.

But, ignoring the rambling complaints coming from St. Louis, Farnam’s Railroad Bridge Company went right ahead and began putting in their piers and the first superstructure.

Well, if St. Louis’ squeakings weren’t enough, another strong opposition went into action as well—the Southern sectionalists. Unlike St. Louis, these good southern folks weren’t against the railroad being built, not at all. Their complaint was that this transcontinental railroad wasn’t crossing the continent over good old southern soil. And there was a good old boy, you are going to hear a bit more about in other tales, leading the Southern sectionalists. He was none other than Jefferson Davis, himself, and he was in a prime position at the time to block this bridge building over the Mississippi. In 1854, Davis was Secretary of War of the United States.

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