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**Note: The following information is an excerpt from "The History of Fayette County, Tennessee 1986" by the Fayette County Historical Society, reprinted here with permission.
FIRST RAILROAD
The TN. Legislature passed an Act December 14, 1835 to incorporate the La
Grange and Memphis Rail Road Company. The commissioners for this company
were Epps Moody, Chairman-Eastin Morris, Joseph Shinpock, Fielding Hackney,
E. S. Davis, Samuel McManus, John T. Foster, John P. Robinson, George
Anderson, John Anderson, Thomas Booth, J. M. Walker, R. T. Mahaffy, Hugh
Davis, Will Cage, Edmund Dupuy, Robert Cotton and Charles Michie. Books
were opened for stock subscriptions at five places-At La Grange, at Hiram S.
Morgan's store north of La Grange near the Hardeman county line, at Moscow,
in Memphis, and at Somerville. The stockholders met at La Grange, organized,
and elected Eastin Morris, president; John Anderson, Secretary-treasurer;
John J. Potts, attorney; all of La Grange, and Charles Potts of Philadelphia,
PA., chief engineer.
In La Grange in 1836, town lots 167 through 172 facing the Somerville-La
Grange Road, bounded on the north by Fourth St., and on the south by Third
St. (now State Highway 57) were deeded to the Railroad directors. Work
commenced soon after at which time the country was in a prosperous
condition. The financial panic of 1837 dealt the first cruel blow to this
venture. By 1843 labor prices had gone up and people who had ledged to buy
stock were unable to pay for their subscriptions, consequently, the Board
of Directors was forced to tell the legislature that they could not
complete the road by 1844, the agreed upon completion date. They asked for
additional time ( to 1848) to complete the road. But even this was not
sufficient to save the road and on 8 January 1846 the railroad iron, the
engine and all rolling stock was to be sold. Only about 6 miles of track
had been laid out of Memphis, but the land had been secured all along the
southern edge of Fayette County and road bed work had been done. An Act was
passed Februaru 2, 1846 to incorporate the Memphis and Charleston Railroad.
Books were opened for stock subscription at La Grange by John J. Potts,
Thomas B. Firth, John W. Burton, Elisha W. Harris, Charles Michie and
Thomas Polk. At Somerville, Burchett Douglas, Levin H. Coe, Robert J.
Yancey and Lewis P. Williamson were in charge of subscriptions. Thomas B.
Firth and Hugh Davis were the agents who handled the legal transaction in
the 1851 deed of conveyance on behalf of the La Grange and Memphis Railroad
to the Memphis Charleston Railroad.
In 1853, (8 July, Memphis Daily Appeal) passenger train stops were
announced, including three in Fayette County. The first one of these was
between Collierville and La Grange at the rail crossing on S. P. Walker's
plantation. This location is now in the town of Piperton. The second stop
was between LaFayette (Rossville) and Moscow at the road crossing leading
to Hay's Bridge. The third was between Moscow and La Grange at the road
crossing near Cromwell's. The 22 March 1853 edition of the Daily Eagle
newspaper credited Colonel Joseph Royal Mosby with being instrumental in
bringing the railroad to where it then was. He also wanted the lateral line
extended to accommodate Somerville and this was done. Lewis P. Williamson
was also influential in getting this railroad completed through Fayette
County.
The Somerville Accommodation line ran from about 1857 to about 1930. Mike
Brady was its most famous engineer. Mike Brady and the Accommodation
departed Memphis from the old Union Station at Calhoun and Main in the late
afternoon and arrived in Somerville about 8:00 p.m. where it remained until
the next morning when it began its run back to Memphis. There was the
equally famous conductor, George Greer Higgins, called "Cap'n Higgins" and
Bond, the flagman and Jaybird the black brakeman and Stone, the baggageman.
The train and it's activities were much storied about in the country. It was
thought that during the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878, the Accommodation
brought the germ to Somerville in a box of ladies' hats. The hats had been
shipped to Memphis by boat from New Orleans. Many young people strolled
arm-in-arm to the depot each night to see who was coming in. Here people of
the community bade farewell to the "boys" as they left Somerville for
service during the Civil War, some never to return. The Accommodation
carried passengers only at first, later it added freight.
In 1898, the Memphis Charles Railroad property was purchased by the
Norfolk-Southern Railway Company.
Excerpt from John W. Hunt's "History of La Grange" written at the turn of
the century:
But there are other sides to La Grange history which, while not as
rich in sentiment, are none the less substantial and interesting at
this time. John W. Hunt, a citizen of La Grange, has in his possession an interesting relic of the old days of wealth and prestige in
La Grange. It is a certificate of stock in an old railroad. The face
value of the certificate is $1,000, and it was issued by the La Grange
and Memphis Railroad Company, and mind you well that La Grange
comes before Memphis in the compact. This company was chartered
December 14, 1835, with a capital stock of $375,000. The certificate
in Mr. Hunt's possession was issued April 20, 1841, has upon it the
seal of the railroad company, and is signed by Eastin Morris, president
and George W. Adams, cashier. At the top of the certificate is a
curious picture, the picture of an engine, tender, and one coach of the
kind used in that day. The rails of this road were strings of wood upon
the top of which was spiked a strip of iron. The spikes often got loose
and would come out. Sometimes the strip of iron would bend at the end
and run up through the wheels of a coach or pierce through the bottom
of coaches and injure, and sometimes kill passengers. Older lawyers
will remember many damage cases growing out of accidents of this
sort on the railroad in question. The first coaches used on this
railroad were the regular old stagecoaches. The tongue and wheel of
the stage coach variety were removed, flange wheels were placed on
the coaches and they were coupled together. The certificate of stock
now in the possession of Mr. Hunt has a picture on it of one of these
coaches attached to a curious looking tender behind a curious looking
engine.
The first engine used on this road was shipped from Philadelphia
by sea to New Orleans, placed on the front end of a steamboat at New
Orleans and sent to Memphis by river.
Here is an early Memphis celebration:
The few citizens who had gathered on the Chickasaw bluffs at that
time had the same progressive spirit which they show today, and they
manifested a keen appreciation of the advance guard of the mechanical
revolution. They met the boat which had the engine by the time her
nose touched the wharf. They covered the engine with flowers. They
tied ropes to it and headed by a band of music, they pulled it through
the streets of the town to the terminal of the railroad. Appropriate
speeches were made on the occasion. The engine was finally put on
the track. Fire was kindled under the boiler. But the thing was new
to them, and it was several days before they could get the engine to
move. When it did move, according to a faithful chronicler,
"everybody was afraid to ride behind it." However, the start for La
Grange was made, and it took the same length of time to go from
Memphis to La Grange as it took under the old stagecoach system.
When the engine would get out of wood the train was stopped, the
train crew would get out with their axes, and cut enough wood to start
the engine. The trip was finally made, and great was the rejoicing of
the La Grange folk and the country generally.
Nearly all the stock of the road, amounting to $375,000 was
subscribed in La Grange. The president of the company and all of the
other officers had their offices in La Grange. This was the first
railroad chartered in the State of Tennessee and the second in the
South. The road was afterwards sold to the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad Company, and is now a part of the Norfolk-Southern
Railroad Company.
5 Dollar Note LaGrange Memphis Railroad
Photo is courtesy of
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