History
Planning and narrow-gauge line
The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was developed under three charters provided by the Mississippi State Legislature. [3] The first charter was given in 1850, followed by a second in 1856. The second charter expired and lapsed because of the American Civil War and Reconstruction.
In 1871, financier William Clark Falkner chartered the Ripley Railroad to build a narrow gauge line in northeast Mississippi. It opened between Ripley, Mississippi, and Middleton, Tennessee, on August 30, 1872. Falkner aimed to extend the line to the Gulf Coast and the Ohio River; in 1878, he changed the name to the Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky Railroad. Falkner and William Wirt Adams rechartered the G&SI in 1882; two years later, they were granted the rights given to the previous iterations of the company. [4]
The company stopped operation in 1885 due to lack of money. After an 1886 reorganization, the presidency was offered to William H. Hardy. [5] In 1887, Hardy agreed to construct the line from his New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad at Hattiesburg (named in honor of his wife Hattie Lott Hardy) to the Gulf. He chose the natural deep-water harbor protected by Ship Island and proposed a new city, Gulfport, as the railroad terminal. [5]
The company completed about 20 miles (32 km) of narrow gauge line between Ripley and Pontotoc, Mississippi, in June 1887 and leased it to the Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky. Adams was killed in 1888; after his death, Falkner purchased the Ripley–Pontotac line on August 1, 1889, with the intention of merging it with the Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky. However, Falkner was murdered later that year. His heirs formed the Gulf and Chicago Railroad on February 20, 1890, to operate the narrow gauge lines. [4]
On July 1, 1903, the Gulf and Chicago was leased to the Mobile, Jackson and Kansas City Railroad. It was converted to standard gauge south of New Albany, Mississippi, on June 20, 1904, and north on June 27, 1905. Through mergers, it formed part of the mainline of the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad, which merged into the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O) in 1940. [4]
Construction
Until the end of 1888, construction on the standard gauge section of the G&SI was accomplished using prisoners contracted through the Mississippi State Penitentiary convict-lease system. However, the convict lease was terminated when a state commission found abuse of the prison workers. [3] Construction of the railroad continued under the supervision of The Union Investment Company, which fell into bankruptcy, and the Tobey Construction Company. [3] But the railroad remained unfinished. Hardy worked diligently to seek out investors and financiers in the northern and western U.S., as well as in Europe, to bring new capital to the project, but Reconstruction Era economics compromised his efforts. Hardy's attempts to secure financing could not stop a widespread panic, causing the G&SI to fall into receivership in 1896. [6]
By the late 1800s, Joseph T. Jones had made a fortune in oil wells and oil pipelines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He heard of the potential for investment in the bankrupt railroad being constructed in Mississippi that included 63,000 acres (25,000 hectares) of timberland, as well as another 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of timberland available for harvest. [7]
Jones, along with other investors, formed the Bradford Construction Company to buy the bankrupt railroad and pursue the investment opportunity in Mississippi. The longest section of the G&SI was completed by the Bradford Construction Company of Pennsylvania, under the leadership and financing of J.T. Jones. In 1901, Jones bought out his partners, and the Bradford Construction Company merged with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. [7] In need of a residence on the Gulf Coast, Jones had the Great Southern Hotel constructed at Gulfport. Nearby, a new office building was constructed for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company.
Although the G&SIRR Company changed hands to Joseph T. Jones, W.H. Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. In 1895, Hardy was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature [8] which kept him at the State Capital in Jackson, precluding his involvement with the railroad.
On October 3, 1896, the railroad was completed between Gulfport and Hattiesburg. [9] In mid-1899, work began on an extension northwards to Jackson plus a branch from Saratoga to Laurel. [10] The eastern portion of the Laurel branch was in use by that October. [11] Passenger service on the main line was extended north to Saratoga in April 1900. [12] The Jackson extension opened on July 5, 1900, with passenger service added on August 1. [13] [14] [15] The Laurel branch was completed to Saratoga on August 31, 1900. [16] A branch from Maxie to Columbia opened later in 1900. [17] [18] It was extended in April 1906 to rejoin the main line at Mendenhall. [19]
Operation
The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad operated exclusively in the State of Mississippi. The company eventually owned approximately 160 miles (260 km) of standard gauge main rail line, 147 miles (237 km) of branch lines and 106 miles (171 km) of track in Gulfport. [3] The G&SIRR opened a vast resource of southern yellow pines for harvest. Logging and lumber companies sprang up in towns along the rail line and used the railroad to transport logs to sawmills and lumber to markets. By 1902, the 74 miles (119 km) of the line between Gulfport and Hattiesburg averaged one sawmill and one turpentine distillery every 3 miles (4.8 km). In 1907 alone, about 800 million board feet of southern yellow pine lumber was transported on the G&SIRR. [20]
The G&SIRR Company controlled a 6-mile (9.7-km) long channel in the Gulf of Mexico that connected the mainland to Ship Island. Dredging of a shipping channel was completed by the S.S. Bullis Company in 1902; it connected Ship Island and the main railroad terminal at Gulfport. [3] The G&SIRR greatly facilitated the development of the shipping port. Between 1903 and 1907, more than a billion board feet of timber was shipped out of Gulfport. In 1908, the first shipment of cotton was exported by steamship. During the early years after port development, some of the items imported through Gulfport included phosphates, iron pyrite, creosote oil, naval stores and mahogany. From 1910 through 1913, the Port of Gulfport shipped and exported more timber than any other port in the world. [7]
Illinois Central
In December 1924, the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) and the G&SIRR began operating through sleepers between Gulfport, Chicago, and Memphis. The Chicago–Gulfport sleeper was carried by the Panama Limited between Chicago and Gulfport. [21] The IC acquired the G&SIRR in 1925. [22]
The IC discontinued Jackson–Gulfport passenger service in November 1950, defying an order the month before from the Mississippi Public Service Commission. [23] [24] The IC obtained an injunction against the order. The injunction was dissolved in 1954; the commission renewed its order, but the railroad obtained another injunction in August 1954. [25] [26] A federal court ruled in favor of the railroad in 1956. [27] The municipalities along the line declined to fund an appeal to the Supreme Court. [28]
