1878 St. Louis Texas Short Line Railroad Broadside: St. Louis to Texarkana

Stunning railroad broadside promoting emigration to Texas.

A striking 1878 promotional map broadsheet issued to promote travel on the St. Louis and Texas Short Line.

Two Maps

Two maps on one sheet, this broadside both focuses on the Texas Short Line and the broader regional context. The smaller map, at right, illustrates the eastern United States with the route of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railway highlighted. A second much larger map, occupying the left, provides a detail view of the Short Line noting all stops between Saint Louis and Texarkana, where it connects to other lines extending throughout Texas. The broadsheet is surrounded by advertising promoting the railroad as the shortest route from St. Louis, Missouri and Cairo, Illinois, to Texas, and offering 200lbs of luggage free to emigrant passengers. Advertisement for various services associated with the railroad appear on verso.

St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway

The St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway ran thorough Missouri and Arkansas connecting St. Louis, Missouri and Cairo, Illinois with Texarkana, Texas. The railroad was established to transport Iron Ore from Iron Mountain, Missouri to St. Louis, leading it to be referred to as the Iron Mountain Railway. It expanded through several mergers around 1878 to reach Texas and was thus renamed the Texas and Pacific Railway Company. The railroad further expanded acquiring other connecting rail lines until 1883, when it was absorbed by the railroad tycoon Jay Gould's expanding network. In 1917, it merged with the Missouri Pacific, which in turn merged in 1982 with the Union Pacific.

Publication History and Census

This broadsheet map was published in 1878 by the Texas and Pacific Railway Company and engraved and printed by the St. Louis firm of Woodward, Tiernan, and Hale. We have identified examples in the Rumsey collection at Stanford and Princeton University. There are five sales records from 1997.

Cartographer

William Henry Woodward (December 11, 1834 - November 30, 1904) was an English-American printer and publisher based in St. Louis. Woodward was born in Hereford, England. He moved with his parents to the United States in 1841-2, when his father had a disagreement with the Church of England, and they moved to New Jersey, where he was ordained an Episcopal Minister. The family moved between churches in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin (1849 - 1851) before finally, in 1851-2, settling permanently in St. Louis. William Henry remained in Madison, where from 1849 to 1852, he apprenticed in the printing trade under Col. David Atwood, publisher of the Wisconsin Statesman. In St. Louis, he began his career in the printing trade at the Missouri Republican, then the main regional paper. He attained some success and leveraged his savings to purchase the printing concern of George H. Hanson. Woodward's establishment quickly gained a reputation for solid work promptly delivered. During the U.S. Civil War, Woodward was recruited into the Missouri Home Guard and saw active service under General. E.C. Pike, including during the invasion of Missouri by Confederate General Sterling Price in 1864. In 1868, James Tiernan (1838 - September 16, 1886), a former colleague from the Missouri Republican, joined the firm, after which the imprint changed to 'Woodward and Tiernan.' The business also moved to the intersection of Third and Pine. In 1872, William B. Hale joined the partnership, and the imprint was changed again, this time to 'Woodward, Tiernan and Hale.' The business moved again, this time to the intersection of Second and Locust. Hale retired in 1882, causing the firm's imprint to revert to 'Woodward and Tiernan.'  Tiernan passed away in 1886, just as the firm was preparing to move into even larger quarters at 309-315 North Third Street. Woodward acquired Tiernan's shares and reorganized the firm as the 'Woodward and Tiernan Stock Company.' By 1900, the company operated as the 'Woodward and Tiernan Printing Company'. Under Woodward's management, the company grew into a major concern, employing around 800 people and operating several factories.   Woodward died of a heart attack at the St. Louis Club in November 1904. The firm operated until 1966, and in its later years was known as the Woodward Printing Company. William Henry Woodward married Miss Maria K. Knight in December 1859, and the couple had thirteen children, five of whom died in infancy. Their eldest daughter preceded them in death as well. She died on August 20, 1889. Maria Woodward died on June 16, 1898. Woodward remarried on February 8, 1899, to Miss Laura Maria Bingham.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Backed with archival tissue. Some fill repairs. Fold reinforcement.

References

OCLC 953571832. Rumsey 5233.001.