The G&SIRR opened a vast resource of southern yellow pines for harvest. Additional rail lines extended to the towns of Pontotoc and Ripley and into territory adjacent to the Tennessee River in the northeastern portion of Mississippi. The primary rail line began at Gulfport and extended northward to Jackson, Mississippi, with branch lines connected to the towns of Maxie, Mendenhall, and Laurel. The company owned approximately 160 miles (257 km) of standard gauge main rail line, 147 miles (237 km) of branch lines and 106 miles (171 km) of track in Gulfport. The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad operated exclusively in the State of Mississippi. Another 3.5 years passed before the railroad opened between Hattiesburg and Jackson (July 4, 1900). On January 1, 1897, the railroad was completed between Gulfport and Hattiesburg. In 1895, Hardy was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature which kept him at the State Capital in Jackson, precluding his involvement with the railroad. Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. Gulf & Ship Island Railroad office building, Gulfport, MississippiĪlthough the G&SIRR Company changed hands to Joseph T. Nearby, a new office building was constructed for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. In need of a residence on the Gulf Coast, Jones had the Great Southern Hotel constructed at Gulfport. In 1901, Jones bought out his partners, and the Bradford Construction Company merged with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. The longest section of the G&SIRR was completed by the Bradford Construction Company of Pennsylvania, under the leadership and financing of J.T. Jones, along with other investors, formed the Bradford Construction Company to buy the bankrupt railroad and pursue the investment opportunity in Mississippi. He heard of the potential for investment in the bankrupt railroad being constructed in Mississippi that included 63,000 acres (25,500 hectares) of timberland, as well as another 400,000 acres (161,874 hectares) of timberland available for harvest. Jones had made a fortune in oil wells and oil pipelines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Great Southern Hotel, Gulfport, Mississippi, circa 1920īy the late 1800s, Joseph T. Hardy's attempts to secure financing could not stop a widespread panic, causing the G&SIRR to fall into receivership in 1896. 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.
Construction of the railroad continued under the supervision of The Union Investment Company, which fell into bankruptcy, and the Tobey Construction Company. However, the convict lease was terminated when a state commission found abuse of the prison workers. Until the end of 1888, construction on the G&SIRR was accomplished using prisoners contracted through the Mississippi State Penitentiary convict-lease system. Being the original county seat for Harrison County, Mississippi City was preferred as the Gulf terminus for the G&SIRR, but Hardy determined that the town was too far east of the natural deep-water harbor protected by Ship Island and proposed a new city, Gulfport, as the revised railroad terminal. He changed the route to cross his New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad at a point he named Hattiesburg, in honor of his wife (Hattie Lott Hardy). As time passed, Hardy made several important revisions to the lay of the railroad line. Hardy envisioned a railroad that would run from the Gulf Coast, north through Mississippi, to Jackson, Tennessee. The railroad was to be constructed as standard gauge, with a terminus at some point along the Gulf of Mexico in Mississippi. Hardy accepted the presidency of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad with the support of longtime railroad financiers William Clark Falkner and William Wirt Adams. The state legislature validated a third charter in 1887. The second charter expired and lapsed for 31 years, because of the American Civil War and Reconstruction. The first charter was given in 1850, followed by a second in 1856. The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) was developed under three charters provided by the Mississippi State Legislature.
0 kommentar(er)
