Memphis and Charleston Railroad

In the decade leading up to the Civil War, Memphis’ vibrant cotton market made it the fastest growing city in the U.S. The war itself could not even affect the city's continued growth. After confronting a recession as most southern cities experienced after the war, there was a rapid expansion of railroads to help with the growing industries, one being the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. The State's Republican government also helped with the promotion of local railroad construction. Advertisements were taken out in the local Memphis paper in 1886, asking for men who would be paid $1.75 per day, to be depot switchmen.[14]

Not only was the railroad a result of the economic growth, it led to further expansion in the second half of the nineteenth century as industrial firms moved into Memphis to take advantage the city's central geographic location and railroad system which helped make Memphis a major hub for distribution in the south.[15] The city underwent a major population growth as well, having less than 1,800 citizens in 1840, to 20,000 in 1858.[16]

As the Gilded Age progressed, so did the technology and speed of the trains. The Memphis and Charleston Railroad continued to purchase new trains because they wanted to stay at the forefront of innovation. In an 1882 Memphis newspaper, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad advertised that the train could make it all the way across the state into Washington County in less than 37 hours, and for the fee of $26.25.[17] All of the information, including times and prices, were posted in the newspapers to not only advertise the railroad, but also so show the rapid transformation over a short period of time.

In 1878, there was a fatal outbreak of Yellow Fever. The outbreak was most prominent in New Orleans, but quickly spread to other cities because of the new rail lines moving out of New Orleans. This deadly disease also spread by means of steamboats traveling up the Mississippi River from New Orleans. After making its way up the River, yellow fever made its way into the Memphis area because of the city's proximity to the Mississippi River. When the Mayor of Greenville, Mississippi died from the fever, people made the railroad the culprit for bringing this evil disease into their town. Once the disease hit Memphis, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad enabled it to travel into smaller towns throughout Tennessee. The epidemic that resulted from the railway transmission became so bad that the trains on the Memphis and Charleston Railroad became the transportation for supplies to cure the many that were affected. Areas surrounding Memphis became very worried that the disease would infect their small towns and grew wary of the railway, leaving it with a bad reputation.[18]

After the Civil War, the railroad was involved in the Supreme Court case, "Robinson and Wife vs. Memphis and Charleston Railroad Co."  Mr. Robinson's wife, who was an African American, was denied entry into the first-class car owned by the Memphis and Charleston Railroad Company. This was due to the common Jim Crow laws that were in place in the late 1800s.[19] Mr. Robinson, who was white, pressed charges and won the case in which the railroad company had to pay the $500 U.S. discrimination penalty charges.[20] This led to the passing of the Civil Rights Act in Congress, which gave not only equal access to railcars, but also equal access in public facilities like theaters and hotels. The Jim Crow laws became more apparent in the mid 1880s, when railroad companies admitted that they were trying to move their non-white passengers into a certain car.[21]

In the 1890s the south experienced a rapid consolidation of fragmented railroads, and in 1894, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad became part of the Southern Railway System organized by J.P. Morgan.[22]

Although the west failed to develop industrially, the Memphis and Charleston railroad, which now operated under a different name, still continued to make an impact in the southern economy. In the 1910s and 1920s, the Memphis and Charleston railroad continued to be used as a major resource for the industrial companies that managed to survive the southern depression after the war. Many new rail lines traveling north were added to the original railroad. Prior to the Civil War, The Memphis and Charleston Railroad did not connect with any northern rails because the leaders of the railroad feared northern capitalists as the tensions between the north and the south grew. However, in the 1910s, the connections to the northern rails helped to promote the southern economy and encouraged northerners to go south for vacation.[9]