Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad
The Mississippi and Tennessee Railroad was an American railroad constructed in the 1850s, connecting Memphis, Tennessee with Grenada, Mississippi. In Grenada, the line connected with the Mississippi Central Railroad.[4]
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Mississippi, Tennessee, United States |
| Dates of operation | 1852–1886 |
| Successor | Illinois Central Railroad |
| Technical | |
| Length | 97 miles (156 km)[1] |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History
The railroad was incorporated on October 16, 1852, and enabled cotton plantations in the Mississippi Delta to ship their product to Memphis, where it was loaded onto steamboats and transported to New Orleans.[5][6]
The city of Batesville, Mississippi was founded following the construction of the railway, and drew its residents from surrounding communities.[7]
During the Civil War, the railroad's trestle over the Coldwater River was destroyed by Federal troops.[8] Following the war, the railroad was "a complete wreck, and literally without rolling stock".[9]
The railroad was purchased in 1886 by the Illinois Central Railroad.[10]
Current use
The line is currently used by the Grenada Railway.[11]
References
- "Stations and Structures on the Current and Former Railroad Lines in Mississippi". Mississippi Railroad Information. November 7, 2013.
- "Stations and Structures on the Current and Former Railroad Lines in Mississippi". Mississippi Railroad Information. November 7, 2013.
- "Mississippi & Tennessee Map". Mississippi Rails. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
- Dana, William B. (1867). Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review. William B. Dana. pp. 342.
- Laws of the State of Mississippi. Mississippi State Printer. 1886. p. 722.
- Bond, Beverly G.; Sherman, Janann (2003). Memphis: In Black and White. Arcadia. pp. 34, 61. ISBN 9780738524412.
- Kyle, John W. (1913). Reconstruction in Panola County. Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society. XIII. Mississippi Historical Society. p. 13.
- Smith, Timothy B. (2010). Mississippi in the Civil War: The Home Front. University Press of Mississippi. p. 71. ISBN 9781604734300.
- The Commercial and Financial Chronicle. 4. William B. Dana. 1867. p. 489.
- "A Brief History of DeSoto County Mississippi". DeSoto County, Mississippi. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
- "Business Overview". Grenada Railway. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
