Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado, First Railroad in Texas
Stafford, Fort Bend County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Planned 1840 to benefit the Republic of Texas by moving rich sugar and cotton crops from plantation areas. Chartered 1841 by 5th Congress of the Republic, in name of Harrisburg Railroad & Trading Company. H. R. & T. C. did not succeed in building a railroad. Its holdings were transferred in 1847 to Gen. Sidney Sherman, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto, who was backed by eastern capital and leading texans -- W. J. Hutchins, gen. Hugh McLeod, Wm. Marsh Rice (benefactor of Rice University), B. A. Shepherd, James H. Stevens, and John Grant Tod (a former Texas naval officer). B. F. Terry (destined to lead Terry's Texas Rangers in the Civil War) and W. J. Kyle graded the roadbed. The first locomotive, "General Sherman," arrived 1852. In August 1853 the tracks extended 20 miles from Harrisburg to Stafford's Point, early Texas center of trade and social life. On Sept. 1, with fanfare, a special train brought a load of honored guests to join planters here for a barbecue-jubilee. Regular schedules were soon in operation. Stafford's Point, end of the line for two years, did much business. Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado in 1860 reached Alleyton -- a distance of 80 miles from Harrisburg. Incise in base: Early Travel, Transportation and Communication Series erected by the Moody Foundation.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Planned in 1840 to move sugar and cotton from the plantation country of the young Republic of Texas, this venture was chartered in 1841 and, after early failure, revived by San Jacinto hero Gen. Sidney Sherman with backing from leading Texans including Rice University benefactor William Marsh Rice. The first locomotive, the 'General Sherman,' arrived in 1852, and by 1853 the line ran twenty miles from Harrisburg to Stafford's Point, celebrated with a barbecue-jubilee. By 1860 the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado stretched eighty miles inland, becoming the first operating railroad in Texas.
Why it matters
As Texas's first railroad, it launched the transportation revolution that tied the state's agricultural economy to wider markets and reshaped its geography of trade.
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Related people
- · Sidney Sherman
- · William Marsh Rice
- · B. F. Terry
Themes & tags
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