Texas Railroads, C.S.A.
Tomball, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Harris County was 1861 center for 492 miles of state railroads, with Texas & New Orleans going from here to Orange; Houston & Texas Central to Millican; Houston Tap & Brazoria to Columbia; Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado to Alleyton; and Galveston, Houston & Henderson to Galveston. At Hempstead on the H.&T.C., passengers took the Washington County R.R. to Brenham and from there went by stagecoach to Austin, the state capital. Eastern Texas R.R. went from Beaumont to Sabine Pass; Memphis, El Paso & Phoenix ran 5 miles out of Jefferson; and a "Southern Pacific" went to the Louisiana line from Marshall. Making junction with the San Antonio & Mexican Gulf which ran from Port Lavaca to Victoria was the 15-mile Indianola R.R. 1,000 troops guarded and maintained the T.&N.O. Other troops destroyed 2 lines to prevent their use in possible invasions. War ruined 7 roads, because overtaxed industry could not replace worn tracks, parts or rolling stock. By 1865 only the H.&T.C. and the G.H.&H. still ran trains, and their tracks and rolling stock were much in need of replacement. The railroads had met the challenge as they have in every war. (1964)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
By 1861, Harris County sat at the hub of nearly 500 miles of Texas railroads, with lines fanning out toward Orange, Galveston, the Brazos, and beyond, stitched together with stagecoach links to reach Austin. During the Civil War, Confederate troops guarded and maintained some lines while others were torn up to deny them to Union invasion. Overtaxed and unable to replace worn track and rolling stock, seven roads were ruined, and by 1865 only two still ran trains.
Why it matters
Texas's Civil War rail network shows how vital—and how fragile—transportation infrastructure was to the Confederate war effort and the state's later recovery.
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Related events
- · American Civil War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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