THE RAILROAD INFLUENCE Historical Marker ~ Caldwell, Kansas
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad reached here from the North on June 13, 1880 & Caldwell joined Baxter Springs, Abilene, Newton, Wichita, Ellsworth & Dodge City in the pages of history as a Kansas cowtown. Hundreds of thousands of Texas longhorn cattle were shipped from here between 1880 & 1886. A host of other railroads built and/or operated through here over the years. Names like Chicago, Caldwell & Rock Island (1886); Geuda Springs, Caldwell & Western (1885); St. Louis-San Francisco ("Frisco" 1886); Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific ("Rock Island" 1891); Oklahoma, Kansas & Texas ("Katy" 1980) & the Union Pacific (1988) could be seen on the locomotives, depots & paychecks.
The railroad brought Caldwell new families, the mail, fertilizer for the farms, parts for the tractors, revenue for the city, cafes & merchants, & more than a small amount of aggravation for drivers at rail crossings. Hobos lived along the right-of-way in cardboard boxes, generations of children laid pennies on the rails & dreamed of far away places, & adults watched in amazement as the "Rocket" or other futuristic locomotive, pulling unknown people & goods, roared through town.
A century later there are fewer Caldwell citizens & fewer trains. But like old friends, each knows that things would have been much different if not for the other. After so many years even a train approaching whistle is to Caldwell more a sound of greeting than of warning.
THE RAILROAD INFLUENCE Historical Marker ~ Caldwell, Kansas
The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad reached here from the North on June 13, 1880 & Caldwell joined Baxter Springs, Abilene, Newton, Wichita, Ellsworth & Dodge City in the pages of history as a Kansas cowtown. Hundreds of thousands of Texas longhorn cattle were shipped from here between 1880 & 1886. A host of other railroads built and/or operated through here over the years. Names like Chicago, Caldwell & Rock Island (1886); Geuda Springs, Caldwell & Western (1885); St. Louis-San Francisco ("Frisco" 1886); Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific ("Rock Island" 1891); Oklahoma, Kansas & Texas ("Katy" 1980) & the Union Pacific (1988) could be seen on the locomotives, depots & paychecks.
The railroad brought Caldwell new families, the mail, fertilizer for the farms, parts for the tractors, revenue for the city, cafes & merchants, & more than a small amount of aggravation for drivers at rail crossings. Hobos lived along the right-of-way in cardboard boxes, generations of children laid pennies on the rails & dreamed of far away places, & adults watched in amazement as the "Rocket" or other futuristic locomotive, pulling unknown people & goods, roared through town.
A century later there are fewer Caldwell citizens & fewer trains. But like old friends, each knows that things would have been much different if not for the other. After so many years even a train approaching whistle is to Caldwell more a sound of greeting than of warning.