The Fort Smith and Western Railway was a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

that operated in the states of

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and Oklahoma. The railroad's main line extended from Coal Creek, Oklahoma (about 7 miles east of

Bokoshe, Oklahoma Bokoshe ( ) is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma metropolitan statistical area. ''Bokoshe'' is a Choctaw word meaning "little creek". The population was 512 at the 2010 census, a 13. ...

) to Guthrie, Oklahoma, with an additional of trackage rights over the

Kansas City Southern Railway The Kansas City Southern Railway Company is an American Class I railroad. Founded in 1887, it operates in 10 midwestern and southeastern U.S. states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and ...

between

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

and Coal Creek. Guthrie was the territorial capital of Oklahoma, and a junction point with the

Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

. The Fort Smith and Western owned a subsidiary, St. Louis, El Reno and Western Railway, which began operating between Guthrie and

El Reno, Oklahoma El Reno is a city in and county seat of Canadian County, Oklahoma, Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population was 16,989, marking a change of 1.55% from 16,729, recorded in the ...

in June 1904.

History

The Fort Smith and Western Railroad was incorporated in

in 1899 and began construction westward through

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

and Oklahoma Territory. On November 1, 1903, the railroad was opened between Fort Smith and Guthrie. The capital of Oklahoma was moved from Guthrie to

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

in 1910, and in 1915, the FS&W acquired of

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may ...

over the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad from

Fallis, Oklahoma ''For people with the surname, see Fallis (surname).'' Fallis is a town in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 27 at the 2010 census, a decline of 3.6 percent from the figure of 28 in 2000. Geography Fallis is located a ...

. The U.S. District Court in Fort Smith placed the Fort Smith and Western Railroad in receivership on October 9, 1915, on petition by the Superior Savings & Trust Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The company emerged from receivership as the Fort Smith and Western ''Railway'' on February 1, 1923, only to re-enter receivership on June 1, 1931. The Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad withdrew trackage rights between Fallis and Oklahoma City in January 1939 after the FS&W defaulted on rental fees, and the FS&W ceased operations on February 9, 1939. The route of the FS&W served no major population centers, but did serve major coal mining operations in eastern Oklahoma at (from east to west) Coal Creek,

Bokoshe Bokoshe ( ) is a town in Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma metropolitan statistical area. ''Bokoshe'' is a Choctaw word meaning "little creek". The population was 512 at the 2010 census, a 13. ...

, and McCurtain. Continuing west, other towns served included Crowder, Hanna, Weleetka, Okemah, Boley, Paden,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, and Meridian before reaching Guthrie. A major portion of the road's freight traffic was metallurgical-grade coal from San Bois Coal Company mines near McCurtain. As coal traffic declined, an oil discovery near Okemah brought additional traffic, which postponed the abandonment of the railroad. After the FS&W ceased operation, the trackage between Coal Creek and McCurtain was purchased by the Fort Smith and Van Buren Railway, a subsidiary of the

References

*''Poor's Manual of Railroads - 1919'', Poor's Publishing Co., New York, New York. *Drury, George H. (1985) ''Historical Guide to North American Railroads'', Kalmbach Publishing Co.,

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, WI. *Hull, Clifton E. (1988) ''Shortline Railroads of Arkansas'', UCA Press, Conway, AR. *Hofsommer, Donovan L. (1982) ''Railroads of Oklahoma'', Oklahoma Historical Society,

Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

External links

Fort Smith and Western vs. Mills, 253 U.S. 206 (1920)
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121024013411/http://www.library.okstate.edu/okmaps/ Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Smith Western Railway Defunct Arkansas railroads Defunct Oklahoma railroads Former Class I railroads in the United States Railway companies disestablished in 1939 American companies established in 1899 Railway companies established in 1899 1899 establishments in Arkansas 1939 disestablishments in Arkansas