The Midland Pacific Railway was a railroad operating in the
Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
counties of
Lancaster,
Nemaha,
Otoe
The Otoe ( Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes.
Histori ...
,
Seward, and
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
br>
History
Prior to statehood, Nebraska City and Omaha vied for economic and political dominance in the Nebraska Territory. In the 1850s and early 1860s, Nebraska City had been the eastern terminus of the Platte Valley freight line.
However, when the Union Pacific rail line built westward from Omaha, Nebraska City lost much of its business.
In an effort to regain its advantage, the businessmen of Nebraska City organized the Midland Pacific Railway Company.
By 1870, the company had raised $50,000 in Nebraska City to grade the first ten miles of track.
The rail line was awarded a land grant by the State of Nebraska and a bond from Otoe County.
The railroad was to generally follow the path of the Platte Valley line, however, in a bid to increase its influence, the Midland Pacific line would connect to the nearby newly-founded state capital, Lincoln.
Excited by the prospect of a railway, Lancaster County voted for a bond granting $50,000 to Midland Pacific Railway.
However, the bond was deemed insufficient and Midland Pacific asked Lancaster County for an additional $150,000.
Midland Pacific organized numerous mass-meetings in Lincoln to keep the public interested and supportive of the railroad, at one point threatening to bypass Lincoln entirely if Lancaster County would not supply it with the $150,000.
After much local fundraising, spurred on by articles in the
Nebraska State Journal urging citizens to do their part, the bond issue was passed and Midland Pacific built into the new capital city of
Lincoln on April 22, 1871.
In 1875, it merged with the
Brownville, Fort Kearney and Pacific Rail Road to form the
Nebraska Railway.
See also
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List of defunct Nebraska railroads
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History of Nebraska
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Nebraska City, Nebraska
*
History of rail transport in the United States
Railroads played a large role in the development of the United States from the Industrial Revolution in the Northeast (1820s–1850s) to the settlement of the West (1850s–1890s). The American railroad mania began with the founding of the first ...
*
Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...
*
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
References
Defunct Nebraska railroads
Predecessors of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Railway companies established in 1868
Railway companies disestablished in 1875
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