The Junior Historian, Volume 28, Number 1, September 1967 Page: 9
[2], 32 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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THE JUNIOR HISTORIAN
the now-extinct station of Helmet. Both
businessmen and railroad officials drove
the golden spike, while gangs of work-
men cheered. The golden spike was made
of iron and was gold-plated by a jeweler.
A one-line telegraph was built along
the track so that wire communication
could be held with the construction
crews. In connection with the driving of
the golden spike, the mayors of El Paso
and San Antonio exchanged telegraph
greetings.
To MAYOR MAGOFFIN, El Paso:
We have this day connected your city with
all the cities of the south by laying the last
rail on the Southern Pacific Railway. May it
bring prosperity to your city.
(Sgd.) JAMES CAMPBELL, Supt. S.P.R.R.
January 12, 1883
Another telegraph received in El Paso
read:
San Antonio, January 12, 1883
To: HONORABLE JOS. MAGOFFIN, Mayor, El
Paso, Texas
On behalf of the city of San Antonio, I re-
turn your greetings. May mutual interest be
quickened and encouraged by commercial en-
terprise and strengthened by the friendship of
Auld-Lang-Syne, binding us yet closer than
the iron bands which have united us this day.
(Sgd.) J. H. FRENCH
January 12, 1883
When the railroad was first built, it
turned south at Shumla, along the edge of
the Rio Grande, and then back up to
Comstock. This was because of a huge
gorge on the Pecos River. In 1893, the
Southern Pacific built a bridge across this
gorge and the bridge now saves some
thirty miles of track, thus removing Hel-
met from the map.
The majority of the gangs of workmen
from the East were Irish immigrants, and
the majority of the workmen from the
West were Chinese. It is said that hun-
dreds of Chinese were smuggled across
the border from Mexico and were killed
instead of being paid their wages when
the construction was finished. There were
many tales about the railroad, and this
is one of them.
During the months of October, No-vember, and December of 1883, the rail-
road was constructed in the West Texas
area. Before the railroad came through,
Valentine and Sanderson were just water
holes. The railroad built roundhouses at
these points because of the water sup-
ply. This made Valentine and Sanderson
the largest towns in the area. The rail-
road was then divided into nineteen sec-
tions because of the poor accomodations
and few facilities between roundhouses.
Each section had a section foreman and
a crew to keep eight to twelve miles of
track in condition. The foreman lived in
the middle of his section with his family
in a section house. These section homes
were more or less self-sufficient and often
resembled small ranches.
The railroad influenced the history of
each section and town through which it
passed. The sections between Valentine
and Sanderson made up the counties of
Jeff Davis, Presidio, Brewster, Pecos, and
Terrell.
- 1
No. 721 troop train hit the big snow at Paisano
on November 26, 1918
Sanderson was not only the terminal
but, in the early 1880's, was also the tele-
graph relay-point instead of El Paso. One
of the early telegraphers was J. A. Van
Luder, who was sent there from San
Francisco. Sanderson was named for one
of the construction foremen. The first
house built in Sanderson was constructed
by a Chinese immigrant who put in a
resturant to serve the railroad workers.
The old section foreman and engineers
say that Emerson was named for the poet,
Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The Southern Pacific history states
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Texas State Historical Association. The Junior Historian, Volume 28, Number 1, September 1967, periodical, September 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391552/m1/11/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.