Z 0756.000 Mississippi Central Rail Road Company Records

Miscellaneous papers of the Mississippi Central Rail Road Company, also known as the Walter Goodman Papers. Goodman was the first president of the company. The company was chartered in January, 1952, to construct a railroad from Canton to the Mississippi-Tennessee state line. Prominent stockholders were Jacob Thompson, William McWillie, John J. McRae, Walter Goodman, J. Z. George, A. M. West, and L. Q. C. Lamar. After the Panic of 1856 the company received financial backing from George Peabody, the London banker and financier. In 1859 the Mississippi Central & Tennessee Rail Road Company and the Mississippi Central Rail Road Company consolidated under the latter name. The road was completed January 31, 1860, linking New Orleans, Vicksburg, and Jackson with Chicago. By 1878 the company was under the full control of the Illinois Central Railroad Company.

A portion of this collection is available on microfilm. (MF Roll # 36064)