“During the summer months, from 1850 to 1872, there was a class of men in this county known as teamsters, who followed the business of moving the products of the county to the railroads and rivers. In an early day nothing could be sent to market but such things as could walk. Ox teams were used up to 1866, when everybody commenced to use horses for teaming.

This hauling got to be so extensive and costly that there was a general demand for a railroad. An act passed the legislature and was approved March 7th, 1867, incorporating the Murphysboro and Shawnee town Railroad company, and in 1868 a petition signed by 100 voters as required by said act, was filed with the County Clerk, asking the court to submit a proposition of voting a subscription of $100,000 to the capital stock of the said company to the legal voters of the county. Speakers went out over the county during the canvass, and the people were led to believe that they were taking stock in a railroad company on which they would annually draw a dividend more than sufficient to pay the interest on the bonds of the county. On the 3^rd day of November, 1868, the proposition was voted upon and resulted in 1779 votes for and 108 against the subscription.

On the 12th day of December, 1868, the court made an order that the subscription should be paid in the bonds of the county running 20 years, bearing interest at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, payable annually at the office of the County Treasurer. But said bonds were not to be issued, bear date, draw interest or be delivered until the road was completed and the cars running on the same from Carbondale to Marion, provided, if the road was not completed by the 1st day of January, 1870, this subscription was to be void.” —Milo Erwin, 1875

There was initially quite a “stink” raised over the formation of this railroad. What initially appeared to the common citizen as a county bond secured venture turned out to be a private investment. Charges of bribery and law suits were filed. Arrangements were not particularly made in compliance with the law or vote of the people. But in the long run, had it not been for completion of this first RR spur, Marion may not have turned out as well as it did in establishing itself as a center of business in the early days.

The initial charter for the Murphysboro & Shawneetown Railroad was made on March 7, 1864. The initial conception was to have a railroad span Southern Illinois from Murphysboro to the Ohio River at Shawneetown. The name was changed to Carbondale & Shawneetown Railroad on March 10, 1869 when plans got scaled back.An 1872 state report indicates the officers of the company were Samuel Dunaway, president; Augustus N. Lodge, Secretary; George W. Goddard, Treasurer; E.C. Dawes, General Manager and W.P. Keanchett, Asst. General Superintendent. The Directors were Samuel Dunaway, W.C. Campbell, R.M. Hundley, G.L. Owen, F.W. Norman, John Goodall, and E.C. Dawes.

Construction was contracted with E.C. Dawes Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio to build the railroad which was commenced in August 1871 and finished on December 30, 1871. It was open for business from Carbondale to Marion in January 1872 and on January 14, 1872, five car loads of iron arrived in Marion and the last spike was driven on the 15^th.

In September 1872, the state report for this railroad reported one single main track 17.5 miles in length, one 0.5 mile coal switch track, 0.75 miles of side track and one, 100 foot, wooden truss bridge near Crab Orchard Lake which was completed in October 1871. Their indicated plans were to run the line east and intersect the Cairo to Vincennes lines which they expected to complete by January 1873, but it never happened.

The RR initially had 1 steam locomotive weighing over 20 tons, 2 passenger cars, 1 box/freight car and 30 of other types. The highest rate of speed allowed for passenger, mail or accommodation trains was 18 MPH.

The Carbondale and Shawneetown Railroad with its 18 miles of track cost $538,407.12. For the year ending 1875, they had hauled 38,959 tons of freight.

The road was never completed beyond Marion, but in 1888 the St. Louis, Alton and Terre Haute Railroad Company bought it and completed it to Paducah Kentucky. In 1898, it was purchased by the Illinois Central Railroad. It has become a branch of a greater system and an important feeder to its coal and general passenger and freight traffic. Branches were later extended from Carterville and Herrin.

In 1894, by a vote of the county, bonds that had been issued for the original railroad were refunded to the public at 4 per cent interest.

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(Data extracted from an 1872 I.C.C. State Report and the 1905 Souvenir History; Milo Erwin’s History of Williamson County, Illinois; Stock Certificate courtesy of Edward Bridges Collection; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 02/02/2013)