Gulf and Ship Island Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad was constructed in the state of Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, at the turn of the 20th century to open a vast expanse of southern yellow pine
Southern Yellow Pine
Southern Yellow Pine doesn't refer to any one species of tree, but rather a group of species which are classified as yellow pine , and are native to the Southern United States. They grow very well in the acidic red clay soil found in most of the region. The varieties include Loblolly, Longleaf,...

 forests for commercial harvest. In spite of economic uncertainty, entrepreneurs William H. Hardy
William H. Hardy
William H. Hardy founded the cities of Hattiesburg and Laurel, Mississippi, and co-founded the city of Gulfport, Mississippi.-Early years:Born to Robert W. and Temperance L...

 and Joseph T. Jones
Joseph T. Jones
Joseph T. Jones was an American entrepreneur who built his fortune as an oil producer. He funded construction of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad in Mississippi, co-founded the City of Gulfport and developed its seaport....

 successfully completed railroad construction. The railroad resulted in the development of a seaport
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 and expansion of cities along its route.

Railroad charter

The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SIRR) was developed under three charters provided by the Mississippi State Legislature. The first charter was given in 1850, followed by a second in 1856. The second charter expired and lapsed for 31 years, because of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and Reconstruction. The state legislature validated a third charter in 1887.

William H. Hardy

In 1887, William H. Hardy accepted the presidency of the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad with the support of longtime railroad financiers William Clark Falkner
William Clark Falkner
William Clark Falkner was a soldier, lawyer, politician, businessman, and author in northern Mississippi...

 and William Wirt Adams
William Wirt Adams
William Wirt Adams was a United States district court judge for the state of Mississippi, a soldier for the Republic of Texas, and a Confederate officer and general in the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

. The railroad was to be constructed as standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

, with a terminus at some point along the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. Hardy envisioned a railroad that would run from the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...

, north through Mississippi, to Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...

. As time passed, Hardy made several important revisions to the lay of the railroad line. He changed the route to cross his New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad
The New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad was a Class I railroad in Louisiana and Mississippi in the United States. The railroad operated of track from its completion in 1883 until it was absorbed by the Alabama Great Southern Railroad subsidiary of the Southern Railway in 1969.- History :The...

 at a point he named Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Hattiesburg is a city in Forrest County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 44,779 at the 2000 census . It is the county seat of Forrest County...

, in honor of his wife (Hattie Lott Hardy). Being the original county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 for Harrison County
Harrison County, Mississippi
-National protected areas:* De Soto National Forest * Gulf Islands National Seashore - Demographics :As of the census of 2000, there were 189,601 people, 71,538 households, and 48,574 families residing in the county. The population density was 326 people per square mile . There were 79,636 housing...

, Mississippi City
Mississippi City, Mississippi
Mississippi City, Mississippi, was an unincorporated community in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It was part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 was preferred as the Gulf terminus for the G&SIRR, but Hardy determined that the town was too far east of the natural deep-water harbor protected by Ship Island
Ship Island (Mississippi)
Ship Island is the collective name for two barrier islands off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore: East Ship Island and West Ship Island. Hurricane Camille split the once single island into 2 separate islands in 1969...

 and proposed a new city, Gulfport
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport is the second largest city in Mississippi after the state capital Jackson. It is the larger of the two principal cities of the Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. As of the...

, as the revised railroad terminal.

Railroad construction begins

Until the end of 1888, construction on the G&SIRR was accomplished using prisoners contracted through the Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary
Mississippi State Penitentiary , also known as Parchman Farm, is the oldest prison and the only maximum security prison for men in the state of Mississippi, USA....

 convict-lease system. However, the convict lease was terminated when a state commission found abuse of the prison workers. Construction of the railroad continued under the supervision of The Union Investment Company, which fell into bankruptcy, and the Tobey Construction Company. But the railroad remained unfinished. W. H. Hardy worked diligently to seek out investors and financiers in the northern and western U.S., as well as in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, to bring new capital to the project, but Reconstruction economics compromised his efforts. Hardy's attempts to secure financing could not stop a widespread panic, causing the G&SIRR to fall into receivership in 1896.

Joseph T. Jones

By the late 1800s, Joseph T. Jones had made a fortune in oil wells and oil pipelines in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

. He heard of the potential for investment in the bankrupt railroad being constructed in Mississippi that included 63,000 acres (25,500 hectares) of timberland, as well as another 400,000 acres (161,874 hectares) of timberland available for harvest.

Jones, along with other investors, formed the Bradford Construction Company to buy the bankrupt railroad and pursue the investment opportunity in Mississippi. The longest section of the G&SIRR was completed by the Bradford Construction Company of Pennsylvania, under the leadership and financing of J.T. Jones. In 1901, Jones bought out his partners, and the Bradford Construction Company merged with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company.
In need of a residence on the Gulf Coast, Jones had the Great Southern Hotel constructed at Gulfport. Nearby, a new office building was constructed for the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company.
Although the G&SIRR Company changed hands to Joseph T. Jones, W.H. Hardy remained involved as a board member until 1899. In 1895, Hardy was elected to the Mississippi State Legislature which kept him at the State Capital in Jackson
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

, precluding his involvement with the railroad.

Railroad location

The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad operated exclusively in the State of Mississippi. The company owned approximately 160 miles (257 km) of standard gauge main rail line, 147 miles (237 km) of branch lines and 106 miles (171 km) of track in Gulfport.
The primary rail line began at Gulfport and extended northward to Jackson, Mississippi, with branch lines connected to the towns of Maxie, Mendenhall, and Laurel
Laurel, Mississippi
Laurel is a city located in Jones County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 18,393 although a significant population increase has been reported following Hurricane Katrina. Located in southeast Mississippi, southeast of...

. Additional rail lines extended to the towns of Pontotoc
Pontotoc, Mississippi
Pontotoc is a city in Pontotoc County, Mississippi, United States. Pontotoc is west of the much larger city of Tupelo. The population was 5,625 at the 2010 census...

 and Ripley
Ripley, Mississippi
Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,478 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County....

 and into territory adjacent to the Tennessee River
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately 652 miles long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names...

 in the northeastern portion of Mississippi.

The G&SIRR opened a vast resource of southern yellow pines for harvest. Logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...

 and lumber
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....

 companies sprang up in towns along the rail line and used the railroad to transport logs to sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s and lumber to markets. By 1902, the 74 miles (119 km) of G&SIRR, between Gulfport and Hattiesburg, averaged one sawmill and one turpentine
Turpentine
Turpentine is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin obtained from trees, mainly pine trees. It is composed of terpenes, mainly the monoterpenes alpha-pinene and beta-pinene...

 distillery
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....

 every 3 miles (4.8 km). In 1907 alone, about 800 million board feet
Board foot
The board-foot is a specialized unit of measure for the volume of lumber in the United States and Canada. It is the volume of a one-foot length of a board one foot wide and one inch thick....

 of southern yellow pine lumber was transported on the G&SIRR

Exports and imports

The G&SIRR Company controlled a 6-mile (9.7-km) long channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

 in the Gulf of Mexico that connected the mainland to Ship Island. Dredging of a shipping channel was completed by the S.S. Bullis Company in 1902; it connected Ship Island and the main railroad terminal at Gulfport. The G&SIRR greatly facilitated the development of the shipping port. Between 1903 and 1907, more than a billion board feet of timber was shipped out of Gulfport. In 1908, the first shipment of cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 was exported by steamship
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...

. During the early years after port development, some of the items imported through Gulfport included phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...

s, iron pyrite
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...

, creosote oil
Creosote
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...

, naval stores
Naval stores
Naval Stores is a broad term which originally applied to the resin-based components used in building and maintaining wooden sailing ships, a category which includes cordage, mask, turpentine, rosin, pitch and tar...

 and mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....

. From 1910 through 1913, the Port of Gulfport shipped and exported more timber than any other port in the world.

The state of Mississippi derived substantial benefits from the G&SIRR. The railroad facilitated the development of towns along its route, gave rise to a booming timber industry, resulted in the creation of the city of Gulfport, and brought about construction of a deep-water seaport. Beginning in 1924, the G&SIRR operated as a subsidiary of the Illinois Central Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

 but lost its independent identity in 1946.

See also

  • Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company
    Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company
    The Finkbine-Guild Lumber Company was established to harvest and market the virgin longleaf pine stands of southern Mississippi during the early 20th century. The main sawmills were located in Wiggins and D'Lo, Mississippi...

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