Volume 047-1 - January 1993 (10 pages)

percent per annum. The bill was sponsored and signed by twenty-nine men of the two communities. Following the adoption of the bill. A.B. Dibble and Niles Searles were requested to go to Sacramento in order to explain to the Legislature the nature of the bill and the wants of the community. The Transcript, reporting on the meeting the following day, explained that the railroad would be about twenty-two miles long, over mountainous country which would necessitate long, deep and costly cuts and tunnels. Since two streams must be crossed, two expensive bridges would have to be constructed. Therefore the proposed rates and fares were just and proper. Furthermore, the railroad was to be built ‘‘by means voluntarily subscribed by our people’’'’ not by aid from State or County. Also, it was to be understood that though the bill asked for an increase above the going railroad rates, the charge to the local citizens would be less than the present wagon rates. Wagon rates fluctuated from thirty cents to a dollar per ton for freight, and twenty cents for passengers. Word was received in the twin communities that the Colfax and Nevada Railroad Bill had been brought before the Twentieth Session of Legislature. It had been amended slightly, and hopes were high that the Assembly would pass the bill. However, this was not a good time to petition for raising freight rates, since much pressure was being put on the legislature for stricter control of the monopolistic railroads. Optimism was in the air though, and real estate had risen in price. Houses and lots previously offered for sale at $800 were now going for $1500. Spirits were again dampened when it was reported that Paschall Coggins, one of the members of the Commission on Corporations, was opposed to the bill. ‘‘Can it be Possible’, wailed the Transcript, “since he carried the county by 300 majority in (the) last election, could he be so ungrateful?’?° The days passed with no news, then Judge Searls returned from Sacramento. He did not feel at all confident in the passage of the bill. The Freeman Bill was affecting the thinking of the committee. A.B. Dibble arrived from Sacramento a few days later and was just as sure that the bill would pass. And so things stood until the night the readers picked up their paper, opened it to the center spread to see in the boldest type: “COLFAX AND NEVADA RAILROAD — Bill passed by both houses of Legislature, Only requires the signature of the Governor to become a law, the RAILROAD WILL BE BUILT, GREAT REJOICING, FIRING OF GUNS, RINGING OF BELLS, etc!’?' The column was headed by a picture of a sailor holding the Stars and Stripes, with an herioc woman seated at his feet. with fruit and flowers, also included was a ship and an anchor??? The Daily Transcript and its new editor, B.J. Watson,” were “‘rejoicing . . . firing . . . guns’’ and “‘ringing . . . bells’’ in their fashion. All of this display embarassed the Union so that it wrote the following day, ‘‘Too much celebration about a railroad bill is not very good’’, and later added that Nevada City threw out all her banners to the gale which “‘tore them to shreds . . . (they) 4 will have to get a new supply for the ground breaking?’ Yet even the Union rejoiced when the bill was made official by the signature of Governor Booth on March 20, 1874. ‘‘Hurrah’’, said the editor, now we have the ‘‘opportunity . . . to give new life to this section of the country.. if.. neglected this part of the country will rust out?’ The parties named in the Colfax Railroad Bill were not neglecting their opportunity. The grantees met at the Court House where Edward Coleman made a motion that was unanimously carried that a first class steam narrow gauge railroad be built. Capitol stock would be fixed at $400,000, the number of shares 40,000, at $100 each. Messrs. R.W. Tully, M.L. Marsh, N.P. Brown and George F. Jacobs were to be the solicitors. The Bank of Nevada County was to be headquarters for sales. The paper carried a first list of subscribers, as well as an advertisment for A. Goldsmith’s Variety Store, which heralded RAILROAD UNDERWAY AND PUBLIC TRIUMPHANT, followed by the particulars of a Grand Annual Clearance Sale. But was the future of the Railroad so sure? Only time was to tell! The Committee succeeded in raising $85,000 in several days. The Coleman brothers of Grass Valley had invested $50,000. The Colemans were president and treasurer of the Idaho Mine and were interested in the Mowhawk Lumber Company as well.* T.W. Sigourney, also engaged in mining, had subscribed $10,000. R.W. Tully of the Bank of Nevada County was another large subscriber. All investors were asked to appear at the bank by Saturday noon to pay fifteen percent of the amount subscribed. By this day, March 28, $218,500 had been subscribed: $134,800 from Grass Valley and $83,700 from Nevada City. With things progressing so well, the directors of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad”* met and organized. J.C. Coleman was named president, George Fletcher, a partner in a market in Grass Valley, and Frank Beatty, ‘‘managing man’’** of Findley and Company’s Bank, secretary and treasurer respectively, All of these were from Grass Valley which disturbed the Transcript somewhat, while still praising them as individuals. Coleman and Sigourney were directed to visit San Francisco to consult with engineers and to make other necessary arrangements. They returned in several days after consulting with Mr. Schuyler, the Chief Engineer of the Denver N.C. Railroad at the time of construction, and with Mr. Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific Railroad. The interview with Mr. Stanford had been very satisfactory. He had assured his Nevada County visitors that a right of way over the lands belonging to his company would be granted, and that the services of his engineer for consultation would be available. In the meantime, negotiations had been commenced in Washington for the securing of the right of way through public domain. Here, Nevada County had a good friend for a spokesman, Senator Sargent. He had been publisher of the Nevada Journal, the first newspaper in the gold camp, and N.P. Brown had been his printer. Sargent had studied law and gone into public life, first as district attorney, then as Representative, and now as a member of the Senate.?’ His bill in relation to securing a right of way was introduced on April 6, 1874. It asked for a fifty foot strip on each side of the railroad where it might pass through public domain with the right to take materials of earth, stone, and timber necessary for the construction. Also, ground would be allowed for stations, workshops, depots, machine shops, switches, and side tracks, not to exceed ten acres per station. The stations were not to occur oftener than one in five miles. Within six months of the passage of the act the railroad was to file with the Secretary of the Interior a map exhibiting the line of the railroad and the project was to be completed within four years. It was over two months before the slow machinery of Congress ground through Sargent’s bill. Word was received on June 21, that the bill had passed both houses. While this was going on the directors and stockholdeers of the new company were busy at home. On April 28, they met for the adoption of the bylaws. The stockholders’ names were read, large subscribers and small. Amongst the small subscribers were four Chinese, and it is to the discredit of the group that when one of the larger stockholders protested, these four names were stricken from the list.2* A cost of construction report was read. It was estimated that the cost of a three-foot gauge railroad would be $500,000. Since less than half of this amount had been subscribed, construction would have to be delayed. The Union, with unusual optimism, reported that $80,000 was needed, and that the nm “county was rich enough to raise that additional oa amount in two hours time?’ In this same happy spirit Mr. Coleman made arrangements with a Mr. Bates, an engineer of fine reputation, to start a survey for the line. Late in May, Bates with a party of six men set up camp in Colfax and commenced his work. Money was needed for this preliminary work, so assessments of ten dollars per share were levied upon the capitol stock. Faith in the project was evidenced by prompt payment of all assessments. The survey was completed to Grass Valley by the middle of July. Two bridges were necessary, over the Bear River and the Greenhorn. They would be about eighty feet high and four hundred and fifty feet long. No tunnels would be needed on the line. The maximum grade would be 105 feet to the mile. The distance from Colfax to Grass Valley would be sixteen and one half miles. Finley, assistant to Chief Engineer Bates, while passing through Sacramento informed the Sacramento Union that the route laid out was an excellent one, and that he had no doubt that the road would be constructed promptly.?’ The townspeople were not so confident. Ugly doubts were rising in people’s minds, Was this to be another failure? The Daily Transcript paused in its fight to admit that it had ‘‘been a little too enthusiastic?’ It had quoted Mr. Coleman as saying ‘‘that the road would be built at an early day’’, and now it must admit its information was not correct, Mr. Coleman ‘‘does not feel sure it can be built unless . . . more stock be taken?’”° Therein was the problem. A community that

percent per annum. The bill was sponsored and signed by twenty-nine men of the two communities. Following the adoption of the bill. A.B. Dibble and Niles Searles were requested to go to Sacramento in order to explain to the Legislature the nature of the bill and the wants of the community. The Transcript, reporting on the meeting the following day, explained that the railroad would be about twenty-two miles long, over mountainous country which would necessitate long, deep and costly cuts and tunnels. Since two streams must be crossed, two expensive bridges would have to be constructed. Therefore the proposed rates and fares were just and proper. Furthermore, the railroad was to be built ‘‘by means voluntarily subscribed by our people’’'’ not by aid from State or County. Also, it was to be understood that though the bill asked for an increase above the going railroad rates, the charge to the local citizens would be less than the present wagon rates. Wagon rates fluctuated from thirty cents to a dollar per ton for freight, and twenty cents for passengers. Word was received in the twin communities that the Colfax and Nevada Railroad Bill had been brought before the Twentieth Session of Legislature. It had been amended slightly, and hopes were high that the Assembly would pass the bill. However, this was not a good time to petition for raising freight rates, since much pressure was being put on the legislature for stricter control of the monopolistic railroads. Optimism was in the air though, and real estate had risen in price. Houses and lots previously offered for sale at $800 were now going for $1500. Spirits were again dampened when it was reported that Paschall Coggins, one of the members of the Commission on Corporations, was opposed to the bill. ‘‘Can it be Possible’, wailed the Transcript, “since he carried the county by 300 majority in (the) last election, could he be so ungrateful?’?° The days passed with no news, then Judge Searls returned from Sacramento. He did not feel at all confident in the passage of the bill. The Freeman Bill was affecting the thinking of the committee. A.B. Dibble arrived from Sacramento a few days later and was just as sure that the bill would pass. And so things stood until the night the readers picked up their paper, opened it to the center spread to see in the boldest type: “COLFAX AND NEVADA RAILROAD — Bill passed by both houses of Legislature, Only requires the signature of the Governor to become a law, the RAILROAD WILL BE BUILT, GREAT REJOICING, FIRING OF GUNS, RINGING OF BELLS, etc!’?' The column was headed by a picture of a sailor holding the Stars and Stripes, with an herioc woman seated at his feet. with fruit and flowers, also included was a ship and an anchor??? The Daily Transcript and its new editor, B.J. Watson,” were “‘rejoicing . . . firing . . . guns’’ and “‘ringing . . . bells’’ in their fashion. All of this display embarassed the Union so that it wrote the following day, ‘‘Too much celebration about a railroad bill is not very good’’, and later added that Nevada City threw out all her banners to the gale which “‘tore them to shreds . . . (they) 4 will have to get a new supply for the ground breaking?’ Yet even the Union rejoiced when the bill was made official by the signature of Governor Booth on March 20, 1874. ‘‘Hurrah’’, said the editor, now we have the ‘‘opportunity . . . to give new life to this section of the country... if... neglected this part of the country will rust out?’ The parties named in the Colfax Railroad Bill were not neglecting their opportunity. The grantees met at the Court House where Edward Coleman made a motion that was unanimously carried that a first class steam narrow gauge railroad be built. Capitol stock would be fixed at $400,000, the number of shares 40,000, at $100 each. Messrs. R.W. Tully, M.L. Marsh, N.P. Brown and George F. Jacobs were to be the solicitors. The Bank of Nevada County was to be headquarters for sales. The paper carried a first list of subscribers, as well as an advertisment for A. Goldsmith’s Variety Store, which heralded RAILROAD UNDERWAY AND PUBLIC TRIUMPHANT, followed by the particulars of a Grand Annual Clearance Sale. But was the future of the Railroad so sure? Only time was to tell! The Committee succeeded in raising $85,000 in several days. The Coleman brothers of Grass Valley had invested $50,000. The Colemans were president and treasurer of the Idaho Mine and were interested in the Mowhawk Lumber Company as well.* T.W. Sigourney, also engaged in mining, had subscribed $10,000. R.W. Tully of the Bank of Nevada County was another large subscriber. All investors were asked to appear at the bank by Saturday noon to

pay fifteen percent of the amount subscribed. By this day, March 28, $218,500 had been subscribed: $134,800 from Grass Valley and $83,700 from Nevada City. With things progressing so well, the directors of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad”* met and organized. J.C. Coleman was named president, George Fletcher, a partner in a market in Grass Valley, and Frank Beatty, ‘‘managing man’’** of Findley and Company’s Bank, secretary and treasurer respectively, All of these were from Grass Valley which disturbed the Transcript somewhat, while still praising them as individuals. Coleman and Sigourney were directed to visit San Francisco to consult with engineers and to make other necessary arrangements. They returned in several days after consulting with Mr. Schuyler, the Chief Engineer of the Denver N.C. Railroad at the time of construction, and with Mr. Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific Railroad. The interview with Mr. Stanford had been very satisfactory. He had assured his Nevada County visitors that a right of way over the lands belonging to his company would be granted, and that the services of his engineer for consultation would be available. In the meantime, negotiations had been commenced in Washington for the securing of the right of way through public domain. Here, Nevada County had a good friend for a spokesman, Senator Sargent. He had been publisher of the Nevada Journal, the first newspaper in the gold camp, and N.P. Brown had been his printer. Sargent had studied law and gone into public life, first as district attorney, then as Representative, and now as a member of the Senate.?’ His bill in relation to securing a right of way was introduced on April 6, 1874. It asked for a fifty foot strip on each side of the railroad where it might pass through public domain with the right to take materials of earth, stone, and timber necessary for the construction. Also, ground would be allowed for stations, workshops, depots, machine shops, switches, and side tracks, not to exceed ten acres per station. The stations were not to occur oftener than one in five miles. Within six months of the passage of the act the railroad was to file with the Secretary of the Interior a map exhibiting the line of the railroad and the project was to be completed within four years. It was over two months before the slow machinery of Congress ground through Sargent’s bill. Word was received on June 21, that the bill had passed both houses. While this was going on the directors and stockholdeers of the new company were busy at home. On April 28, they met for the adoption of the bylaws. The stockholders’ names were read, large subscribers and small. Amongst the small subscribers were four Chinese, and it is to the discredit of the group that when one of the larger stockholders protested, these four names were stricken from the list.2* A cost of construction report was read. It was estimated that the cost of a three-foot gauge railroad would be $500,000. Since less than half of this amount had been subscribed, construction would have to be delayed. The Union, with unusual optimism, reported that $80,000 was needed, and that the nm “county was rich enough to raise that additional oa amount in two hours time?’ In this same happy spirit Mr. Coleman made arrangements with a Mr. Bates, an engineer of fine reputation, to start a survey for the line. Late in May, Bates with a party of six men set up camp in Colfax and commenced his work. Money was needed for this preliminary work, so assessments of ten dollars per share were levied upon the capitol stock. Faith in the project was evidenced by prompt payment of all assessments. The survey was completed to Grass Valley by the middle of July. Two bridges were necessary, over the Bear River and the Greenhorn. They would be about eighty feet high and four hundred and fifty feet long. No tunnels would be needed on the line. The maximum grade would be 105 feet to the mile. The distance from Colfax to Grass Valley would be sixteen and one half miles. Finley, assistant to Chief Engineer Bates, while passing through Sacramento informed the Sacramento Union that the route laid out was an excellent one, and that he had no doubt that the road would be constructed promptly.?’ The townspeople were not so confident. Ugly doubts were rising in people’s minds, Was this to be another failure? The Daily Transcript paused in its fight to admit that it had ‘‘been a little too enthusiastic?’ It had quoted Mr. Coleman as saying ‘‘that the road would be built at an early day’’, and now it must admit its information was not correct, Mr. Coleman ‘‘does not feel sure it can be built unless . . . more stock be taken?’”° Therein was the problem. A community that