Before….

Before 1850, settlements in Texas were concentrated along rivers and the Gulf Coast. There were few railroads or roads, making travel slow. 

Communication tended to be slow as well since it depended on surface transportation. 

Before….

Both transportation and communication saw great changes in the late 1800s as railroad lines were built across the state and the telephone came into use.

1800s

In the 1860s, railroads provided Texas ranchers access to markets for beef on the East and West coasts.  

In the 1880s, rail lines extended into Texas itself. With the development of railroads through Texas, ranchers could ship cattle from points much closer to their operations.  

Driving cattle north was no longer necessary.

Expansion

The expansion of railroads also helped draw settlers to the frontier. This caused the population to increase. 

Railroad companies actively encouraged the growth of cities along their routes.  

More farmers also meant more crops to ship, which would generate additional business for the railroads. 

Expanding...

In 1875 there were 1,650 miles of railroad track in Texas. By the end of the century, that number had increased to almost 10,000 miles of track. 

1900s...

By the early 1900’s, goods could be shipped to any place in the U.S. from Texas by rail. 

This encouraged farmers to buy land for large, commercial farms. 

The railroad companies, which controlled a great deal of Texas land, saw an opportunity for profit.  

1900s

They divided up the land on either side of the tracks and sold it to farmers and businesses. 

They were making money before they even laid tracks down. This way, farmers near the tracks could use the railroad to ship their crops to market and businesses would use the railroad to ship goods to and from as well.  

Boom towns...

Over time, many bustling cities grew up along Texas railroads.  

Cities like Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth all developed because they were railroad centers.  

Small towns not on the railroad became ghost towns.

Railroads

The railroads allowed farmers to move goods to market faster and cheaper.  

Profits increased as railroads gave farmers a more efficient way to ship their crops to new markets.   

Quicker

 It’s no wonder that Texas farmers considered the railroads a modern technology.

Journeys that normally took days or weeks to travel by cart, now only took hours. 

Laws

Governor James Hogg worked on passing laws to stop unfair practices of the railroad industry.  

In 1891, he asked the Texas legislature to create a state agency to regulate railroads operating in Texas. 

Hogg's goal

His goal was to make sure the railroad industries did not monopolize (control all the money in the market) the transportation industries.  

Railroad Commission implemented laws to regulate the market.