295

Records of the Union Railway Company of Memphis.

Memphis, TN, bulk 1890-1893
Approximately 400 items (0.3 linear feet), including correspondence, agreements, reports, cancelled checks, vouchers (many with related invoices attached), and stock subscription receipts; condition generally strong. 

The Union Railway was a freight line which encircled Memphis and was controlled by the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It was incorporated in 1886 and reorganized in 1890. 

This collection features the company's 30 September 1890 reorganization agreement, which hopes that "as many individuals as possible interested in the Cotton Trade of the city of Memphis should become stock-holders in the Enterprise." It is signed by 30 original partners. Some of them are also represented in stock subscription receipts from 1891. 

Some of the correspondence and agreements relate to the acquisition of property rights. Some discuss the broader vision of the railroad, which intended to rationalize the transport of cotton. 3 Letters Signed are from notable engineer Elmer Lawrence Corthell, all dated 1890. In one, he praises the company's "proposed re-arrangement of the Memphis Cotton Business" which "will, in my opinion, revolutionize the handling of cotton in the United States." Some of the checks are also made out to Corthell.

Other highlights include a draft agreement with the city of Memphis; and a packet of estimates and correspondence regarding the 1893 construction of the Larose Street Bridge.

Almost all of the collection dates from 1890 to 1893. A permit from the city of Memphis for grading operations from 1904 and a financial statement from December 1916 are the only later documents. The cancelled checks and vouchers appear to be a nearly complete run from the company's 1890 reorganization through August 1892. 

Additional material includes engineering estimates and reports from E.L. Corthell and financial memoranda relating to railroad infrastructure projects in Memphis, including track construction agreements.

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