DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one the way the official marker tells it — so let's talk about a railroad car fit for a king, sittin' right here in Marion County, Texas. In 1888, the American Car and Foundry Company of St. Charles, Missouri, built something that wasn't just a railroad car.
It was a statement. The man who commissioned it was Jay Gould — born 1836, died 1892 — a New York native who, by the time that car rolled off the line, had his fingerprints on some of the most powerful railroads in the country. The Union Pacific.
The Missouri Pacific. The International and Great Northern. The Texas Pacific.
If iron rails were running through it, chances are Jay Gould had something to do with it. And the man did not travel light. The car was named the Atlanta.
Two observation rooms. Four staterooms. Two baths.
A butler's pantry. A kitchen. A dining room.
An office. The woodwork? Mahogany and curly maple.
The bathroom accessories? Silver. The light fixtures?
Crystal. This was not a man roughing it across the American frontier. This was a man reminding the frontier who it was dealing with.
Now, Jay Gould died in 1892, but the Atlanta kept rolling. His son, George Jay Gould — who became president of the Texas and Pacific Railroad — took up the car, traveling with his wife, the actress Edith Kingston. The Atlanta stayed in Gould family hands clear through until the 1930s.
And here's where the story takes a turn nobody quite expects. That elegant private car, built for a New York financier with a railroad empire, eventually made its way to Texas — brought from St. Louis — and during the East Texas oil boom of the 1930s, it served as a family residence.
A family was living in it. Mahogany walls, crystal light fixtures, and all. In 1953, the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club purchased the Atlanta, and the following year, 1954, they moved it to this very site in Jefferson.
Today it stands as a focal point in Jefferson's heritage tourism industry. A private palace on wheels, built for one of the most powerful men of the Gilded Age — and it ended up right here. Some things just find the place they were always meant to be.
What the marker says
Built in 1888 by the American Car & Foundry Company of St. Charles, Missouri, this was the private railway car of Jay Gould (1836-1892). A native of New York, Gould was a noted financier and the owner of numerous railroad companies, including the Union Pacific, The Missouri Pacific, the International & Great Northern, and The Texas Pacific. This car, named "Atlanta," remained in Gould family ownership until the 1930s. Elaborately designed and elegantly furnished, the Atlanta features two observation rooms, four staterooms, two baths, a butler's pantry, kitchen, dining room, and office. Interior materials include mahogany and curly maple woodwork, silver bathroom accessories, and crystal light fixtures. Following Jay Gould's death in 1892, the car was used by his son, George Jay Gould (president of the Texas and Pacific Railroad), and his wife, actress Edith Kingston. The car later was brought to Texas from St. Louis and used as a family residence during the 1930s East Texas oil boom. Purchased in 1953 by the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club, it was moved to this site in 1954. It remains a focal point in Jefferson's heritage tourism industry.