DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the junction of the Texas and Pacific and Houston and Texas Central Railroads in Dallas County. Now settle in, because this is a story about a city that wanted to be the center of everything — and very nearly had to outsmart a railroad to get there. The year is 1871, and the railroads are coming.
Not to Dallas necessarily, mind you — just near it, and near is not the same thing as through. County and city leaders knew that, and they acted fast. They paid the Houston and Texas Central five thousand dollars — cash — to shift their proposed north-south route seven miles to the west, so the tracks would run approximately one mile from the courthouse.
Done. One railroad in pocket. But then came the Texas and Pacific, movin' east to west, and that railroad was not interested in shifting for money.
Wouldn't hear of it. So the leaders had to get creative. They went to the legislature.
State Representative John V. Lane secured a rider amendment — tucked into the bill quiet as a secret — requiring that the Texas and Pacific's east-to-west extension cross the Houston and Texas Central line within one half mile of Browder's Springs, the town's public water supply. Now here's the part that makes you smile slow: the legislators voting on that amendment did not know that Browder's Springs happened to sit one mile from the Dallas County Courthouse.
The Texas and Pacific found out, and they were angry. Furious, even. They still planned to build their tracks one mile south of Browder's Springs, spite the amendment entirely.
But then Dallas sweetened the deal in a way that's harder to refuse than a cold drink on a July afternoon. A gift of right-of-way along Burleson Avenue — which was renamed Pacific Avenue in honor of the rail company — plus one hundred thousand dollars in bonds, plus additional right-of-way at the intersection with the Houston and Texas Central for a depot. That finally convinced the Texas and Pacific to move the tracks and follow Pacific Avenue, right into downtown.
And in 1873, the junction was complete. The resulting intersection became one of the first rail crossroads in the state of Texas, and Dallas secured its role as the economic, communication, and transportation center of North Texas. They didn't wait for the railroads to come to them.
They paid, they maneuvered, they legislated, and when all else failed — they made it worth everybody's while. That's how a city plants itself at the center of the map.
What the marker says
The city of Dallas secured its role as the economic, communication and transportation center of North Texas with the completion of the junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads in 1873. In 1871, as railroads began to approach Dallas, county and city leaders paid the Houston & Texas Central $5,000 to shift the proposed route seven miles to the west, so that it north-south tracks would run approximately one mile from the court house. One year later, when leaders could not convince the Texas & Pacific to shift their proposed route by payment, they devised a way to force the shift. State Representative John V. Lane secured a rider amendment stating that the proposed east to west railroad extension cross the Houston and Texas Central line within one half mile of Browder’s Springs, which was the town’s public water supply. The legislators did not know that the springs were also located one mile from the Dallas County Courthouse. Angered by the amendment’s passage, the Texas & Pacific Railroad still planned to build the tracks one mile south of Browder’s Springs. However, the gift of right-of-way for the line along Burleson Avenue (which was changed to “Pacific Avenue” in honor of the rail company), $100,000 in bonds, and additional right-of-way at the intersection with the Houston & Central rail line for a depot finally convinced the Texas and Pacific to move the tracks to follow Pacific Avenue, downtown. The resulting intersection became one of the first rail crossroads in Texas. (2008)