DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's a tale worth tellin'. Back in 1865, somebody had a vision: a railroad stretching all the way from the St. Louis-Kansas City area down to the Gulf of Mexico.
So the Union Pacific Railway southern branch got incorporated, and the building began. Now, railroads don't just lay themselves, and this one had a ways to go. By 1870, construction had pushed clear to the border of Indian Territory — and at that point, the line got a new name to match its ambitions: the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad.
That's a mouthful, so folks shortened it to M-K-T. And from M-K-T, well, something happened that only the best nicknames do — it softened, it stuck, it became the Katy. The Katy.
You hear that name out here in North Texas and people still smile a little. Following the route of an old cattle trail, the Katy pushed on and made history — the first railroad to cross Indian Territory, what is now the state of Oklahoma, and enter Texas from the north. First one.
Then came Christmas Day, 1872. Over a hundred passengers climbed aboard and rode the first Katy train into Denison — a brand new townsite named for M-K-T Vice President George Denison. Picture that: Christmas morning, a new town, a locomotive rolling in like it owns the place.
Because, in a way, it did. The Katy didn't slow down after that. Branch lines got built and acquired until the system reached east to Greenville, west to Rotan and Wichita Falls, and south all the way to Galveston and San Antonio.
By 1904, the Katy was running over a thousand miles of track in Texas alone. A thousand miles. It hauled cattle, cotton, and other crops to market.
And it carried passengers on trains with names that sound like they belong on a movie poster — the Texas Special and the Katy Flyer. Those trains rolled on until passenger service ended in 1965. By 1975, Denison was still very much a Katy town — serving as a division headquarters on the M-K-T, home to about six hundred railroad employees.
A Christmas arrival that became a century of Texas commerce. That's the Katy for you.
What the marker says
In 1865 the Union Pacific Railway southern branch was incorporated to build a railroad from the St. Louis-Kansas City area to the Gulf of Mexico. In 1870, with construction completed to the border of Indian Territory, the line was renamed the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad. This title was often shortened to M-K-T, which led to the familiar nickname by with the line is best known -- "The Katy." Following the route of an old cattle trail, the Katy became the first railroad to cross Indian Territory, now the state of Oklahoma, and enter Texas from the north. On Christmas Day 1872, over 100 passengers rode the first Katy train into Denison, a new townsite named for M-K-T Vice President George Denison. The construction and acquisition of branch lines soon extended the Katy east to Greenville, west to Rotan and Wichita Falls, and south to Galveston and San Antonio. By 1904, the system had over 1,000 miles of track in Texas. The railroad transported cattle, cotton, and other crops to market. It also carried passengers on such trains as the "Texas Special" and the "Katy Flyer" before passenger service ended in 1965. Today (1975) Denison is a division headquarters on the M-K-T and the home of about 600 railroad employees.