DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to do it justice. Now, picture this: it's 1880, and the State of Texas is handing out free land like a generous uncle at a family reunion — free land, that is, to anybody bold enough to lay railroad track across it. That offer caught some very interesting eyes.
A charter for the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad was secured that same year, 1880, and the men behind it were no ordinary backers. The major investor was one John W. Mackay, a man who had made his fortune in the Nevada silver mines.
Not a bad resume. But here's where the story gets its flavor. Mackay's brother-in-law, Count Joseph Telfener of Lombardy, Italy, stepped in to arrange the construction.
A Nevada silver millionaire and an Italian count. Texas has always attracted a certain kind of dreamer. Work began in 1880 on a ninety-one-mile stretch of track running between Rosenberg and Victoria.
Now, Count Telfener brought over a good number of Italian laborers to do the hard work of laying that line, and those men brought their habits with them — including their diet. Pasta. Regular, devoted, unapologetic pasta.
And the locals noticed. Before long, folks were calling the whole operation the Macaroni Line, and that nickname stuck like a good sauce. Along the way, Telfener and Mackay established six stations: Inez, Louise, Edna, Hungerford, Telfener, and Mackay.
They named those stations for themselves and family members, which is a particular kind of permanence — putting your people's names on the map, literally. The community of Hungerford was named for their father-in-law, Daniel E. Hungerford, who served as vice-president of the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad.
A man of consequence, clearly, even if history doesn't always shout his name. Now, here's where the tall tale meets a quieter truth. The Macaroni Line was not the successful business venture they had envisioned.
In 1885, the company was sold to Southern Pacific Railway. The grand dream, handed off. But Hungerford — the town, the community — kept right on going.
Farming and ranching gave it an economy, and it has continued to flourish over the years. A Nevada fortune, a Lombardy count, Italian laborers eating pasta on the Texas prairie, and six towns named for the families who dared to try. That's the Macaroni Line.
And that's how one little corner of Wharton County ended up carrying a piece of the whole varied history of the railroad in Texas.
What the marker says
Attracted by the State of Texas' offer of free land to railroad developers, a charter for the New York, Texas & Mexican Railroad was secured in 1880. Its major investor, John W. Mackay, made his fortune in the Nevada silver mines. His brother-in-law, count Joseph Telfener of Lombardy, Italy, arranged for the construction. Work began in 1880 on the 91-mile stretch of railroad track between Rosenberg and Victoria. The pasta diet of many of the Italian laborers lent itself to the railroad's nickname, the "Macaroni Line." Telfener and Mackay established six stations along the line--Inez, Louise, Edna, Hungerford, Telfener, and Mackay and named them for themselves and family members. The community of Hungerford was named for their father-in-law Daniel E. Hungerford, who served as vice-president of the New York, Texas & Mexican Railroad. Not the successful business venture they had envisioned, the company was sold to Southern Pacific Railway in 1885. With an economy based on farming and ranching, the community of Hungerford has continued to flourish over the years. Its origin is a reflection of the varied history of the railroad in Texas. (Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.)