DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm tellin' this one straight from the official marker, so let's see what the record has to say about iron rails and a town born on the back of a flatcar. You want to talk about a railroad with something to prove, start with the Texas Central Railway. Chartered on May 31, 1879, it was owned by the Houston and Texas Central Railway, and it had its eye locked in a westward race through North Central Texas — competing head to head with the Texas Pacific to lay track through the heart of the state.
That kind of competition has a way of making things happen fast. And fast it was. Starting out from Ross Station near Waco in 1879, the Texas Central reached the Erath-Comanche County line by 1880.
Now understand — railroad construction in Texas had been interrupted, first by the Civil War, then battered again by the national economic depression of the early 1870s. So when the late 1870s and early 1880s brought a period of recovery, railroads across Texas were pushing hard to make up for lost time. The Texas Central was right there at the front of that charge.
Then came April 10, 1881 — the day the Texas Central laid out the town of De Leon. Just like that, a town drawn into existence by the railroad's ambition. And if that wasn't enough of a story, a few months later, on July 7, railroad official Robert M.
Elgin climbed up on the back of a flatcar and conducted the sale of town lots right then and there. Out in the open. Off a railcar.
Now, the marker tells us the initial sale of lots was slow — and you can almost picture it, Elgin standing up there doing his level best with a crowd that wasn't entirely convinced yet. But the town didn't stay skeptical for long. De Leon soon developed and began drawing new settlers coming up from the Southeastern United States.
Railroad offices went up. Shops followed. A roundhouse was built.
And De Leon became the primary shipping point for the area — first cotton, and later peanuts and other products. A town that started with a slow auction off a flatcar grew into the place that moved the goods. In 1910, the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad — the Katy, as folks knew it — acquired the line, and it kept right on running.
All the way until 1967. That's when local backers stepped in, purchased part of the line, and made sure the shipping service didn't die. They kept it alive under a name that tells you exactly what the land out there had become known for — The Peanut Line, connecting Dublin, De Leon, and Gorman.
From a slow flatcar auction to a lifeline called The Peanut Line — that, friend, is a town and a railroad that earned their place on the map.
What the marker says
Railroad construction in Texas, interrupted by the Civil War and by the national economic depression of the early 1870s, began a period of recovery in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Chartered on May 31, 1879, the Texas Central Railway was owned by the Houston & Texas Central Railway and was in competition with the Texas Pacific to build a line westward through North Central Texas. Extending from Ross Station near Waco in 1879, the Texas Central reached the Erath-Comanche County line in 1880. The Texas Central laid out the town of De Leon on April 10, 1881, and railroad official Robert M. Elgin conducted the sale of town lots from the back of a flatcar on July 7. Although the initial sale of lots was slow, the town soon developed and attracted new settlers from the Southeastern United States. Railroad offices, shops, and a roundhouse were built here, and De Leon became the area's primary shipping point for cotton and, later, peanuts and other products. Acquired by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (Katy) Railroad in 1910, the line continued to operate until 1967, when local backers purchased part of the line and continued to provide shipping service to customers along "The Peanut Line" connecting Dublin, De Leon, and Gorman. (1994)