Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. Now, long before a single spike was driven into the ground out west, back in 1852, the Texas Legislature went ahead and chartered what would eventually become the Texas and Pacific Railway Company. Mind you, the nation's first transcontinental rail line wouldn't be completed until 1869; so Texas was thinkin' big before big was fashionable.

Then the Civil War came along and halted that progress, the way it halted just about everything else. But by 1888, the T&P had made it to Weatherford, pushin' westward toward the Pacific coast. Here's where the land itself gets a say in the matter.

Those Palo Pinto Hills were stubborn enough that the tracks turned south to go around them. And that decision left northwestern Parker County and most of Palo Pinto County sitting out there without rail support. No tracks, no connection; just hills and stage roads and patience.

Now, Mineral Wells had become a resort town in the 1880s. People were coming. A stage line ran from there down to the railroad at Millsap, and it got the job done, but the town's popularity was calling for something better.

Something on iron rails. So several men, led by one W.A. Stone of Missouri, went and got themselves a charter in 1889 for the Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railway Company.

Say that name three times fast. The line was going to link Mineral Wells to Weatherford, which by then had both the T&P and the Santa Fe railroads rolling through it. The WMW&NWRR (and yes, that's quite an abbreviation) set up a depot, offices, and a repair shop right there in Weatherford.

The new line was built largely on land obtained from the Franco-Texan Land Company, and it included stops at Lemley, Franco, Garner, and Rock Creek. Then came January 1st, 1891. New Year's Day.

A crowd gathered in Mineral Wells to greet the first train's arrival, and you can only imagine what that felt like: iron wheels, steam, and the sound of a town finally connected to the wider world. By 1899, approximately 33,000 passengers a year were making that trip between Weatherford and Mineral Wells. Thirty-three thousand.

The line hauled freight too, not just resort-goers. T&P eventually acquired the line and pushed it further out to Salesville, Oran, and Graford. But decades have a way of wearing things down, and by the beginning of the 1940s, highway expansion had made the rail line no longer productive.

It looked like the end. Then World War II arrived, and with it the training of troops at nearby Camp Wolters. That was enough to resurrect the line, at least briefly.

Wars have a way of finding uses for things the peacetime world had set aside. The line went on to become part of the Missouri Pacific system in 1988, and then, in 1992, it closed for good. A hundred years after that New Year's crowd cheered the first train into Mineral Wells, the rails fell quiet.

Some stories end with a bang. This one ends with the last train pulling away and nobody much there to wave goodbye.

What the marker says

In 1852, years before the nation's first transcontinental rail line was completed in 1869, the Texas Legislature chartered what would become the Texas & Pacific Railway Company. The Civil War halted progress, but in 1888 the line reached Weatherford in its advance westward to the Pacific coast. The tracks then turned south to avoid the Palo Pinto Hills. This left northwestern Parker County and most of Palo Pinto County without rail support. In the 1880s, Mineral Wells became a resort. A stage line connected it to the railroad at Millsap, but the town's popularity called for a rail connection. Several men, led by W.A. Stone of Missouri, received a charter for the Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railway Company in 1889. The line linked Mineral Wells to Weatherford, which by then was served by the T&P and Santa Fe railroads. The WMW&NWRR established a depot, offices and repair shop in Weatherford. The new line, built largely on land obtained from the Franco-Texan Land Company, included stops at Lemley, Franco, Garner and Rock Creek. On January 1, 1891, a crowd in Mineral Wells greeted the first train's arrival, and by 1899 approximately 33,000 passengers made the trip each year from Weatherford to Mineral Wells. The line also supported freight shipments. T&P eventually acquired the line and extended it to Salesville, Oran and Graford. By the beginning of the 1940s, after decades of highway expansion, the rail line was no longer productive. The advent of World War II and the training of troops at nearby Camp Wolters resurrected the line briefly. It became part of the Missouri Pacific system in 1988 and closed in 1992. (2006)