Illinois Central Railroad Co. - 1851 dated $500 Railway Bond - Beautiful Graphics

$500 7% Construction Bond printed by Danforth, Bald & Co., New York & Phila. The Illinois Central Railroad, designated by the reporting mark IC and often referred to as the Main Line of Mid-America, was a significant railway in the central region of the United States. Its main routes established connections between Chicago, Illinois, and New Orleans, Louisiana, as well as Mobile, Alabama. Additionally, a line was established linking Chicago to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1870. A notable branch extended to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1899, located west of Fort Dodge, Iowa, while another branch reached Sioux Falls, South Dakota, starting from Cherokee, Iowa, in 1877. It is important to note that the Sioux Falls branch has since been completely abandoned.

The Illinois Central was chartered by the Illinois General Assembly on February 10, 1851. Prominent figures such as Senator Stephen A. Douglas and later President Abraham Lincoln were instrumental in its establishment. Douglas owned land adjacent to the terminal in Chicago, while Lincoln served as the railroad's legal counsel. To protect the public's interests, Illinois legislators appointed Samuel D. Lockwood, a recently retired member of the Illinois Supreme Court, as a trustee on the railroad's board. Lockwood, who would serve for over twenty years until his passing, had previously managed federal land funds shortly after Illinois achieved statehood and played a role in the early construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.