Saint Paul and Sioux City Rail Road Co. - 1871 dated Railway Stock Certificate
Inv# RS4499A Stock
Minnesota
Stock printed by Snyder, Black & Sturn with 25 cents revenue stamp.
The St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad was a pivotal development in the mid-19th-century expansion of the rail network into the American Midwest. Established on March 4, 1864, as the Minnesota Valley Railroad Company, the company’s initial objective was to construct a rail line from St. Paul, Minnesota, to the southern border of the state, connecting to Sioux City, Iowa. The project was heavily incentivized by substantial land grants from the U.S. government, providing ten sections of land per mile of track constructed. Construction commenced shortly after incorporation, and the line reached Belle Plaine, Minnesota, by November 1866. On April 7, 1869, the company underwent a name change to the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company as it continued its expansion across the open prairie. The main line was completed to Le Mars, Iowa, by September 1872, at which point it connected with other lines to achieve full operational access to Sioux City.
The railroad played a significant role in regional development by providing essential transportation for goods and people, transforming small trading towns into thriving centers of commerce. Despite encountering challenges such as severe winters and legal disputes regarding land grants, the company successfully operated a vital route connecting the Twin Cities to Iowa and beyond. The St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad’s independent existence was relatively brief; in 1881, it was acquired and merged with other regional lines, including the West Wisconsin Railway, to form the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway (commonly referred to as the “Omaha Road”). This consolidation integrated the St. Paul to Sioux City route into a larger system that eventually became an integral component of the Chicago and North Western Railway. Today, portions of the original trackage are incorporated into the Union Pacific Railroad network.
A stock certificate is issued by businesses, usually companies. A stock is part of the permanent finance of a business. Normally, they are never repaid, and the investor can recover his/her money only by selling to another investor. Most stocks, or also called shares, earn dividends, at the business's discretion, depending on how well it has traded. A stockholder or shareholder is a part-owner of the business that issued the stock certificates.
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