Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Co. - 1882 dated Railway Stock Certificate

Railroad Stock issued to and signed on back by CSA officer and Governor of Tennessee Jas. D. Porter. 2 encircled vignettes- one inside the coal mines and one outside with coal train.

James Davis Porter (December 7, 1828 – May 18, 1912) was an American attorney, politician, educator, and officer of the Confederate Army. He served as Governor of Tennessee from 1875 to 1879. He was subsequently appointed as Assistant Secretary of State during President Grover Cleveland's first administration, and Minister to Chile in Cleveland's second administration. As an elected state legislator on the eve of the Civil War, Porter had introduced the "Porter resolutions," which bound Tennessee to the Confederacy should war be declared. He served during much of the war as chief of staff to Confederate General Benjamin F. Cheatham, and saw action at various battles in Tennessee and Georgia. Porter spent his later years as chancellor of his alma mater, the University of Nashville, and as president of Peabody College. This was established at the University of Nashville during his gubernatorial administration. He oversaw the liquidation and transfer of the University of Nashville's assets to the Peabody Education Fund, which allowed Peabody College to be re-established near Vanderbilt University in 1909.

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company (1852–1952), commonly known as TCI or the Tennessee Company, was a major American steel manufacturer with extensive interests in coal and iron ore mining and railroad operations. Originally based in Tennessee, the company shifted most of its operations to Alabama in the late 19th century. TCI owned several satellite towns around Birmingham, including Ensley, Fairfield, Docena, Edgewater, and Bayview, and held a substantial real estate portfolio.

Once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, TCI was included in the inaugural Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896. However, in 1907, the company merged with its main competitor, the United States Steel Corporation. TCI then operated as a subsidiary of U.S. Steel for 45 years before becoming a division of its parent company in 1952.

The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company was initially established as the Sewanee Furnace Company in 1852 by Nashville entrepreneurs aiming to capitalize on Tennessee's abundant coal reserves and the railroad boom of the 19th century. The venture struggled financially, and in 1859, it was sold to New York investors and reorganized as the Tennessee Coal and Rail Company. However, the onset of the Civil War in 1860 led to the company being reclaimed by local creditors.

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