Studies Weekly - Week #23 - Railroad Boom

​Studies Weekly - Week #23 - Railroad Boom

​There weren't very many types of transportation in early Texas. Each type had problems. Many Texas rivers were too shallow for large steamboats to use all year. Horse-drawn coach rides were slow, hot, and dusty. The few roads in Texas that did exist were nearly impassable in wet weather. It cost a lot of money to transport goods by wagon or cart. The bad roads made the journeys longer, harder, and, therefore, more expensive.

Multiple Choice

There weren't very many types of transportation in early Texas. Each type had problems such as

• Rivers were too shallow for large steamboats to use all year.

• Horse-drawn coach rides were slow, hot, and dusty.

• The few roads in Texas that did exist were nearly impassable in wet weather.

• All of the above.

​Texas needed new methods of transportation that people could count on. Many proposals for improvements to roads and canals were presented, but, ultimately, the railroad proved to be the most effective.

​Railroad companies started laying tracks in the eastern United States in the early 1800s. When people moved and started new communities, the railroads followed them. New tracks helped connect new communities. Texas didn't have many large cities and wanted more people to move to the state. People outside the state wanted an easy way to get from the eastern United States to Texas.

Multiple Choice

Railroad companies started laying tracks in the eastern United States in the early

• 1600's

• 1700's

• 1800's

• 1900's

​Several companies tried and failed to start a successful railroad company or build any tracks in Texas. Finally, in 1850, the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway Company was successfully established. This company began laying tracks in 1851. Late the following year, the first locomotive arrived. On Sept. 7, 1853, the first 20-mile rail segment between the towns of Harrisburg and Stafford’s Point opened. Today, Harrisburg is now part of Houston, and Stafford’s Point is simply called Stafford.

Multiple Choice

Several companies tried and failed to start a successful railroad company or build any tracks in Texas.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The first 20-mile rail segment between the towns of Harrisburg and Stafford’s Point opened on

• Sept. 7, 1854

• Sept. 7, 1853

• Sept. 7, 1851

​The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos, and Colorado Railway Company was only the start of successful railroads in the state of Texas. Soon, other companies started laying tracks, and railroads were being built all across the state. The next line of tracks was a 25-mile segment between Houston and Cypress, then a seven-mile segment within Houston. By 1861, less than a decade after the first railroad was built, roughly 470 miles of railroad tracks had been laid by nine different railroad companies in the state of Texas.

​Railroads drastically changed travel and transport in Texas. A journey that once took a day and a half by coach could now be made in under two hours. Because of this, the demand for railroad expansion spread across the state.

Multiple Choice

True or False:

Railroads drastically changed travel and transport in Texas.

• True

• False

​During the 1870s and 1880s, a boom began in Texas. A boom is a period of time where something grows rapidly. The state was growing, and railroad companies started building more tracks there. Starting in 1852, the state government began giving away land to railroad companies. In exchange for the land, the companies built new tracks.

Multiple Choice

According to this article, what is a boom?

• a loud sound

• a kick or punt

• a microphone stand

• rapid growth

​The railroad companies built so many new tracks that by 1882, Texas ran out of land to give away. The first railroad tracks were in South Texas by the Gulf Coast. Over time, the boom spread north. Texas started with only about 470 miles of railroad tracks, but within 30 years, it had more than 8,000 miles.

Multiple Choice

It took less than 10 years to lay the first 470 miles of railroad track. How many years did it take to build the next 8,000 miles?

• about 10 more years

• about three more years

• about 30 more years

• about a century

​The first major change to Texas during this boom period was the number of people who came to the state. People came from many other states and countries. Many cities and towns grew along railroad routes as more and more people poured into Texas. The population of Texas grew from about 800,000 to more than two million.

Multiple Choice

What was the first major change in Texas as a result of the railroad?

• more businesses

• population growth

• lots of railroad yards

• all of the above