Biography/History:

The Illinois Central Railroad Company was chartered in the state of Illinois on February 10, 1851. Its purpose was to build a rail line in Illinois connecting Cairo, located at the fork of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and Galena, located at the extreme northwestern corner of the state. The company completed additional rail lines between Centralia, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, on September 27, 1856.

In March of 1872, Illinois Central president William H. Osborn sought financing for the acquisition of the Central Mississippi and the New Orleans, Jackson, and Northern railroads. The board of directors subsequently approved Osborn’s plan, and the Illinois Central acquired these two southern railways, later merging them to form the Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans Railroad, which was chartered on November 17, 1877. Its new name reflected the direct access to the South that the Illinois Central had achieved through the merger. The Illinois Central signed a four-hundred-year lease with the Chicago, St. Louis, and New Orleans Railroad on June 13, 1882. The Illinois Central officially established itself south of the Ohio River when the lease went into effect on July 1, 1882.

The Illinois Central built a depot at the corner of Capitol and Mill streets in downtown Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1888. The depot soon became the headquarters of the Mississippi division offices of the railroad. A fire gutted the depot on December 20, 1896, causing an estimated fifty thousand dollars in damage and lost freight. Workers began to rebuild the depot two days later. The new Jackson depot continued to be a major hub for Illinois Central’s southern operations. The Illinois Central began a program to improve street-traffic flow in downtown Jackson in 1925. A new depot, located on the same site, was also built at that time. All improvements were completed the following year. The Illinois Central continued to own and operate the Jackson depot until 1995, when the city signed an option to buy the property and began to raise funds for an extensive renovation project. The renovations began in the spring of 1999.

The Illinois Central built a depot at Canton, Madison County, Mississippi, in 1890. The roundhouse for the Louisiana and Mississippi divisions was located there, and the depot also became a hub for much of Illinois Central’s southern operations. There was also a turntable, which enabled engines to be turned around for the trip back to Memphis, Tennessee. The northern and southern annexes were added to the depot in 1926. The Illinois Central sold the depot to the Canton Redevelopment Authority in July of 1991. The depot was restored as a railroad museum in June of 1999.

Scope and Content:

This collection consists of administrative, personnel, and shipping records documenting the Mississippi operations of the Illinois Central Railroad Company.

The administrative and personnel records consist of call books and conductors’ train registers. The call books (1894-1895) contain the times of train arrivals and the names and signatures of men called by train masters to meet northbound and southbound trains. The conductors’ train registers (1894) record train, engine, caboose, and section numbers; colors of trains; numbers of empty and loaded freight cars; engineers; conductors; and arrival, departure, and watch-compared dates and times of northbound and southbound trains in the Louisiana District. The cover of one of the conductors’ train registers is inscribed with the name of B. F. Galvani, who was apparently the railroad agent in Canton. The other volumes appear to have been recorded at either Canton or Jackson.

The shipping records consist of cotton-checking and cotton-loading record books and waybill record books, which were kept at either the Canton or Jackson depots. The cotton-checking and cotton-loading record books (1886 to 1894) contain alphabetical and numerical information codes. They may indicate the compression status, owners’ marks, points of origin, and weights of cotton being loaded onto trains. Four receipts from the Canton Cotton Warehouse Company are included in the 1893-1894 volume. The waybill record books (1892-1895) include the names of consignors (shippers) and consignees (recipients), as well as the type of merchandise that was loaded and unloaded onto trains at various points along the Illinois Central route between Chicago and New Orleans. An 1892-1893 volume is a combination of cotton, livestock, and merchandise waybills. The cotton waybills portion of the volume records information on cotton shipments, including consignors and points of origin; consignees and destinations; number, condition, and weight of bales; freight charges; freight-car numbers; loading dates; and owners’ marks.

Series Identification:

1. Administrative and Personnel Records. 1894-1895. 5 bound volumes.

   Call books. 1894-1895. 3 bound volumes.

   Box 1, folder 1

   Conductors’ train registers. 1894. 2 bound volumes.

   Box 4

2. Shipping Records. 1886-1895. 7 bound volumes.

   Cotton-checking and cotton-loading record books. 1886-1894. 3 bound volumes.

   Box 2, folders 1-2
   Box 3, folders 1-3

   Waybill record books. 1892-1895. 4 bound volumes.

   Box 1, folders 2-3
   Box 4

• Box 1, folder 1: call books, 1894-1895.

  folders 2-3: waybill record books, 1892-1895.

• Box 2, folders 1-2: cotton-loading record books, 1886; 1891.

• Box 3, folders 1-3: cotton-checking record books, 1893-1894.

• Box 4: conductors’ train registers, 1894.

  waybill record books, 1892-1893.