Railroad sneaked into Yuma in 1877
The Yuma ticles Editor’s from Sun past is Note: reprinting newspapers arthroughout the year as part of the Yuma Sun’s 150th anniversary, honoring Yuma’s unique history. This column is one in a series written by local historian Frank Love that appeared periodically in the newspaper.
The growing town of Yuma was a pawn in the struggle between tycoons who owned major American railroads in
1877. In the end, four California capitalists won in a final episode that made the commander of Fort Yuma look very foolish.
Known as “the Big Four,” the Californians were Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins. They owned the Central Pacific Railroad, which had the only tracks entering California from the east. It was a monopoly they intended to keep. Their opponent was Tom Scott, owner of the Texas and Pacific Railroad.
Congress in 1871 gave Scott’s Texas and Pacific a land grant to cross New Mexico and Arizona where it was to connect with the Southern Pacific at the Colorado River. Southern Pacific had been organized in 1865 with the goal of building tracks to San Diego and then connecting with a railroad to be built westward from the Mississippi River. Realizing that Southern Pacific might in the future succeed in connecting with another railroad entering California, the Big Four purchased it in 1868. But they didn’t intend to allow Southern Pacific to connect with another railroad entering California. To prevent that possibility, they intended to push Southern Pacific as far as El Paso.
The Texas Pacific land grant caused the Big Four to realize that Texas Pacific might reach the Colorado River and challenge their monopoly. They began building Southern Pacific east from Los Angeles to head off the rival. By May 1876, Southern Pacific tracks reached into Indio, but there was no great haste to push on to the Colorado River at Yuma since Texas Pacific was still building across Texas.
Tom Scott jolted Southern Pacific out of its complacency. He sent a construction crew to Yuma in October, 1876, to grade approaches to the river for a Texas Pacific bridge. The Big Four reacted by putting Southern Pacific construction crews to work building its tracks toward Yuma so that Southern Pacific could cross the Colorado first. By April 1, 1877, Southern Pacific had reached the Fort Yuma Military Reservation and received permission to build its tracks across the federal land. The crews began laying rails and building a bridge over the river.
Once over the river, Southern Pacific needed passage across Yuma. Phineas Banning, part owner of Southern Pacific, was sent to town to get a right of way. His lobbying resulted in the town council passing Ordinance #7, giving the railroad 100 acres of land with the provision that trains had to be running through town by July, 1878. Shortly thereafter, the Arizona Territorial Legislature passed a bill giving Southern Pacific land to build its tracks across Arizona.
Scott realized that the Big Four was trying to head off his Texas Pacific. Using his considerable clout in Washington, he got the Secretary of War to order Southern Pacific to stop construction on the bridge until Congress approved. The Big Four responded with outrage, arguing that the sun and the elements would damage stockpiled construction materials. Taking note of their complaint, the Secretary changed the order allowing Southern Pacific to complete the bridge except for the rails needed to make it usable. Major Thomas Dunn, commanding officer at Fort Yuma, was instructed to see that Southern Pacific obeyed.
The Big Four didn’t intend to be stopped. On Sept. 29, 1877, they ordered Seth Green, their construction superintendent, to complete the bridge and link it with tracks on the California side. They intended to send a train into Yuma the next day.
Major Dunn learned of Southern Pacific’s plans before the crews could begin work. It was his responsibility to stop them, although his entire command at Fort Yuma was only one private and a sergeant. The private was placed on the bridge with orders to see that no work was done. By 11 p.m., Dunn thought it safe to relieve the soldier on the bridge who returned to his bunk at Fort Yuma.
With the soldier gone, Superintendent Green put his men to work on the bridge. All went well until 2 a.m., when a careless worker dropped a rail. A loud clang rang out across the desert, and Major
Dunn hurried to the bridge to find out what was going on. He ordered the work stopped and again ordered the private to stand guard. Convinced that nothing more was needed, Dunn went back to Fort Yuma.
The soldier remained at his post on the bridge in the darkness until he heard the sound of something moving down the tracks toward him. When he was able to see that it was a freight car loaded with rails, he wisely stepped aside and fled back to Fort Yuma.
Major Dunn returned to the bridge and told Superintendent Green he was under arrest. But when the construction crew began making a threatening advance toward him, Dunn wisely chose not to force the issue and returned to the fort. The crew went back to work. The next morning, Sept. 30, 1877, a locomotive steamed across the new bridge and into Yuma, pulling a work train with its whistle at full blast.
In the end, Southern Pacific’s owners humiliated the Army even more. Although their tracks crossed an army reservation, they charged the military for use of the bridge. Records in the National Archives indicate that the army paid the railroad for using of the bridge until about 1883.