Then & Now: A History of Rice County, Faribault & Communities

Early days LeSueur House, corner 4th St. and Third Ave. NW
CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC
What is now the Rock Island System first came
under discussion in June, 1845.
By a special act of the Illinois Legislature, the
Rock Island and LaSalle Railroad company was
incorporated on February 27, 1847, but raising money
to build the line was difficult because people had little
faith in a railroad that merely connected two
waterways, the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.
However, the organizers decided to petition the
legislature to build all the way into Chicago rather than
just between Rock Island and LaSalle, Illinois. The
amended charter was approved by a special act of the
Illinois Legislature on February 7, 1851 and the name
changed to Chicago and Rock Island Railroad.
On October 1, 1851, the first spade of dirt was
turned on 22nd Street, the southern limits of Chicago,
and the official construction of the railroad began.
On October 10, 1852, a gaily painted little engine
called the Rocket, with six sparkling new yellow
coaches started the first passenger run of the road
between Joliet and Chicago, a distance of forty miles.
The trip took two hours. There was no turning facilities
at Joliet so the train had to back up all the way back to
Chicago.
During 1853-1862 the road continued to push further
westward.
On April 22, 1856, the first train operated between
Rock Island and Davenport and two weeks later, the
Effie Afton, a steamboat, hit the new bridge over the
Mississippi and burst into flames and destroyed the
draw portion of the railroad bridge. A historic action
was started · against the steamboat owners and
Abraham Lincoln was the attorney for the railroad.
Court litigation continued for several years and
Lincoln argued the case before the Supreme Court and
in 1862, an opinion was handed down in favor of the
railroad.
The line kept coming west and on July 9, 1886, the
name was changed to Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific
Railroad.
In 1885, the Rock Island purchased the majority of
the outstanding stock of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids,
and Northern Railroad.
Grant gets contract
The Burlington-Cedar Rapids awarded a contract
to Donald Grant, a Faribault railroad contractor, to
build the grade from someplace south of Faribault to
Comus, a junction point with the Chicago and
Milwaukee Railroad. The Burlington then continued to
operate over the Milwaukee to Rosemount and then on
its own line to South St. Paul, and on to St. Paul and
Minneapolis. The Straight was moved to the east and
all the area from the present post office in Faribault
was filled in. The Burlington Depot was opened in
January, 1902.
On June 1, 1902, the Burlington-Cedar Rapids and
Northern leased its property to the Rock Island for 999
years. The June 1, 1902 date would be the date of the
first Rock Island operated train through Faribault.
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