Galveston Houston and Henderson

Company History: The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad Company was chartered on February 7, 1853, to build from Galveston through Houston to Henderson. The early incorporators included W. C. Lacy, T. P. Anderson, R. A. Harris, and William M. Tuck. The company was an important carrier as it was, for a number of years, Galveston's only rail connection with the Texas railroad system centering at Houston. Although supported in Galveston and Houston, much of the early financing was provided by investors in Holland and France. Construction of the "Old Reliable Short Line," as the road was later called, began at Virginia Point on the mainland opposite Galveston Island in 1854. However, the first rail was not laid until 1857 and in 1859 the company finally reached Houston, where it terminated at the corner of Main and McKinney. Only two curves, one on either side of Harrisburg, were required between Virginia Point and Houston. A trestle across Galveston Bay, built from the proceeds of a Galveston County bond issue, was finished in 1860, thus completing the rail line between the two cities. The original company was sold out in 1860, and a new Galveston, Houston and Henderson was organized under the original charter. During the Civil War the railroad remained active, handling the traffic to and from the blockade runners reaching Galveston. The tracks and the Galveston Bay bridge were used by Gen. John B. Magruder in his recapture of Galveston on January 1, 1863. In 1867 the bondholders of the original company forced the railroad into receivership. Over the ensuing four years an acrimonious court battle was fought between the stockholders and bondholders before the Galveston, Houston and Henderson was ordered sold under foreclosure on December 15, 1871. A third company was organized under the original charter which acquired and merged the Galveston and Houston Junction Railroad Company later that month.

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