Planning and narrow-gauge line The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad (G&SI) was developed under three charters provided by the
Mississippi State Legislature. The first charter was given in 1850, followed by a second in 1856. The second charter expired and lapsed because of the
American Civil War and
Reconstruction. In 1871, financier
William Clark Falkner chartered the Ripley Railroad to build a
narrow gauge line in northeast Mississippi. It opened between
Ripley, Mississippi, and
Middleton, Tennessee, on August 30, 1872. Falkner aimed to extend the line to the Gulf Coast and the Ohio River; in 1878, he changed the name to the Ship Island, Ripley, and Kentucky Railroad. Falkner and
William Wirt Adams rechartered the G&SI in 1882; two years later, they were granted the rights given to the previous iterations of the company. The company stopped operation in 1885 due to lack of money. After an 1886 reorganization, the presidency was offered to William H. Hardy. In 1887, Hardy agreed to construct the line from his
New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad at
Hattiesburg (named in honor of his wife Hattie Lott Hardy) to the Gulf. He chose the natural deep-water harbor protected by
Ship Island and proposed a new city,
Gulfport, as the railroad terminal. By the late 1800s, Joseph T. Jones had made a fortune in oil wells and oil pipelines in
Pennsylvania and
West Virginia. He heard of the potential for investment in the bankrupt railroad being constructed in Mississippi that included of timberland, as well as another of timberland available for harvest. Jones, along with other investors, formed the Bradford Construction Company to buy the bankrupt railroad and pursue the investment opportunity in Mississippi. The longest section of the G&SI was completed by the Bradford Construction Company of Pennsylvania, under the leadership and financing of J.T. Jones. In 1901, Jones bought out his partners, and the Bradford Construction Company merged with the Gulf and Ship Island Railroad Company. which kept him at the
State Capital in
Jackson, precluding his involvement with the railroad. On October 3, 1896, the railroad was completed between Gulfport and Hattiesburg. In mid-1899, work began on an extension northwards to Jackson plus a branch from Saratoga to Laurel. The eastern portion of the Laurel branch was in use by that October. Passenger service on the main line was extended north to Saratoga in April 1900. The Jackson extension opened on July 5, 1900, with passenger service added on August 1. The Laurel branch was completed to Saratoga on August 31, 1900. A branch from
Maxie to
Columbia opened later in 1900. It was extended in April 1906 to rejoin the main line at
Mendenhall.
Operation The Gulf and Ship Island Railroad operated exclusively in the State of Mississippi. The company eventually owned approximately of standard gauge main rail line, of branch lines and of track in Gulfport. The G&SIRR Company controlled a 6-mile (9.7-km) long
channel in the Gulf of Mexico that connected the mainland to Ship Island. Dredging of a shipping channel was completed by the S.S. Bullis Company in 1902; it connected Ship Island and the main railroad terminal at Gulfport. The IC acquired the G&SIRR in 1925. The IC discontinued Jackson–Gulfport passenger service in November 1950, defying an order the month before from the Mississippi Public Service Commission. The IC obtained an injunction against the order. The injunction was dissolved in 1954; the commission renewed its order, but the railroad obtained another injunction in August 1954. A federal court ruled in favor of the railroad in 1956. The municipalities along the line declined to fund an appeal to the Supreme Court. ==See also==