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 Junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads
N 32° 47.034 W 096° 47.466
14S E 706869 N 3629490
Texas Historical Marker with some background on how Dallas's Pacific Avenue got its name, and just how the Houston & Texas Central Railroad was "convinced" to put their line a mile from the courthouse.
Waymark Code: WMH2TX
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/12/2013
Views: 10
The marker is located on the south side of Pacific Avenue, almost underneath the US75 bridge, near some trees that line up to a parking lot.
Marker Number: 15591
Marker Text:
The city of Dallas secured its role as the economic, communication and transportation center of North Texas with the completion of the junction of the Texas & Pacific and Houston & Texas Central Railroads in 1873. In 1871, as railroads began to approach Dallas, county and city leaders paid the Houston & Central Texas [sic] $5,000 to shift the proposed route seven miles to the west, so that it north-south tracks would run approximately one mile from the court house. One year later, when leaders could not convince the Texas & Pacific to shift their proposed route by payment, they devised a way to force the shift.
State Representative John V. Lane secured a rider amendment stating that the proposed east to west railroad extension cross the Houston and Texas Central line within one half mile of Browder’s Springs, which was the town’s public water supply. The legislators did not know that the springs were also located one mile from the Dallas County Courthouse. Angered by the amendment’s passage, the Texas & Pacific Railroad still planned to build the tracks one mile south of Browder’s Springs. However, the gift of right-of-way for the line along Burleson Avenue (which was changed to "Pacific Avenue" in honor of the rail company), $100,000 in bonds, and additional right-of-way at the intersection with the Houston & Central rail line for a depot finally convinced the Texas and Pacific to move the tracks to follow Pacific Avenue, downtown. The resulting intersection became one of the first rail crossroads in Texas. (2008)
Marker is property of the State of Texas
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