Arthur E. Stilwell - Port Arthur, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 29° 52.746 W 093° 55.619
15R E 410484 N 3305749
Lifesize bust on the Lamar State University Campus at Port Arthur.
Waymark Code: WMZY6K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/22/2019
Views: 1
The lifesize bronze bust is displayed on a gray granite pillar in Stillwell Plaza. The bust shows a man in a suit coat and cravat. His hair is short and he has a mustache.
Text on pillar
ARTHUR E.
STILWELL
1859-1928
RAILROAD BUILDER
URBAN PROMOTER
FOUNDER OF THE
CITY OF PORT PORT ARTHUR
Wikipedia
"(October 21, 1859 – September 26, 1928) was the founder of Kansas City Southern Railway. He served as the railroad's president from 1897 to 1900. He was also the founder of Port Arthur, Texas.
In his quest to connect Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico by rail, he began building and acquiring rail lines for the Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad Company (later to become the Kansas City Southern Railroad), plotting townsites along the way which included Mena, Arkansas, Stilwell, Oklahoma, Port Arthur, Texas, and many more.
Setbacks including lawsuits, a hurricane, and yellow fever caused financial problems for the otherwise successful venture, and on April 1, 1899 the KCPG was thrown into receivership by one of its financiers, John Warne Gates, over an unpaid printing bill. Stilwell was out, but the discovery of a giant oilfield in Texas in 1901 ensured the railroad's future success.
In all, Arthur Stilwell organized 41 companies of various kinds during his career and is credited with building more than 2,300 miles of railroad in his lifetime and founding more than 40 cities."