Pacific Railway Act (1862)

Printer Friendly Version (PDF): Pacific Railway Act.pdf

Context: President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act into law in 1862, authorizing a new rail line from Missouri to California, but the Civil War slowed construction until 1865. The Transcontinental Railroad, connecting the east and west coasts, was completed on May 10, 1869. The federal government gave over 175 million acres of public land to the railroads for the project—an area bigger than the state of Texas. The railway aided settlement of the interior frontier. Farms and ranches near rail stations became valuable property, as the railroads offered easy access to eastern markets for agricultural goods.

The Pacific Railway Act July 1, 1862

An Act to aid in the Construction of a Railroad and Telegraph Line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

Be it enacted, That [names of corporators]; together with five commissioners to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior... are hereby created and erected into a body corporate . . . by the name . . . of “The Union Pacific Railroad Company” . . . ; and the said corporation is hereby authorized and empowered to lay out, locate, construct, furnish, maintain and enjoy a continuous railroad and telegraph... from a point on the one hundredth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich . . . to the western boundary of Nevada Territory . . .

Sec. 2. That the right of way through the public lands be . . . granted to said company for the construction of said railroad and telegraph line; and the right . . . is hereby given to said company to take from the public lands adjacent to the line of said road, earth, stone, timber, and other materials for the construction thereof; said right of way is granted to said railroad to the extent of two hundred feet in width on each side of said railroad when it may pass over the public lands, including all necessary grounds, for stations, buildings, workshops, and depots, machine shops, switches, side tracks, turn tables, and water stations. The United States shall extinguish as rapidly as may be the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this act . . .

Sec. 5. That for the purposes herein mentioned the Secretary of the Treasury shall . . . in accordance with the provisions of this act, issue to said company bonds of the United States of one thousand dollars each, payable in thirty years after date, paying six per centum per annum interest . . . to the amount of sixteen of said bonds per mile for each section of forty miles; and to secure the repayment to the United States . . . of the amount of said bonds... the issue of said bonds . . . shall ipso facto constitute a first mortgage on the whole line of the railroad and telegraph . . .

Sec. 10 . . . And the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California after completing its road across said State, is authorized to continue the construction of said railroad and telegraph through the Territories of the United States to the Missouri River... upon the terms and conditions provided in this act in relation to the Union Pacific Railroad Company, until said roads shall meet and connect . . .

Edited by: Prof. Stephen Duncan

Primary Source Material: U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. XII, p. 489 ff.

"Pacific Railway Act (1862)" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license by Prof. Stephen Duncan at Bronx Community College.