ABSTRACT: Letter written by Stephen Howard about the Montgomery and West Point Railroad.
SCOPE: This document, written in Macon County, Alabama, is a rare item in the collection. The document is the record of the rental of an enslaved person, Silas, for the rate of $150 per year to help work on the railroad. Silas’s owner, Spencer Howard, received all the funds for Silas’s labor.
EXTENT: One letter, front and back
HISTORY: The Montgomery and West Point Railroad was built from Alabama east to the Chattahoochee River due to the desire of Montgomery businessmen to trade with other parts of the state and with states bordering Alabama. In order to accomplish this, slaves were hired to work on the railroad, but their wages went to their enslavers. This practice was not uncommon on railroads in the South and continued into the Civil War, especially as labor shortages hit the industry as a result of the increased demands of the Confederate war effort and the loss of population centers to Union occupation.
ACCESS: This collection can be viewed on-site in the Rare Book and Manuscripts Reading Room. Some of the material may be photocopied, digitally scanned or photographed, subject to condition and other access restrictions. Information on conducting research with the archival collections of the Library, including current building hours and reading room policies, can be found on our Research page. The St. Louis Mercantile Library is located on levels one and two of the Thomas Jefferson Library building on the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ north campus.
Preferred Citation note: The preferred citation for this collection is “From the collections of the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library at the University of Missouri – St. Louis."
