Attached is a system map of the Frisco from a visitor's guide to St. Louis around the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition, more popularly known as the "1904 St. Louis World's Fair". Note that although Oklahoma is identified, a chunk of it is labeled "Indian Terr'y". Rich
Note that this map shows from Seligman, MO to Leslie, Ark as part of the Frisco when at this time it was the St. Louis and North Arkansas Railroad. Goes to show how close the old North Arkansas was aligned with the Frisco in 1904. Before statehood in 1908 Oklahoma was officially divided into two different sections, most of the western part of the state was Oklahoma Territory while the eastern part was still the Indian Territory. John Chambers
Further study of the booklet that the map is from indicates that it was printed in 1905, not 1904. Also, Oklahoma became a state in 1907, not 1908. Rich
Yes, the St. L & NA was temporarily enough a part of the StL&SF that the Frisco System built the Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, which is still there and a nifty place to visit.
The notion that the Eureka Springs Rwy. or that its descendant, the St Louis and North Arkansas RR were a part of the Frisco is difficult to support. It’s my opinion that no such relationship existed, and at best, Captain Charles W. Rogers of the Frisco and Powell Clayton of the ES Rwy. were close friends, who sought to wed the ES Rwy. with the Frisco. Clayton and his investors sought the “affection” of Captain Rogers and his Frisco, and they nearly succeeded in “seducing” the Frisco. External conditions and ultimately Rogers’s death killed the union of the roads. The only relationship ever held by the Frisco was that of minority investor, and it was relationship that did not pay out for the Frisco. I hope that a very cursory review of history will support my contention. The history is taken from James Fair’s excellent text, “The North Arkansas Line”, a couple of original 1899 letters from the ES Rwy. and the Frisco, and a Frisco 1909 Annual report. In exchange for a very lucrative traffic agreement with the Frisco, the ES Rwy. gave the Frisco 1000 shares of stock at $100 per share, par, and an equal amount of second mortgage bonds. Based on the terms of the traffic agreement, the Frisco paid the ES Rwy. 10% of its gross receipts from passenger fares for travel to or through junction or terminal points on the Frisco. Likewise, a similar agreement existed for freight traffic. A $30,000.00 annual cap was placed on the payments to the ES Rwy. A total of 5000 shares were issued by the new company, and they were distributed as follows: Richard Kerens, St Louis, 1593 shares, 32%, Frisco, 1000 shares, 20%, Logan Roots, Little Rock, 683 shares, 14%, Powell Clayton, Eureka Springs, 569 shares, 11%, Bernard Baer, Ft Smith, 294 shares, 6%, Others, 861 shares, 17%. Former Arkansas governor, Powell Clayton, was elected the VP and General Manager of the ES Rwy. He and the Frisco’s Captain Charles W. Rogers were close friends, and they both promoted the ES Rwy. and the town of Eureka Springs. At the time that the ES Rwy. was constructed, 1882-1883, it could be argued that the ES Rwy. and the Frisco were minor rivals since both roads had made statements that Little Rock was a long term goal. The Frisco planned to reach that city via Chadwick, Mo and Harrison Ark, and the ES Rwy. planned reach the state capital by extending to Harrison, Ark, and then heading south. Once the railroad began operations, circa 1884-1885, the ES Rwy. investors hoped that the Frisco would buy them out, and extend their road. Captain Rogers viewed this idea favorably, and construction on the Chadwick Branch ceased. However, the Frisco’s financial condition was such that it would constrain any plan to purchase the ES Rwy. It was also during this time when Powell Clayton formed the Eureka Springs Improvement Company for the purpose of building the Crescent Hotel, which was completed during 1886. Captain Rogers was a member of the Board of Directors, and represented the Frisco’s $15,198.00 stock holding. So, to say that the Crescent was a Frisco-built hotel or that it was a Frisco hotel is inaccurate. The Frisco was not in the Hotel business per se, but ownership of such stock would promote passenger traffic (via the Frisco) to the region, and it would provide the railroad with secondary revenue based on that traffic; the Frisco was quite happy to place the coonskin on hotel stationery to accomplish that. During this period the Frisco owned stock in other hotel properties as well, e.g., Colonial Hotel Company and the Hotel Reality Company. The year 1886 may have been the year that ultimately decided the fate of the ES Rwy. and its descendant roads. It appears that by this time, Rogers had convinced the Frisco management to proceed with the purchase of the ES Rwy., and extend it to Little Rock. Contracts had been negotiated, but Rogers died on Feb 21 1886. The Frisco managers cooled to the idea, and the notion of a Frisco line to Little Rock via Seligman, Eureka Springs, and Harrison died with Rogers. During 1890 the ATSF bought the Frisco, and the Santa Fe management had little interest in the ES Rwy. The ATSF entered receivership during 1893, and a “new” Frisco emerged during 1895. By this time, traffic levels on the ES Rwy. had flattened and slowed, and Clayton and Kerens gave-up on the Frisco, and sought other investors to help the road build southeastward. During 1899 Kerens and Clayton formed the St Louis and North Arkansas RR. On May 25th all property, rights, and franchises were conveyed to the new company from the ES Rwy. For its 1000 shares of the “old” company, the Frisco received 200 shares worth $20,000.00 in the “new” company. The original traffic agreement with the Frisco would remain in force. There are several original documents posted on this thread that refer to this exchange. http://www.frisco.org/vb/showthread...RISCO-Partner)&highlight=eureka+springs+stock Note that B. F. Yoakum wrote that the Eureka Springs Rwy. stock had no value. Between 1899 and 1903 the North Arkansas reached Harrison and then ultimately reached Leslie. During 1905, the decision was made to extend to other interchange points, which would require the North Arkansas to sacrifice the Frisco traffic agreement. The Southeastern Company was formed to build to Helena from Leslie, and notable David R. Francis of St Louis was on its Board of Directors. Francis served as the Mayor of St Louis, the Governor of Missouri, the Secretary of the Interior, AND… the President of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, aka, the St Louis World’s Fair of 1904. So given the context of the map in this thread, could the inclusion of the North Arkansas Line on the Frisco system map in the World’s Fair brochure be an acknowledgement to Francis and his new road? Perhaps this was a little apple-polishing on the part of the Frisco. The 1909 Frisco Annual report still showed the Frisco’s 200 shares of North Arkansas stock, which had a face value of $20,000.00; it lists no actual value. I can find no reference in the annual report that the Frisco received any dividend revenue from these shares. There is no listing for any of the North Arkansas bonds in the 1909 document. Clayton and Kerens were clearly the masters of the ES Rwy. and the St Louis and North Arkansas. Circa 1904-1905, John Scullin, a Katy man and prominent St Louis businessman, along with David R Francis would join Clayton and Kerens as major players in the railroad. Frisco involvement occurred during the 1883-1886 period with Capt Rogers. After Rogers’ death, the Frisco had little interest in expanding the road or operating it; the promoters of the North Arkansas looked elsewhere. The Frisco continued to pay the North Arkansas Road per the traffic agreement, even though the Frisco’s original piece of the “pie” had dwindled. The North Arkansas received the better of the traffic agreement stick. Given this history, the Frisco was but a shareholder in the North Arkansas… not a parent; not an “owner”; not an operator. After Rogers’ death, the notion of partnership also seems to be a misnomer. Ultimately, the Frisco was quite happy to exchange passengers and freight at Seligman and Joplin sans the burden of the traffic agreement. For its generosity, the Frisco received little in return.
