Major cities founded as railroad sidings

[Max Rockatansky]

A lot of major western cities were established as railroad sidings.  An example would be Fresno having been plotted as a Southern Pacific Railroad siding in 1872 only to become the Fresno County Seat and a city in excess of 500,000 by modern times.  What other notable examples are out of there of railroad sidings that became major cities? 

[Dirt Roads]

I might be forgetting something here, but this is fairly uncommon on the East Coast, as many towns were founded around joint-use passenger/freight stations.  Although freight sidings with depots were quite common, I don't recall hardly any that resulted in a major city.  It was far more likely for a major city to pop up around a railway junction or railway crossing.

Havelock, North Carolina (pop. 16,621) is an example of this (albeit, not a major city).  The town was founded as a siding and depot along the (then) Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad in an area where white pine logging was booming along the Neuse River.  In the eastern fashion, the location became known as Havelock Station (many of these "stations" were actually depots with freight clerks, instead of passenger clerks).  Havelock is now home to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point.

Burlington, North Carolina (pop. 57,303) is a different twist.  Originally called Company Shops, it was the location of the original mechanical shops for maintenance of steam locomotives on the North Carolina Rail Road.  The hosiery industry grew up around the railway shops, creating a fairly large city complex.  Much of the surrounding population of Alamance County (pop. 169,509, 2019) is actually sprawl from old Burlington.

And, of course, the small town I grew up in West Virginia is typical example of how the typical freight siding developed.  Scott Depot was developed by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in response to Putnam County residents who were politically incensed after the county seat of Winfield was bypassed for a straight line route to the Ohio River at what is now Huntington.  Originally intended to be a joint passenger/freight station, the location didn't attract many passengers but was more useful for freight transactions.  (Some old-timers wondered if the railroad wasn't intending such an outcome, as the station name emphasizes the depot).  Nearby, Teays Depot was developed along the road from Winfield to Hurricane near the town of Mount Vernon.  Both locations grew to be the in-between suburbs of both Huntington and Charleston, but neither qualify as a city.

[Max Rockatansky]

^^^

The east coast is going to be tough to find a large example, especially in excess of 100,000 residents.  I know there is likely some significant examples out there but I'm drawing a blank. 

[Dirt Roads]

Durham, North Carolina (pop 283,506) may be as close as one can get.  It was planned in 1849 as a small railroad town by the North Carolina Rail Road in an area primarily surrounded by tobacco plantations.  It was named Durham's Station after local physician Dr. Barlett Durham donated land for the station to be adjacent to his plantation.  It took some time for the railroad to even get to Durham (about 1853) and the area surrounding the station became known as Durhamville.  In terms of railroad town, it started out simply with coal loading, watering tower and a siding with not much else.  Having no townies to consider for the job, Dr. Durham had to serve as the first railroad agent.  This forced him to construct a general store with a post office to secure provisions for the railroaders.  But after the Civil War (more than 20 years later), the town quickly rose to prominence as one of the major tobacco producers of the South.

So the question here is whether a planned railroad town that sputtered as a railroad siding for twenty-plus years qualifies under the OP guidelines.  I suspect that I can find more examples of this on the East Coast.

[Max Rockatansky]

Durham, North Carolina (pop 283,506) may be as close as one can get.  It was planned in 1849 as a small railroad town by the North Carolina Rail Road in an area primarily surrounded by tobacco plantations.  It was named Durham's Station after local physician Dr. Barlett Durham donated land for the station to be adjacent to his plantation.  It took some time for the railroad to even get to Durham (about 1853) and the area surrounding the station became known as Durhamville.  In terms of railroad town, it started out simply with coal loading, watering tower and a siding with not much else.  Having no townies to consider for the job, Dr. Durham had to serve as the first railroad agent.  This forced him to construct a general store with a post office to secure provisions for the railroaders.  But after the Civil War (more than 20 years later), the town quickly rose to prominence as one of the major tobacco producers of the South.

So the question here is whether a planned railroad town that sputtered as a railroad siding for twenty-plus years qualifies under the OP guidelines.  I suspect that I can find more examples of this on the East Coast.

Sounds like a solid example to me given the primary driver for the community being plotted was a railroad.

[Stephane Dumas]

Calgary and Saskatoon was founded before the rail arrived but it's the rail who sparked their growth.

[GaryV]

What about Key West and other places that Flagler's RR went to?

[Max Rockatansky]

What about Key West and other places that Flagler's RR went to?

Key West was already well established as a port city before the Overseas Railroad.  Marathon would certainly be a result of the Overseas Railroad being constructed though. 

[US 89]

It's not really a "major" city, but Dalton GA developed around a depot along the Western and Atlantic Railroad. Atlanta was founded at the south end of that railroad (and indeed, the first name for that city was Terminus). That kind of thing is probably as close as you'll get in the eastern US.

[gonealookin]

Nevada's most obvious example is Las Vegas.  There was nothing there until the railroad came through and used it as a water stop.  The initial entry in the timeline on the city's website:

Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, were auctioned off by the railroad company. The completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of water made Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop.

Then of course comes the construction of Hoover Dam just a few years later, and with the Boulder City "company town" being dry, there goes Las Vegas with its booze, gambling and girls.

[Max Rockatansky]

Nevada's most obvious example is Las Vegas.  There was nothing there until the railroad came through and used it as a water stop.  The initial entry in the timeline on the city's website:

Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, were auctioned off by the railroad company. The completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of water made Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop.

Then of course comes the construction of Hoover Dam just a few years later, and with the Boulder City "company town" being dry, there goes Las Vegas with its booze, gambling and girls.

I thought about Vegas, but the reason I didn't list it was the Mormon Fortification there.  The city layout is certainly the result of being plotted on a railroad. 

[gonealookin]

Nevada's most obvious example is Las Vegas.  There was nothing there until the railroad came through and used it as a water stop.  The initial entry in the timeline on the city's website:

Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, were auctioned off by the railroad company. The completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of water made Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop.

Then of course comes the construction of Hoover Dam just a few years later, and with the Boulder City "company town" being dry, there goes Las Vegas with its booze, gambling and girls.

I thought about Vegas, but the reason I didn't list it was the Mormon Fortification there.  The city layout is certainly the result of being plotted on a railroad. 

The Mormon Fortification didn't last very long at all (NV state parks history page):

In June of 1855 thirty Mormon settlers led by President William Bringhurst arrived at the meadows and with the assistance of the local Paiute population began construction of a fort structure along the creek.

The fort was made of adobe bricks and, when completed, consisted of four walls 150 feet long, two bastions and a row of two-story interior buildings.  Parts of the original eastern wall and the southeast bastion remain preserved on the site today.  The settlers diverted water from the creek to irrigate farmland and constructed an adobe corral directly north of the fort.  However, crop failures, disappointing yields in nearby lead mining efforts and dissension among the group's leaders caused the settlers to abandon the fort in March of 1857.

Sure, somebody continued to run a ranch there because of the presence of the springs, but I don't think there's anything you would call a "town" until the ranch owner sold to the railroad.

[Max Rockatansky]

Nevada's most obvious example is Las Vegas.  There was nothing there until the railroad came through and used it as a water stop.  The initial entry in the timeline on the city's website:

Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, were auctioned off by the railroad company. The completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of water made Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop.

Then of course comes the construction of Hoover Dam just a few years later, and with the Boulder City "company town" being dry, there goes Las Vegas with its booze, gambling and girls.

I thought about Vegas, but the reason I didn't list it was the Mormon Fortification there.  The city layout is certainly the result of being plotted on a railroad. 

The Mormon Fortification didn't last very long at all (NV state parks history page):

In June of 1855 thirty Mormon settlers led by President William Bringhurst arrived at the meadows and with the assistance of the local Paiute population began construction of a fort structure along the creek.

The fort was made of adobe bricks and, when completed, consisted of four walls 150 feet long, two bastions and a row of two-story interior buildings.  Parts of the original eastern wall and the southeast bastion remain preserved on the site today.  The settlers diverted water from the creek to irrigate farmland and constructed an adobe corral directly north of the fort.  However, crop failures, disappointing yields in nearby lead mining efforts and dissension among the group's leaders caused the settlers to abandon the fort in March of 1857.

Sure, somebody continued to run a ranch there because of the presence of the springs, but I don't think there's anything you would call a "town" until the ranch owner sold to the railroad.

If recall correctly the ranch at Las Vegas was still a well known stage stop and well on the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road even post fortification.  That's still not a "town"  per se but generally they fairly well established inhabited places. 

[Rothman]

Nevada's most obvious example is Las Vegas.  There was nothing there until the railroad came through and used it as a water stop.  The initial entry in the timeline on the city's website:

Las Vegas was founded as a city on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres of land situated between Stewart Avenue on the north, Garces Avenue to the south, Main Street to the west, and Fifth Street (Las Vegas Boulevard) to the east, were auctioned off by the railroad company. The completion of the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, linking Southern California with Salt Lake City, established Las Vegas as a railroad town. The availability of water made Las Vegas an ideal refueling point and rest stop.

Then of course comes the construction of Hoover Dam just a few years later, and with the Boulder City "company town" being dry, there goes Las Vegas with its booze, gambling and girls.

I thought about Vegas, but the reason I didn't list it was the Mormon Fortification there.  The city layout is certainly the result of being plotted on a railroad. 

The Mormon Fortification didn't last very long at all (NV state parks history page):

In June of 1855 thirty Mormon settlers led by President William Bringhurst arrived at the meadows and with the assistance of the local Paiute population began construction of a fort structure along the creek.

The fort was made of adobe bricks and, when completed, consisted of four walls 150 feet long, two bastions and a row of two-story interior buildings.  Parts of the original eastern wall and the southeast bastion remain preserved on the site today.  The settlers diverted water from the creek to irrigate farmland and constructed an adobe corral directly north of the fort.  However, crop failures, disappointing yields in nearby lead mining efforts and dissension among the group's leaders caused the settlers to abandon the fort in March of 1857.

Sure, somebody continued to run a ranch there because of the presence of the springs, but I don't think there's anything you would call a "town" until the ranch owner sold to the railroad.

Makes me think of Pipe Springs in AZ.

[KCRoadFan]

Wasn't Phoenix, AZ, also founded as a railroad town?

[Max Rockatansky]

Wasn't Phoenix, AZ, also founded as a railroad town?

No, it was founded as a agricultural supplying town for the mines around Wickenburg in 1867.  The existing Native American canals were upgraded and irrigation was far easier around the Salt River than the Hassayampa.  Supposedly the name "Phoenix"  is a reference to the revivial of the canal system.

[-- US 175 --]

Amarillo formed in the late 1880s at the crossing of 2 (and eventually 3) railroads.