Carthage Horse Railway Company

Record Book, 1883-1891

This volume contains corporate minutes of the Carthage Horse Railway Company and a predecessor firm, the Carthage Railway Company. The company operated a horse-drawn transit system in Carthage in Jasper County, Missouri.

The minutes in this volume begin on September 17, 1883 in El Dorado, Kansas, with "A meeting held by the Stockholders of the Carthage Rail Way Co. for the purpose of organizing their [sic] Co. by the election of a Board of Directors and the Officers of the company..." The Board of Directors consisted of H H Gardiner, C M Foulks, N F Frazier, Horace H Harding, and J W Hartzell. The last was named General Manager and Secretary of the new firm. On October 2, 1883 the stockholders approved the issuance of $20,000 in first mortgage bonds.

However on February 23, 1884, at a special meeting of the Board, it was reported that Hartzell had sold his interest in the firm and was no longer active in it. Thereupon C M Foulks was named his successor as Secretary, and the office of General Manager was abolished. N F Frazier, the Treasurer, reported that the bonds had been sold at 50¢ on the dollar, less a broker's commission, netting only $9,500 for construction. It was determined that stockholders would be assessed 0.5% in order to meet current expenses.

On October 31, 1884, at another special meeting of the Board, the outstanding bonds were cancelled, and it was reported that the Carthage Railway Company had sold all of its "property and franchises" to the Carthage Horse Railway Company. The stockholders unanimously endorsed this move later that day.

Meanwhile, on October 6, 1884, the stockholders of the Carthage Horse Railway Company (J W Grand, 150 shares and General Manager; E R Powell, 149 shares and President; and Harding, 1 share) had met to issue $6,000 in first-mortgage bonds to fund the construction of a transit system. The relationship between the two firms is not clear, although Harding was involved in both. In any case the absorption of the Carthage Railway Company by the Carthage Horse Railway Company obviously ended any competition between the two enterprises.

On December 24, 1886, at a special meeting of the stockholders, the Grand family, now holding 298 of the 300 shares outstanding, took firm control of the Horse Railway company, with J W Grand being named President, Nellie L Grand elected Secretary, and A J Grand selected as Treasurer. There were no further entries in the record book until 27 March 1890, when L A Hinchman was elected President, C W Gates was named Vice President and Secretary, L M Hinchman was selected as Treasurer, and J W Grand became just a Director. However, this arrangement was short-lived, for on June 18, 1890, at another special meeting, L B Daughtrey, G D Sleeper, N H Daughtrey, H W Pike, and J A Thurman assumed spots on a revamped Board of Directors, with L B Daughtrey becoming the Presidency and G D Sleeper being named Treasurer and General Manager.

At a special meeting held on July 30, 1890 stockholders L B Daughtrey (223 shares), G D Sleeper (74 shares), and J A Thurman, H W Pike, and N H Daughtrey (one share each), declared that the "Directors ... are hereby authorized to make such addition to the Street Railway of this Company in track, cars, stock, stables, &c as they may deem necessary ... and especially to carry out and comply with the terms of an ordnance of the City of Carthage extending the time of the franchise..." The Board authorized the issuance of $10,000 in bonds to carry out this directive.

At meetings of the stockholders and directors in Carthage on September 22, 1890, Carthage attorney J W Halliburton replaced J A Thurman on the board, and was named Vice President and Secretary of the corporation. On November 8, 1890 the Board approved another $10,000 in bonds, to be secured by a Deed of Trust on the assets of the firm, an action that was repeated on February 23, 1891. On April 21, 1891 it was reported that G D Sleeper had sold his stock and had resigned from the firm. He was replaced with Halliburton's law partner, Samuel McReynolds. On July 29, 1891, J Guinney and G N Bennett replaced the Daughtreys on the Board, with Guinney becoming the majority stockholder, owning 275 shares on September 28, 1891, which was the date of the last meetings to have entered into this volume. At that time Guinney was re-elected as President, Treasurer, and General Manager of the firm, will Halliburton holding the position of corporate Secretary.

No operating records or financial statements are included in this volume, which deals only with the membership of the Board of the Directors, corporate officers, and the approval of corporate indebtedness.

Microfilmed: Yes

** Western Historical Manuscript Collection-Rolla, 2001.

Above description written by WHMC-Rolla. Edited by Powers Museum Director

Subjects:
Carthage, MO
G N Bennett
Carthage Rail Way Company
Carthage Horse Railway Company
L B Daughtrey
N D Daughtrey
C M Foulks
N F Frazier
H H Gardiner
C W Gates
A J Grand
J W Grand
Nellie Grand
J Guinney
J W Halliburton
Horace H Harding
J W Hartzell
L A Hinchman
Horse Cars
Horse Railway
Samuel McReynolds
H W Pike
E R Powell
G D Sleeper
J A Thurman
Transportation in Carthage

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