June 9, 1874 | Contract
In this June 9, 1874 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, James O'Reily purchases 160 acres of land at $6.00 per acre on ten years credit. Leaving the "Length of time in Nebraska" line blank, O'Reily's application from Minnesota to purchase railroad land shows how the railroad's involvement in real estate may have influenced migration choices.
May 25, 1874 | Contract
This May 25, 1874 document is an application to purchase land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company in Lancaster County, Nebraska. This applicant was an immigrant from Prussia, and financed his land purchase on "long credit", paying $43.20 when he filled out the application. Abundant land in the Great Plains gave immigrants like this man opportunities to become property owners.
March 26, 1874 | Contract
This March 26, 1874 document is an application to purchase land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company in Lancaster County, Nebraska. The applicant, Adolph Brauer, was a German immigrant who had lived in the United States for only four years, but apparently seized the opportunity provided by the railroads to purchase his own property.
March 18, 1874 | Contract
This signature sheet from a Johann Brunken's Nebraska land contract has spaces for fares and freight on the Burlington and Missouri River and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroads, showing at least two of the railroads that had expanded into Nebraska by 1874.
March 18, 1874 | Contract
In this March 18, 1874 application to buy land from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company, a quarter section of Nebraska land sells for $7.00 per acre. A German immigrant who had lived in the United States for six years, Johann Brunken had spent only five days in Nebraska prior to his land purchase. The opportunity to own land as a recent immigrant may have influenced his decision to relocate.
March 14, 1874 | Contract
This March 14, 1874 application to purchase land in Lancaster County, Nebraska from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company details the costs associated with land purchases. As both an immigrant and a woman, this applicant shows that the availability of relatively cheap land opened ownership opportunities to a variety of non-traditional demographic groups.
January 20, 1874 | Contract
This January 20, 1874 document is an application to purchase land at $6.00 per acre from the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company in Lancaster County, Nebraska. An immigrant from Bohemia, the applicant lists his length of time in the United States as six years and his time in Nebraska as 20 months. This purchaser's status as a relative newcomer to the country shows how the availability of land near railroads simultaneously provided opportunities for new immigrants to become property holders and also gave incentive for people to settle in the Great Plains.
March 5, 1860 | Contract
This March 5, 1860 receipt lists the names, ages, and purchase price of 31 slaves "sold & delivered" to the Mississippi Central Railroad.
March 5, 1860 | Contract
This March 5, 1860 receipt lists the names, ages, and purchase price of 21 slaves sold to the Mississippi Central Railroad.
February 20, 1858 | Contract
This receipt and letter describes the terms of sale for a slave in 1858.
November 23, 1855 | Contract
This 1855 receipt describes the purchase of a young female slave and her two children.
February 1, 1855 | Contract
In this February 1, 1855 contract between the Illinois Central Railroad and Allan Pinkerton's Detective Agency, Pinkerton & Company agree to establish a "Police Agency" in Chicago to assist the Railroad in the "prompt and efficient performance of their business."
December 23, 1853 | Contract
In December 1853, George A. Farrow and David Hansbrough signed a contract with the Blue Ridge Railroad to provide fifty slaves to assist in the construction of the Blue Ridge railroad tunnel.
June 5, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
April 2, 1852 | Contract
Contractors on the Blue Ridge Railroad and Tunnel project filled out elaborate and detailed descriptions of work that they were to complete.
January 21, 1850 | Contract
Claudius Crozet offers the Board of Public Works his assessment of the bids for one section of the Tunnel project.
February 22, 1827 | Contract
This February 22, 1827 bill describes the sale of a dozen South Carolina slaves—"Dolly, Jacke, Jemmy, Grace, Dinah, Liddy, John and an infant, Paul, Hagar, Jack and Jane"—from "the estate of Arnoldus Vanderhorst, deceased" to Edward Frost for $3,020. Frost was President of the Blue Ridge Rail Road in South Carolina.
N.D. | Contract
A blank receipt for individual slaves from E.H. Stokes of Richmond, Virginia.
August 21, 1895 | Broadsides
In this 1895 broadside, the Pacific Express Company offers a $500 reward for the arrest and conviction of those who robbed Union Pacific train Number 8 on August 21.
October 4, 1890 | Broadsides
In this October 4, 1890 broadside, the Union Pacific Railroad offers a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals who attempted to derail a train.