Welcome To The Biggest Little City In The World!
CASH, TEXAS
A HISTORIC OLD RAILROAD TOWN
POP. 52 ... AND GROWING!
Welcome To The Biggest Little City In The World!
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There Is A Song That "Arlo Guthrie" Sings Called "The City Of New Orleans". It's About The Railroads And How They Built America. When The Railroads Were Being Built, They Brought People And Products To Places In America, And Started A Growth Of This Nation. Some Small Towns Would Have Never Grown A Bit, If Not For The Railroads. My Home Town Of Greenville, Texas, County Seat Of Hunt, Became One Of These Towns. Greenville Became A Railroading City, Because Of The Railroads Coming To This Land Locked Little Town. Greenville Wouldn't Be What It Is Today, Without The Railroads, As Greenville Didn't Have Access To A Natural River To Transport Imported Or Exported Goods.The Railroads Around Hunt County Came Within 30 miles Of Greenville In All Directions. This Left Greenville A Town Without Rail Service Everything Had To Be shipped In Via Overland Transport, To Wit Usually Via Ox Cart In Those Days. Ever Since I Was A Little Boy, I Experienced The Blackland Of Hunt, County, When Wet We Are Famous For Our Mud. Now Then Remember Our Famous Mud, Sometimes It Could Suck A Ox Cart To China. Transportation Through This Mud Was A Slow Process, Or Was Delayed Until The Mud Dried. Once The Local Newspaper Couldn't Be Printed For Three Weeks, Because They Were Out Of Paper!
The First News Of A Railroad To Coming To Hunt, County, Was Chartered In The 1870's, Some Prominent Men Of Greenville, Dallas, Paris, And Cleburne Got Together To Get A Railroad Established. They Chartered "The Paris, Greenville, and Cleburne Railway. Or The P.G. & C.RR. It's Route Was To Be From Cleburne, Though Dallas, To Greenville And Go On To Paris, Texas. This Railroad Wasn't Established, Until the Gulf, Colorado And Santa Fe Revived The Effort, At A Later Date.
In The 1870's The Railroads Around Greenville Were As Follows:
McKinney Had The Houston And Texas Central, On The West.
Jefferson, Texas Had The "East Line And Red River Railroad, On The East.
Whitewright, Texas Had The Missouri, Kansas And Texas Railroad, On the North.
Terrell, Had The Texas Central Railroad From Houston On The South, This Road Ran North To The Town Of Roberts, Texas. This Was Closest Road To Greenville, Terrell Also Had The Texas & Pacific Running Though Town From The East, To Dallas And Points West.
Well As You Can See Greenville Was A City Without Railroad Support, And Seemed To Be Right In The Thick Of Railroads. All Goods And Services Entered Or Left The Town Via Ox Cart, I'll Talk About Our Blackland Later, But Greenville Was Set To Be A Important Town, As We Had The Best Land For Growing Crops In The Country. Greenville Desperately Needed A Railroad! The First Railroad To Build Into Greenville Was "The KATY" Or Missouri, Kansas & Texas, Railway, Whose First Train Arrived From Denison On Oct 1, 1880. The M-K-T Then Built Thourgh Lone Oak, Texas, & Down To Miniola, Texas, Alas Greenville Had It's First Population Boom And The KATY Recieved A $5,000 Dollar Bonus For Being The First Railroad To Reach Greenville.
The Town Of Roberts, Texas Was Named For Texas Govenor Oran Roberts, It Existed From 1882 Until 1895 When It Was Destroyed By Fire. There Is A New Historical Marker South Of Quinlan On Highway 34 And Business 34. I Suppose, This Is Where The Texas Central Stopped, It's Tracks. The Topo Map I Found Shows Old Roadbed Curving North West Along The Old Highway 34, In Hunt County. According To The Text Of The Marker, In 1882 The Houston And Texas Central Railroad Bought, 100 Acres Of Land From Gov. Roberts. At The Terminus Of The Company's North Eastern Line, The Town Of Roberts Quickly Attracted Business People. Eventually Boasting A School For White Students, One For Black Students, A Post Office, A Doctor, A Blacksmith, A Carpenter, Dry Goods And Grocers, General Stores And Saloons. Roberts Gained A Reputation As A Boomtown Full Of Opportunity And Vice.
Cash Is In Hunt County, In The Dallas-Fort Worth Metro Area. The Community Was Named, Synonymously, After The First Postmaster, J.A. Money. The Latitude Of Cash Is 32.994N. The Longitude Is -96.107W. It Is In The Central Standard Time Zone. The Elevation Is 502 Feet. Now We Get To The Town Of Cash, Texas. This Little Town Sprang Up Because Of A Railroading Man, Edward H. R. Green. Originally There Were Two Small Populated Areas Between Present Day Quinlan And Greenville. Mr.Green Named Them After His Mother "Hetty, Texas" And His Sister, "Sylvia, Texas". I Haven't Any Ideal What Happened To Hetty, Texas, It Is Shown On The Midland's Route In Southern Hunt, County One Day I'll Go Looking For Signs Of Hetty. The Name Sylvia Was Not A Favorite Name For The Town, The Local Residents Wanted To Name The Town After John A. Money. Mr. Money Operated A General Store In The Community, The Name Money was Sent To The Postal Department For A Proposed Post Office In Sylvia. The Postal Dept. Declined, This Request Some Folks Around Here Think There Was Already A Post Office Named "Money", Mr. Money Was Appointed The First Postmaster In 1895. After The Name Of Money Was Rejected, Someone Piped Up And Said "Well Cash Is As Good As Money!" In The Hunt Co. Clerks Office The Plat For Sylvia Is Recorded With A Line Drawn Through It And The Name "Cash" Is Written Above It. Cash Was Promoted By Mr. Green, To Northern Farmers As A Place To Purchase Land And Establish Farms. Cash Has Always Been Good For Crops As It Has Our Very Famous "Blackland" A Black Waxy Soil, That Hunt Co. Is Know For. The Principal Crop Has Always Been Cotton, But Other Crops Grow Well In This Famous Dirt. I Myself Don't Like It Much, For When It's Wet It Can Be Very Hard To Get Along With. If You Have Ever Walked In It, When It's Wet. It Becomes What The Locals Call "Gumbo Mud", It Attaches To Your Shoes, Until They Weigh So Much, You Have To Shake It Off So You Can Walk. If You Have Ever Experienced This You Would Know What I Mean. The Texas Midland Had A Lot To Do With The Growth Of Cash, Texas That Once Had A Population Of Over 600 Folks. There Were Two Cotton Gins, A Couple Of Blacksmiths, Some Dept. Stores, A Hardware And A Feed & Dry Goods Located Here Once But, All That's left Of One Is An Old Gin Pool, And The Slab Of The Other. I Can Remember That Old Gin, And Much Cotton Was Processed There And Taken To Greenville Via The Railroad. At This Time The T.M.R.R. Was Listed By The Offical Railroad Guide As The Most Profitible Class Two Railroad.
The Texas Central Was Chartered Late In 1882, It Was To Run From Garrett, Texas To Greenville, Texas The County Seat Of Hunt, County. The Texas Central Went Into Receivership In 1886. A Few Years Later It Was Taken Over By Mrs. Hetty Green know as, "The Witch of Wall Street" She Owned Most Of Their Stock. She Reorganized It To The Texas Midland Railway. When The Texas Central Was Acquired The Line Was About 50 Miles Long, The Track Ran From Garrett, Texas In Ellis, County To Roberts, In Southern Hunt County. Hetty Put Her Son, Edward H. R. Green In Charge. He Established His Office In Terrell, Texas. When Mr. Green Took Over The Defunct Rail Line, The Track And Rolling Stock Was Similar To That Of The TV Show "Petticoat Junction." The Trains Ran On Rusted Old Track And Seldom Ran On Time, Basicaly The Laughing Stock Railroad. When Mr. Green Arrived In Terrell, Texas To Take Over The Job Of President, He Discovered That He Had Inherited A Poorly Organized, In Bad Need Of Repair Railway. There Was Outdated Equipment, Rusted Track, Worn-Out Equipment. He Began Replacing The Old Rails With Heavy Rails And Extended The Rails North From Roberts To Greenville. He Also Extended The Rails South From Garrett To Ennis, His Railroad Terminated In Ennis in Ellis County, Where He Connected To The Houston And Texas Central. The Total Trackage Was About 75 Miles. The Town Of Roberts Was Abandoned And A New Town Was Established, About 2 Miles north. This Town Is The Present Day Quinlan. Quinlan Was Named After An Official Of The Texas Central Railroad. The Texas Midland Was A Progressive Line, In 1895 New Track Was Laided Into Greenville, About 20 miles, From Roberts. In 1897 Over $800,000 Was Invested Laying Heavy Gauge Steel Track To Commecre Mr. Green Was One Of The First Owners To Use A Gasoline/Electric Motor Coach. In My Research I Found These Were Manufactered By Wasson Out Of Mass, They Were Put Into Service In 1912. The Coaches Were All-Steel Construction, 70 Feet In Lenght, With Seating For 100 Passengers. These Style Coaches Were Nicknamed "Doodle Bugs", And Were capable Of About 65 MPH, On A Level Transit. The Folks Around Here Used To Ride The Doodle Bugs To Dallas, In The Evenings, To Go To The Opera's, Then They Would Find The Motorcars Waiting To Return Them That Night. Mr. Green Also Was One Of The First Railroads To Install Electric Lights On His Locomotives And Start The Use Of Evaporative Water Coolers For Passenger Comfort, On His Trains. The "Texas Midland Railroad" Was Sold To The Southern Pacific Railroad, In April Of 1928. The Track And Rolling Stock Continued To Run Under The "Texas & New Orleans Railroad Herald. The T&NO Ran Through Here Until The S.P. Pulled Up It's Tracks At The End Of 1958. One Sad Note, And A Little Strange, A Farmer, Named Mr. Green, Not Related To "The Green's" Was Stuck By The Last Train On The Last Day And Killed.
There Is So Much Information On This Road, I Think I Will Have To Add A Page To My Site In The Future To Contain It All. The Following Info Is Out Of A 1914 T.M.RR.'s Calendar, I Have About Nine From Different Years.
"The Texas Midland Railroad Extends In A Southwesterly Direction From Paris, Texas To Ennis, Texas, A Distance Of 125 Miles, Through The Rich And Populous Counties Of Lamar, Delta, Hunt, Kaufman And Ellis. This Section Of Texas Is Noted For Its Bountiful Corps, Never Failing Rainfall And Progressive Citizenship. The Line Is A Connecting Link Between The Frisco System On The North And The Southern Pacific On The South. Direct Connections Are Also Made With The Gould, Santa Fe And Missouri, Kansas And Texas Systems. In Construction, Operation And Service, The Texas Midland Is One Of The Standard And First Class Railways Of The Southwest. Heavy Grades Have Been Reduced And The Line Has Been Laid With Steel Rails Of Modern Weight And Length, Resting On Creosoted Cross Ties. The Roadway Is Well Ballasted With 'Gumbo' A Hard Brick Like Substance, Red In Color, Manufactured By A Burning Process From Black Waxy Soil, Insuring A Delightfully Smooth And Dustless Track. Bridges Are Mostly Of Steel And Solid Masonry, And Interlocking Devices Are Installed At Important Crossings. The Principal Depots And Other Structures Are Attractively Designed And Equipped With All The Modern Conveniences. The Locomotives Are Of The Best Schenectady Make, Mostly 100-Ton Ten Wheelers, Capable Of High Speed. The Passenger Trains Consist Of Baggage, Mail And Express Cars, Day Coaches, High Back Reclining Chair Cars And Cafe' Cars Serving Meals A La Carte At Moderate Prices. The Trains Are Upolstered And Finised In Dark Green, Buff And Gold, And Are Equipped With Steam Heat, Acetylene Gas Lights, Automatic Window Lifts - Opening And Closing By Pressing A Spring - And Many Safety Appliances. Four Passenger Trains Are Operated Daily Under Fast Schedule, Connecting Closely In Union Depots With Diverging Lines. Note The Annoucement Of Motor Car Service On Reverse Page." (Coming Soon, I Can Only Do So Much A day)
Cash, Texas Is So Small People Living In Greenville Don't Know Where It's Located. The Big Little Town Of Cash Was A Boom Town, During The Railroad Days. When The Railroad Pulled Out It's Tracks The Town's Population Began To Decline. Although The Present Day Volunteer Fire Department. Services About 2,500 Family's In The Area. Alas If You Go To Google Maps And Enter "Cash, Texas", Usally Reports No Such City. The Actual Boundaries Of The Community Only Have 52 People As Offical Residents, I Live On The Outskirts Of Town. The Area Known As Cash, Texas Seems To Be Anywhere Between South Of Greenville, To The North Side Of Quinlan. This Is About 15 Miles In Diameter. I Think There Has Been A UFO Sighting Here Or So They Claim. We Had A Texas Lottery Commercial Filmed Here. That Was One Of The Most Noted Days In The History Of Cash, Since The First Train Rolled Through. There Were More Limousine's Here Than You Could Shake A Stick At. The Commercial Showed The Residents Sitting And Watching The Cars As They Zipped By. Cash Has A Two-Sided Sign, No Stop Lights And Most People Don't Even Realize They've Gone Through A Historic Old Town. But Cash Continues To Grow As A Nice Little Bedroom Community, With Very Low Crime Rate. This Is Probably Because When Something Happens Around Here Everyone Soon Knows Who Did It. The Town Of Cash Never Grew Much, After The Railroad Pulled Out, The Actual Boundaries Of The Town Only Have 52 People As Residents However The Community, The Area Known As Cash, Texas Seems To Be Anywhere Between South Of Greenville, To North Of Quinlan. This Is About 15 Miles In Diameter. I Think There Has Been A U.F.O. Sighting Here Or So They claim, And We Had A Texas Lottery Commercial Filmed Here. That Was One Of The Most Noted Days In The History Of Cash, Since The First Train Rolled Through. There Were More Limousine's Here Than You Could Shake A Stick At. The Commercial Featured The Residents Watching And Sratching Lotto Tickets As The Cars Zipped By. Cash Has A Two-Sided Sign, No Stop Lights And Most People Don't Even Realize They Have Gone Through A Historic Old Town. But Cash Continues To Grow As A Nice Little Community, With A Very Low Crime Rate. This Is Probably Because When Something Happens Here Everyone Knows Who Did It. The Southern Pacific Railroad Pulled The "Texas Midland Railroad's" Tracks At The End Of 1958, And Our Little Town Began To Get Smaller.
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Gerry AKA "Swordsman"
© 2000 Swordsman@9plus.net
My Friend Bill Pearce
AKA "The Animal"
© 1997 poetbill@wt.net
Updated - April 16, 2009
