Ground-breaking!

Ground-breaking!. . On July 4, 1851, over two years after the Missouri State Legislature had chartered the Pacific Railroad, construction finally began. At this point, most Missourians had caught the "railroad fever," rallying behind construction projects., The following is an account from the St. Louis daily, The Missouri Republican, of the July 4, 1851 Pacific Railroad Groundbreaking Celebration at Chouteau's Pond. Such local celebrations of railroad construction milestones were quite common in mid 19th century America. This was not the Pacific's last. According to the Republican, a multitude of St. Louisans attended the event, reflecting popular opinion of the railroad and its possibilities., "Our city has seldom witnessed such as enlivening spectacle as that displayed previous to the forming of the procession. Flags were flying from the tops of engine buildings and public houses; they streamed from the windows of newspaper offices or floated over the street at many points; numerous detachments of military corps were dashing to their varied places of rendezvous; squads of civil societies , invariably attired in neat uniform , were coming to view from every corner, and in no place were we deprived of the inspiring sounds of music. It was truly a great gala-day, and, for a time, the business, matter-of-fact character of the city was converted to one of unbounded gayety and rejoicing. At 9 o'clock an immense multitude thronged Fourth street from Washington avenue, where the head of the line rested, to a distance of several blocks. The forest of flags and banners, including many beautiful specimens of the national colors of this and other countries extended much farther than the eye can reach.", Unfortunately, their hopes did not hold up to reality. The business continually ran into obstacles. From the beginning, problems arose due to the difficult terrain of the chosen route, the lack of Eastern investment, the civil War, corruption and mistakes out of inexperience in railroad construction. The story of the pacific Railroad is one of human fallibility that likely contributed to a reversal of fortune for the city of St. Louis.