Information Sheet

 

 

R            Missouri Pacific Railroad Company.

156                  “The Arcadia Country,” ca. 1920.

                                    One folder, photocopies.

 

 

 

This is an illustrated promotional booklet that describes the Arcadia Valley in Iron County, Missouri.  Historical text and advertising material are included, along with schedules and rate infor­mation to the Arcadia Valley on the Missouri Pacific and Iron Mountain railroads.

 

The Arcadia Valley is located about ninety miles south of St. Louis.  Approximately six miles long and two miles wide, mountains of the St. Francis range surround the valley.  In the val­ley are the small communities of Pilot Knob, Ironton, and Arcadia.  The area was set­tled early in the nineteenth century, and it soon became well known for its mineral wealth.  How­ever, transpor­tation of mineral products from the valley was difficult, and in 1853 the St. Louis & Iron Mountain Railroad was chartered to haul ore to St. Louis from mines at Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob.  The latter was the railroad’s terminus from 1857 through the Civil War.  In 1871 the railway company reorganized as the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & South­ern, and the line was ex­tended to Little Rock, Arkansas, and, ultimately, Texarkana, Texas.  The Mis­souri Pacific Railway gained control of the road by stock purchase in 1884, although it re­mained a separate corporate entity.  The “Iron Mountain line” was not absorbed by the parent company until 1917.

 

The Arcadia Valley was a popular locale for vacationers from St. Louis, and several promi­nent city businessmen built summer homes in Arcadia.  “The Arcadia Country,” a publi­cation of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, was clearly directed at residents of St. Louis.  The book­let contains information on the history and commerce of the valley, and recreational opportuni­ties are highlighted.  Rate schedules and the names of authorized railroad agents are included in order to facilitate the booklet's readers’ journeys to the area.  The booklet is un­dated, but it appar­ently dates from after the corporate reorganization in 1917.

 

Included with the booklet, but not part of it, are copies of views of the railway depot at Ar­ca­dia, and a Missouri Pacific route map, both undated.

 

 

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