Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company Annual Pass [154743]

Choice early pass for this famous railroad. Pass no. 663, issued for 1869 to CE Noble of the MCRR. Signed by the general superintendent. Very attractive design with fancy logo and small locomotive vignette. Lith. by Ed. Mendel, Chicago. The Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad was the first railroad to cross Missouri. It is said to have carried the first letter to the Pony Express on April 3, 1860, from a train pulled behind the locomotive Missouri. Plans for the first railroad to run east to west across the state of Missouri were made in the office of John M. Clemens, father of Samuel (Mark Twain) Clemens, in the spring of 1846, in Hannibal, Missouri. Attorney R. F. Lakenan drew up the charter, "An Act to Incorporate the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad Company", which was passed by the Legislature in February, 1847. When the work was finally completed the train carried a bottle of water from the Mississippi River to be poured into the Missouri River signifying the joining of the two rivers by the steel rails. Date: 1869Country (if not USA): State: MissouriCity: Provenance: