KCS Railway in Hope: Yesterday and Today
Railroads have played an integral role in the history, and development, of Hope. Key among these lines have been the Missouri Pacific (now Union Pacific), Saint Louis and San Francisco Railway Company (Frisco), and Kansas City Southern (KCS) and its predecessor the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway (L&A). In the late 1800s, the huge virgin pine forests south of Hope around Stamps brought many settlers into the area. One of the largest sawmills in the country, the Bodcaw Lumber Company, was built in Stamps in the late 1890s. The population in Stamps at the turn of the century was over 1,000. The L&A was formed in 1896 by William Buchanan as a means of transporting timber to his sawmills located in Stamps. From there, he built the line to the south in order to gain access to additional timber holdings, and the line entered Louisiana by 1898. A 22.8 mile extension from Stamps northward to Hope was completed on June 1, 1903. This extension connected with the Missouri Pacific and Frisco railroads in downtown Hope. KCS filed an Abandonment Notice on June 4, 1997, specifically to abandon 42.78 miles of rail between milepost 4.00 and milepost 46.78 at the Louisiana-Arkansas state line. The line from downtown Hope to industries to the south, a distance of about 4 miles, remained in service, and in 2006 is operated by the Kiamichi Railroad Company. One view of the line can be seen from the Old Lewisville Road, just south of Hope, at Dunwhite, as shown in the two pictures to the right. see Google map for detailed location Hempstead County Road 56 offers another view of the line as it existed in the spring of 2006. For more information on railroads with historical ties to Hope, visit these links of interest: KCS Historical Society |
