Crossroads of a Continent: Missouri Railroads, 1851-1921 tells
the story of the state's railroads and their vital role in American
history. Missouri and St. Louis, its largest city, are strategically
located within the American Heartland. On July 4, 1851, when the Pacific
Railroad of Missouri began construction in St. Louis, the city took its
first step to becoming a major hub for railroads. By the 1920s, the
state was crisscrossed with railways reaching toward all points of the
compass.
Authors Peter A. Hansen, Don L. Hofsommer, and Carlos Arnaldo
Schwantes explore the history of Missouri railroads through personal,
absorbing tales of the cutthroat competition between cities and between
railroads that meant the difference between prosperity and obscurity,
the ambitions and dreams of visionaries Fred Harvey and Arthur Stilwell,
and the country's excitement over the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904.
Beautifully illustrated with over 100 color images of historical railway ephemera, Crossroads of a Continent is an engaging history of key American railroads and of Missouri's critical contribution to the American story.
