Most everyone involved with the present day Wilmington and Western Railroad recognizes the year 1872 as the year the Wilmington and Western Railroad started running trains between Wilmington, Delaware and Landenburg, Pennsylvania. Sure, it was a long time ago, but what is 1872 all about?

That year, 50,000 people called Wilmington home; the population of Delaware was near 130,000 compared to 71,000 and 667,000 today. Wilmington was ideal for rail service, as there was a dense population and no good way to get anywhere fast.

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States, and Schuyler Colfax was his Vice President, the country was still getting over the Civil War, and westward expansion were in full gear. There were only 37 States in the Union and James Ponder, a Sussex County merchant was the Governor of Delaware. Across the nation, political corruption was rampant, as new immigrants becoming citizens were funnelled into voting powerhouses by the political machines; industrial robber barons bought votes at all levels.

In industry, workers put in long days in poor conditions, and children were often employed as young as seven years old. Immigrants filled many of the dirtiest and roughest jobs like that of building the nation's railroads. The industrial power brokers were men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie. They were often accused of manipulating the lawmakers to gain more power and wealth.

There was also a major scandal with the Union Pacific Railroad that involved major stock holders in the railroad forming a company called Credit Mobilier of America. They used Credit Mobilier to siphon off federal monies and land granted to the railroad for westward expansion. This reached right to the White House as Vice President Colfax was implicated.

Mark Twain, who still not yet written The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, called this period of time "The Gilded Age," and the name stuck.

Womens' rights were in the news in 1872, as was a woman who published a small newspaper in New York City called "The Revolution." Her newspaper championed womens' rights. Susan B. Anthony was arrested, convicted, and fined for trying to vote.

The upcoming Presidential election in 1872 was a main topic of conversation, and cleaning up government was the main issue in the Campaign of 1872. President Grant was a Republican and his party was split. The Liberal Republicans chose Horace Greely to run against Grant and the Democrats were so disorganized that they did not choose anyone. Grant dumped Colfax and chose Henry Wilson to be his running mate and went on to win a second term.

Aaron Montgomery Ward founded the first mail order business in the United States in 1872. The Montgomery Ward Catalogue and Buyers Guide was a single sheet listing about 150 items.

Back to 1996, 124 years later. Bill Clinton is the 42nd President of the United States and Bob Dole is trying to get elected the 43rd. Scandal has again reached all the way to the White House, some say the Republican Party is split, and many say the big issue this election is cleaning up government corruption. Yes, women can vote now, Montgomery Ward is still selling merchandise, and Mark Twain is known throughout out the world for his stories. Our little railroad is still running steam powered trains on 10 miles of its original right of way from 1872 and even uses one of the same stations that was built by the original Wilmington and Western Railroad. There have been many changes over the years but many things are still the same.

Copyright © 1997 Tom Gears
Date of last revision: Saturday, March 8, 1997
Article may be reproduced with author's permission.

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Tom Gears
(302) 892-2473

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