Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company

In 1874 Galveston County voters narrowly approved $500,000 in bonds to finance construction of a railroad line from the city of Galveston that would bypass Houston, its business rival, and reach across Texas and beyond to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Henry Rosenberg, president of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company (GCSF), broke ground at 37th and Mechanic Street on May 1, 1875. In 1879 the company completed a 50-mile line west to Richmond that included a 2¼ mile wooden bridge spanning the length of Galveston Bay. Prominent Galveston businessman George Sealy bought the GCSF Company at public auction on April 15, 1879. Sealy led efforts to construct a vital spur line to Houston, acquire East Texas rail interests to supply rail ties, install telegraph lines, and establish numerous towns along the main rail line, including Rosenberg, Sealy, Temple, Killeen, Goldthwaite, and Ballinger. GCSF joined the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) in 1886 and by 1900 had added the popular Harvey House hotels and restaurants to its line. By introducing innovative radio communications in 1944 GCSF greatly expanded Galveston's national rail connections. Although GCSF was officially bought out by ATSF in 1965 various rail companies continued to use its former lines. (1993)

Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Company is a historical marker in Galveston, Galveston County, dedicated in 1993. It is one of 283 historical markers documented in Galveston County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 373 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3059, -94.7982 near Galveston. The nearest cataloged historic site is Galveston Railroad Museum (museum), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Santa Fe Union Station, House at 2528 Postoffice St., and Shaw, M. W., Building.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5167007480. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.