G&HJ Railroad -- a short line with a long history
by Louis F. Aulbach
Within sight of Minute Maid Park, the old railroad bridge, abandoned by the Missouri Kansas and Texas Railroad in the 1990's, is a reminder of the importance of rail transportation that made Houston an economic powerhouse by the beginning of the twentieth century.
At the approach of the Civil War, railroads in Houston were coming into their own. The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad had rail service from Galveston to Houston, reaching a terminus at Rusk Avenue on the "far" eastern edge of Houston. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad, with its maintenance yards on the north side of Buffalo Bayou, extended out of town along the north bank of Buffalo Bayou to the Brazos Valley.
In an attempt to capitalize on the economic efficiency of interconnections, the Galveston and Houston Junction Railroad was chartered by the stockholders of the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad on April 8, 1861 to link the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad with the Houston and Texas Central Railroad at Houston. Two miles of the Galveston and Houston Junction Railroad tracks were built in 1865 to connect the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad at Rusk Avenue with the Houston and Texas Central Railroad on the north side of Buffalo Bayou.
By 1865, the Galveston and Houston Junction Railroad had acquired land, laid tracks across the area known as Frost Town and built the first railroad bridge over Buffalo Bayou.
By 1869, the Allen Station on the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad was located on Commerce Avenue at West Broadway Street, now known as Hutchins Street. And, in December, 1871, the Galveston and Houston Junction Railroad was merged with the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad.
Although there are reports that some residents of Frost Town had complained that the railroad company simply appropriated the right of way through the neighborhood for their tracks, the deed records show that the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad did, indeed, acquire land in Blocks C, D and E in Frost Town during 1862.
F. and Joanne Steiner sold parts of Block D, Lots 6 and 7 to the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad on May 8, 1862. H. D. Taylor sold parts of Block E, Lots 1 and 2 to Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad on May 10, 1862. M. Connelly's heirs sold Block C, Lots 1 and 2 to the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad on May 30, 1862. H. and Mary Lahn sold parts of Block D, Lots 8 and 9 to the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad on December 6, 1862. W. and Rosina Kwetton sold a fractional part of Block C, Lot 12 to the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad on December 22, 1862.
There may have been, however, other lots in the Moody Addition and other tracts over which the two miles of track were laid in which the title to the land may have been in doubt. The creation of the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad as a separate entity to build the connecting rail line may have been designed in such a way to shield the parent company, the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad, from legal claims while land with uncertain title on the right of way was acquired through the lengthy process of adverse possession, commonly known as squatter's rights. By 1871, any outstanding claims to land in the right of way would have been settled in favor of the Galveston & Houston Junction Railroad, so the railroad company was merged into the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad.
The railroad bridge over the bayou today is a modern steel and concrete structure. Since it is a fixed bridge, rather than a draw bridge, it dates from after the time that shipping to Allen's Landing required moveable bridges over the bayou. This structure is, at least, the third bridge in this location. The original wooden draw bridge is depicted on the Wood map of 1869. A more substantial bridge appears to have been in place by the time it was represented on the bird's eye map of 1891.
In recent times, this descendant of the first railroad bridge over Buffalo Bayou, isolated from the bustle of Main Street and tucked away beyond a bend of the bayou in the deteriorating near east end of the central business district, appeared headed for the oblivion of forgotten history. However, the bridge and it's long history in Houston may be saved since the route over the bridge is slated to become a part of the bikeways system of Houston, connecting the North Side of Buffalo Bayou with the Frost Town Historic Site.