Drawn by the State of Texas' offer of free land to railroad developers, the New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad was chartered in 1880. Its major investor, John W. Mackay, had made his fortune in the Nevada silver mines, and his brother-in-law, Count Joseph Telfener of Lombardy, Italy, arranged for construction. Work began in 1880 on the 91-mile line between Rosenberg and Victoria. Because many of the Italian laborers ate pasta, the railroad became known as the Macaroni Line. Telfener and Mackay established six stations along the route—Inez, Louise, Edna, Hungerford, Telfener, and Mackay—and named them for themselves and family members. Hungerford took its name from their father-in-law, Daniel E. Hungerford, vice-president of the railroad. The venture did not succeed as they had hoped, and the company was sold to Southern Pacific Railway in 1885. With an economy based on farming and ranching, Hungerford has continued to flourish, and its beginnings reflect the varied history of railroading in Texas.