Colonel Sam A. Robertson, who founded the town of San Benito in 1907, promoted and built the San Benito & Rio Grande Valley Railway to provide a more accessible and efficient transportation system for shipping area farm products. Because of its intricate network of lines and spurs, it became commonly known as the Spiderweb Railroad. The first phases of the rail line began in 1911 under the supervision of Colonel Robertson's brother Frank S. Robertson, and construction of feeder rail lines brought trackside loading facilities to remote farming areas of the valley and helped assure the continuing development of brushland into irrigated farms. Trains carrying freight and passengers soon made two round trips daily over routes that eventually stretched 128 miles. For many years the Spiderweb remained essential to the valley's development as one of the nation's leading agricultural regions, but traffic on the line declined because of improved roads, motor transportation, and more centralized loading facilities. Its history recalls the pioneer farmers and businessmen who were instrumental in the area's early growth.