Transportation & Timber

Railroads were instrumental in bringing industry, mail delivery, and goods such as groceries to the small towns they passed through. Funding and construction of the first railroad that today passes through Vivian, Oil City, and other towns in the area proved problematic, but early resident and entrepreneur Arthur Stillwell traveled to Amsterdam, Holland, and successfully raised the funds needed to build the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railway. It was later renamed the Kansas City Southern and still hauls coal through towns today. Sawmills came to the area because of the timber, while steamboats and railroads transported lumber to factories in the Northeast. Cotton and timber remained the area's greatest economic resources until the turn of the century.

Vivian, Louisiana · United States