This historical investigation examines railroad history in Wyandotte County, Kansas from 1855-1874. The most important figure in Wyandotte County railroad history is Samuel Hallett (1827-1864). He carved out the Union Pacific Railway-Eastern Division from the Leavenworth Pawnee and Western Railroad during the Civil War, and made Wyandott City, later renamed Kansas City, Kansas, the first railroad terminal in Kansas. It was Hallett’s vision to construct a transcontinental railroad that would compete with the more northerly Union Pacific Railroad in Nebraska. Hallett’s murder in 1864, on 3rd and Minnesota Street in Wyandott City, offers a deep dive into 19th century business corruption and corporate intrigue. The Kansas Pacific Railroad was formed from Hallett’s company a few years later, but his dream of a competing railway was ironically quashed by a business consolidation with the Union Pacific Railroad.
