February 9, 1853

The Cairo and Fulton Railroad was chartered by the State of Arkansas to build a railroad line from the Arkansas-Missouri state line across Arkansas to Texas. The line still exists as today’s Union Pacific Railroad line from the Missouri state line through Little Rock (Pulaski County) to Texarkana (Miller County). Over a period of more than 100 years, the Cairo and Fulton merged first into the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern (StLIM&S), then into the Missouri Pacific, and finally into today’s Union Pacific. As the first railroad to connect Arkansas to Missouri and the eastern United States, the Cairo and Fulton opened up the state for development.