The first real move for the construction of a railroad from the Missouri river, west, resulted in a charter granted by the Territorial legislature to the St. Joseph & Topeka Railroad Company February 20, 1857. Under the terms of the charter the road was to start from St. Joseph, Mo.; thence crossing the river through Doniphan, Atchison and Jefferson counties to Topeka. The charter was subsequently amended and the road was extended in the direction of Santa Fe, N. M., to the southwestern line of Kansas, which is practically the same route now traversed by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroad. The desire on the part of the people for direct railroad connection with the Missouri river and the East gave to this movement great impetus, and there was considerable rivalry between the towns to offer aid and assistance. The people of Atchison were particularly anxious to make this town the terminal point and the future railway center of the great trans- continental system, and strongly opposed any project which would make Atchison simply a way station on the great road to the West. With a view to avert such action on the part of those behind the movement to construct this road, it was determined to make Atchison the eastern terminus of the same. Accordingly, Atchison loaned its credit to the amount of $150,000. by aid of which subsidy a direct road was built on the Missouri side of the river from St. Joseph and thence north under another charter with Atchison, Kan., instead of St. Joseph as the eastern terminus, the enterprise was carried on and as a result the citizens of Kansas Territory were much elated with the added prestige of the railroad being a Kansas corporation. The Atchison & Topeka Railroad Company was incorporated by an Act of the legislature February 11, 1859. Those named as the original incorporators were: S. C. Pomeroy, Atchison; C. K. Halliday, Topeka; Luther C. Challiss, Atchison; Peter T. Abell, Atchison; Aspah Allen, Topeka: Milton C. Dickey, Topeka; Samuel Dickson, Atchison; Wilson L. Gordon, Topeka; George S. Hillyer, Grasshopper Falls; Lorenzo D. Bird, Atchison; Jeremiah Marshall, Topeka; George H. Fairchild, Atchison; F. L. Crane, Topeka. The company was “authorized to survey, locate, construct, complete, alter, maintain and operate a railroad with one or more tracks from or near Atchison in Kansas Territory, to the town of Topeka, in Kansas Territory, and to such point on the southern or western boundary of said Territory in the direction of Santa Fe as may be convenient and suitable for the construction of said road and also to construct a branch to any point on the southern line of said Territory in the direction of the Gulf of Mexico.” The authorized capital stock was $1,500,000, and the first meeting for organization under the charter was held at the office of Luther C. Challis in Atchison September 15, 1859, at which meeting $52,000 of the first subscription of stock was paid, and the following directors were