Muskogee Company

The roots of Muskogee Company lay in a late-nineteenth-century effort by Philadelphia investors to combine mineral production with railway transportation. Led by C. Jared Ingersoll, the group developed the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad between Hartford, Arkansas, and McAlester, Oklahoma. Its principal commercial rationale was to provide an outlet for coal mines in Arkansas, including mines associated with several Ingersoll-backed companies. After selling the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf to a competitor in 1902, the group developed the Midland Valley Railroad. The new line was planned from Fort Smith to Wichita through Muskogee, Tulsa, and the Osage Nation. It connected coal-producing interests with markets to the west and later benefited from the growth of Oklahoma’s oil industry. Oil discoveries made the railroads’ locations particularly valuable because the lines could carry production and supplies from major oil-producing areas. The Muskogee Company was incorporated in Delaware on February 27, 1923, with C. Jared Ingersoll as president and John H. W. Ingersoll as vice president and treasurer. It functioned as a holding and common-management organization for several railroads in northeastern Oklahoma and adjacent states. C. Jared Ingersoll had been a majority owner of the Midland Valley since the line’s formation on February 1, 1903, and the holding company took ownership of that railroad after its creation. The railroads associated with the company were commonly called the Muskogee Roads. The group consisted principally of the Midland Valley Railroad, the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway, and the Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway. The Osage Railway was affiliated with the group and served oil-field traffic, but it was independently owned and operated. Muskogee Company expanded through the acquisition of the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf during receivership in 1926 and the purchase of Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka in 1929. The combined Ingersoll-controlled system eventually represented about 756 miles of track. The system did not remain independent indefinitely. The Osage Railway was abandoned in 1953. In 1963, Texas & Pacific, a Missouri Pacific subsidiary, acquired the other three principal lines. Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka was sold to Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe during the same year, while the other lines were consolidated into Texas & Pacific. The available historical account does not specify when Muskogee Company itself was legally dissolved, so its final corporate status cannot be stated with certainty.

• 1963

  Railroad holdings transferred

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Texas & Pacific acquired the other principal lines, while Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka went to Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe.

• 1953

  Osage Railway abandoned

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The affiliated Osage Railway ceased operating and was abandoned.

• 1929

  Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway acquired

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The purchase expanded the group’s principal railroad holdings to four lines when the affiliated Osage Railway is included, with roughly 756 miles of track.

• 1926

  Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway acquired

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Muskogee Company acquired the Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway while it was in receivership.

• 1923

  Muskogee Company incorporated

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The holding company was incorporated in Delaware on February 27, 1923, with Ingersoll family interests controlling its railroad operations.

• 1903

  Midland Valley Railroad established

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Midland Valley began operating under majority ownership associated with C. Jared Ingersoll, later becoming the core railroad of Muskogee Company.

• 1902

  Sale of Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf and creation of Midland Valley plans

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The Ingersoll group sold the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf to a competitor and began developing the Midland Valley Railroad between Fort Smith and Wichita.

• 1890

  Origins in the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad

  [1]Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Philadelphia businessmen led by C. Jared Ingersoll developed the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad to connect Arkansas coal interests with markets and transportation routes in Oklahoma.

A vertically integrated railroad holding company designed to connect affiliated coal and oil interests with regional and western freight markets.

• Railroad · 1903

  Midland Valley Railroad

  The Midland Valley was the central railroad associated with the Ingersoll interests and later Muskogee Company. It linked Fort Smith, Arkansas, with Wichita, Kansas, through Muskogee, Tulsa, and the Osage Nation. Its traffic base included coal shipments and, after Oklahoma’s oil development expanded, freight related to oil-producing areas.

• Railroad · 1926

  Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway

  The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway became part of the Muskogee system when the holding company acquired it during receivership in 1926. It formed one of the principal routes through the company’s Oklahoma-centered railroad network before later passing to Texas & Pacific.

• Railroad · 1929

  Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway

  Muskogee Company purchased the Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway in 1929. The acquisition completed the expansion of the principal Ingersoll-controlled railroad portfolio. In 1963, this line was sold to the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe rather than being consolidated into Texas & Pacific.

• Affiliated railroad · 1920

  Osage Railway

  The Osage Railway was affiliated with the Muskogee Roads but remained independently owned and operated. Built during the early 1920s, it supported traffic from oil fields in the Osage Nation and was ultimately abandoned in 1953.

• 1963

  Disposition of the railroad systemM&A

  Background

  The independent Muskogee railroad network was absorbed into larger railroad organizations.

  Action taken

  Texas & Pacific acquired the other principal lines, while Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway was sold to Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe.

  Aftermath

  The remaining acquired lines were consolidated into Texas & Pacific, ending the independent operation of the principal Muskogee Roads.

  Source

• 1929

  Acquisition of Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka RailwayM&A

  Background

  Muskogee Company continued consolidating railroads connected to the Ingersoll interests and Oklahoma freight-producing regions.

  Action taken

  The company purchased Oklahoma City-Ada-Atoka Railway.

  Aftermath

  The Ingersoll interests controlled and operated four railways, including the affiliated Osage Railway, with approximately 756 miles of trackage.

  Source

• 1926

  Acquisition of Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf RailwayM&A

  Background

  The Kansas, Oklahoma and Gulf Railway was in receivership, creating an opportunity for expansion of the Muskogee railroad network.

  Action taken

  Muskogee Company acquired the railway and brought it under the group’s control and common management.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition increased the company’s reach across Oklahoma and neighboring freight markets.

  Source

• 1902

  Shift from Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf to Midland ValleyStrategy

  Background

  After selling the Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad, the Ingersoll group sought a new route connecting Fort Smith, Oklahoma communities, the Osage Nation, and Kansas coal interests.

  Action taken

  The group developed the Midland Valley Railroad as a new vertically integrated transportation outlet for coal and, later, Oklahoma oil traffic.

  Aftermath

  The Midland Valley became the core asset around which the later Muskogee Company railroad system was organized.

  Source

1. 1Muskogee Companyen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Midland Valley: Rails For Coal, Cattle, & Crudesouthplattepress.com