Guide to the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad Company Records, 1844-1894
Atlantic & St. Lawrence Railroad Company Records, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine
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The Atlantic & St. Lawrence Rail Road, the first line built from Portland, Maine, to Montreal, Quebec, was established to carry traffic from the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence waterway to an Atlantic port. Chartered in February 1845, ground was broken in July of the following year; the last segment of the line was finally opened in July 1853. Leased by the Grand Trunk Railway, the Atlantic & St. Lawrence became part of the Canadian National system. Its corporate name was dissolved in 1959.
The records, consisting of correspondence, Provisional Committee and Corporators' meeting minutes, committee reports, clippings, documents, and printed pamphlets and broadsides, focus on the establishment, routing, and construction of the railroad. The correspondents include some of Maine's most prominent citizens and interested parties in Montreal and Sherbrooke, Quebec; London, England; and Boston. Although notables such as Charles E. Barrett, James Deering, Neal Dow, Samuel Fessenden, Hannibal Hamlin, John A. Poor, Francis O.J. Smith, and Ashur Ware are represented, the bulk of the correspondence (20 or more letters each) is among E.F. Beal, Sir Alexander T. Galt, Josiah S. Little, John Neal, William Pitt Preble, and Reuel Williams.
Correspondence of the railroad's operators and directors, dealing largely with the founding and early operation of the line. The approximately 400 letters date from 1845 to 1854.
Arranged chronologically.
Letterbook [1845-47]
1845 Jan - Feb
1845 Mar
1845 Apr
1845 May - Jun
1845 Jul - Aug
1845 Sep
1845 Oct
1845 Nov
1845 Dec 1 - 19
1845 Dec 19 - 31
1846 Jan - Apr
1846 May - Dec
1847 Jan - Feb
1847 Mar - Apr
1847 May - Dec
1848 Jan - Mar
1848 Apr - Jun
1848 Jul - Sep
1848 Oct - Dec
1849 Jan - Feb
1849 Mar - Jun
1849 Jul
1849 Aug 1 - 18
1849 Aug 19 - 31
1849 Sep - Nov
1849 Dec
1850 Jan - Feb
1850 Mar
1850 Apr
1850 May
1850 Jun
1850 Jul
1850 Aug - Oct
1850 Nov - Dec
1851 Jan - May
1851 Jun - Dec
1852 Jan - Aug
1852 Sep - Oct
1852 Nov - Dec
1853 Jan - 1854 Mar
Undated
Chronological and alphabetical lists
Records of the railroad, including manuscript reports of various committees, and printed reports of the directors; broadsides; legislative acts; notes and statistics; printed and manuscript charters, leases, etc.; and a small amount of material concerning the railroad's part in the Grand Trunk system.
Arranged by material type.
Charter, leases, etc.
Clippings
Committee reports: 1845 Jan - Apr
Committee reports: 1845 May
Committee reports: 1845 Jun
Committee reports: 1845 Jul - Aug
Committee reports: 1845 Sep
Committee reports: 1845 Oct
Committee reports: 1845 Nov
Committee reports: 1846 - 1847
Committee reports: 1848 - 1850
Committee reports: 1851 - 1852
Committee reports: undated
Grand Trunk R.R.
Miscellaneous pamphlets
Notes and statistics - John Neal and others: Boston
Notes and statistics - John Neal and others: Canals & inland routes and trade
Notes and statistics - John Neal and others: Director's list and bills on laying track
Notes and statistics - John Neal and others: miscellaneous
Printed material: acts, reports, deeds, legislative documents [pamphlets]
Printed material: broadsides, 1844-1846
Printed material: broadsides, 1851-1852
Printed material: proposals and specifications for construction
Provisional committee, 1845
Records of the corporators named in the charter, 1845
Reports of the president and directors, 1847-1894
F.R. Barrett scrapbook
Grand Trunk Railway Table of Gradients between Island Pond and Portland; List of Directors 1845-1880; Map of British possessions in North America, 1827; Two broadsides:"To the Citizens of Portland"; Prospectus with map; Survey of Maine towns; Questions and Answers re Montreal; Statistics by county; Memorial to Legislature 12/24/1844; Diagrams of grades and elevations