Du Quoin Street Railroad

The Du Quoin Street Railroad

by Stephen M. Scalzo

Ed. note: Du Quoin is a small city in southern Illinois located 20 miles north of Carbondale, roughly halfway between St. Louis and Paducah. In 1890, its population was 4,052.

The Du Quoin Horse Railway was organized on March 20, 1869, but nothing was ever done. The Du Quoin Street Railroad was organized on August 20, 1890, with $5,374 capital to build a street railway line from Du Quoin to St. Johns that would handle both passengers and freight. By October, the company had built three miles of trackage and purchased three small four-wheel cars [secondhand cars acquired from Citizen's Railway in Decatur] and four horses. The line started near Main and Division and proceeded north on Division to St. Johns, with a passing track located in the 500 block of North Division and the car barn located at East Cole Street.

Service commenced on September 1, 1890, and for its first three years paid a 10% dividend. The 1893 depression caused the company's earnings to drop quickly, and in April 1894 the company's charter was surrendered to the new Du Quoin Street Railway. Horsecar service continued until 1898, when the system was scrapped.

This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the materials from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that were used to publish this history.

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