Sunset limited : the Southern Pacific Railroad and the development of the American West, 1850-1930 / Richard J. Orsi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Orsi, Richard J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Railroads--California--History.

Railroads.

Water resources development--West (U.S.).

Water resources development.

Land use--West (U.S.)--History.

Land use.

West (U.S.)--Economic conditions--20th century.

West (U.S.).

West (U.S.)--Economic conditions--19th century.

West (U.S.)--Environmental conditions--History.

Southern Pacific Railroad Company--History.

Southern Pacific Railroad Company.

Southern Pacific Company--History.

Southern Pacific Company.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 615 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, c2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The only major U.S. railroad to be operated by westerners and the only railroad built from west to east, the Southern Pacific acquired a unique history and character. It also acquired a reputation, especially in California, as a railroad that people loved to hate.

Contents:

Foundations: "These mountains look too ugly and I see too much work ahead": building the Southern Pacific Company, 1850/1930; Men of vision: Southern Pacific leaders, land, agriculture, and the development of California and the West

Land settlement: "Stand on the rights of the Company and make a square fight of it": land-grant myths, conflicts with government, and squatterism; The Mussel Slough affair; A land of "well-tilled little farms": land-grant development; Promoting the far West: 1860s-1900s

Water: "The satisfactory supply is yet undiscovered": the Southern Pacific as a pioneer water developer; "A great encouragement for others": private irrigation; "This splendid country is to be reclaimed": public irrigation; "The government is hard to deal with": federal reclamation

Agriculture: "Evangel train": scientific agriculture; "The damndest railroading you ever heard of": marketing the produce of western farms

Conservation: "Shall this destruction proceed?": wilderness preservation; "Putting our properties on the most conservative and scientific basis": resource conservation

Epilogue

A note on Southern Pacific Company manuscript sources.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-520-94086-5

1-59875-540-4

OCLC:

475938363