Texas and Pacific Railway

Naturally, Bass was selected as leader of the gang.

It was not long before the outlaw chief planned and executed his first train robbery in Texas at Eagle Ford, a small station at Texas Pacific Railroad, a few miles out of Dallas.

In quick succession, the bandits held up two or three other trains, the last being at Mesquite Station.

ten or twelve miles east of dallas from this robbery they secured about three thousand they met with opposition here for the conductor though armed with only a small pistol bravely fought the robbers and seriously wounded one of them The whole state was now aroused by the repeated train holdups.

One was James Garfield of Ohio, close personal friend and associate of Rutherford B. Hayes, later succeeded him as President of the United States and to be assassinated.

But the other great broker at was Tom Scott, the President of the Texas Pacific Railroad.

He'd been one of the great American railroad kings for years, and he brokered, really, especially the economic, financial parts of this deal.

Home rule, the Republicans said, would be return to Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida.

KACU's Allison Diaz has more.

The heritage of Abilene, Texas ties directly to the Texas and Pacific Railroad and its origins.

The railroad needed a shipping point as it laid the tracks through West Texas, and in 1881, the Abilene community was officially founded to be that stop.

Community organizers first held a festival to celebrate that history in 1991.

When people get so excited and just, you know, ready for this event and it's something that they look forward to, that's what I like to see.

Although the latest iteration of the event is only in its third year, the access it provides to the public to learn interesting and vital history about the town and have fun sharing the love and hobby of trains has attracted visitors, vendors, and railfans from Abilene and the surrounding areas.

Year-round, people can explore the history of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, its trains, and the town of Abilene on the Texas State Historical Association's website or the Abilene Visitor's website.

I'm Allison Diaz in Abilene.