mississippi river

Crossing the Mississippi River had long been a symbolic act of significance in the United States even before the Louisiana Purchase as it represented the entry into the West. Prior to the American Civil War, the Mississippi had been crossed first with the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad bridge between Davenport, Iowa and Rock City, Illinois. Immediately after the civil war had ended in 1865, focus on developing the West increased. Economic interchange grew as the railroads came to and prospered in St. Louis. At first, the Mississippi River was a hinderance. Trains carrying goods West, and or materials East had to stop at the rail yards in either St. Louis or East St. Louis. Wiggins Ferry Company, who owned a virtual monopoly in St. Louis carried all rail cars across the river where they were again connected to locomotives for the rest of their journey.