Charles Crocker, Part Of The Central Pacific's "Big Four"

Charles Crocker is best remembered for being part of the "Big Four" in financing the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad, which included (along with himself) Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford, and Mark Hopkins. It was Crocker who is credited with supervising the actual construction of the route through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range. Prior to his work on the Central Pacific, Crocker had very little experience in the railroad industry. He would later also head the Southern Pacific, expanding that railroad in the state of California.

The California Gold Rush of 1849 beckoned Crocker to head west, along with a few friends and two of his brothers, in hopes of a better life. However, he quickly realized that the hopes of striking it rich were not worth the effort and instead decided on setting up his own business near the mines, along with his two brothers. This idea proved successful and their business did so well that they were able to move to Sacramento and open an even larger store.

Charles Crocker remained a successful businessman in Sacramento until the mid-1850s when he became involved in politics and met Collis Huntington, Leland Stanford and Mark Hopkins in 1856 (all of which were members of the Republican party). Huntington, particularly, wished to see rails sprawling across California and with Abraham Lincoln winning the presidential nomination of 1860 the Central Pacific Railroad was established in 1862 by Congress through the Pacific Railroad Act. The other railroad to be born through this act was the Union Pacific and together they would come to build the transcontinental railroad.

With the building of the CP also subsidized through the federal government (being given land grants as well as loans) it was Huntington who would become the principal leader of the group working with Congress to see that the railroad got whatever it needed. While building the CP turned out to take much longer and cost much more than originally envisioned it was completed on May 10, 1869 at Promontory, Utah and linking with the Union Pacific system.

While Huntington led the charge to see the Central Pacific completed, it was Charles Crocker who oversaw the actual construction of the line. While he had very little experience in general contracting work he was a good supervisor and worked tirelessly to see the CP completed through the rugged Sierra Nevada mountain range. For more information about Crocker's work on the ground please click here.

With the success of the Central Pacific Charles Crocker became well known in the railroad industry and would also head the Southern Pacific system. Much like the Pennsylvania Railroad was to the State of Pennsylvania so was the Southern Pacific to the State of California, an institutional icon. Also just like the Pennsy the Southern Pacific (also referred to affectionately as the “Espee” by railfans and historians after its SP reporting marks) has such a history that entire libraries of books could be written on the differing aspects of the railroad. The SP was by far our country’s single largest classic railroad (i.e., before the modern-day merger movement began in the 1950s), spanning over 15,000 miles and reaching from the stretches of northwest Oregon to southeast Louisiana!

Crocker would also work in the real estate, banking, and coal industries, although he would eventually return to the Central Pacific in 1873 after the financial panic that year resulted in the railroad being unable to pay the buyout due to him (he had sold his interest in the CP in 1871). Unfortunately, a carriage accident would cripple Crocker and he eventually died from these wounds in 1888 at the age of 65. For more information about Charles Crocker please click here.

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For more reading about California's railroad history you may be interested is Railroads of California: The Complete Guide to Historic Trains and Railway Sites by author Brian Solomon. The book does an excellent job covering the state's railroad heritage, including famed interurbans and streetcar systems.

Lastly, another book of interest regarding California railroads is The Birth of California Narrow Gauge by author Bruce MacGregor which explores the state's history of narrow-gauge railroads and has received excellent reviews by readers. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing one (or all three) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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