Field Worker: Earl Hopper

East St. Louis, Illinois

St. Clair County

Feb. 28, 1936

The Wiggins Ferry Company

Captain Joseph Brown, former General Superintendent of the Wiggins Ferry Company had advanced himself by this time to the office of Mayor of St. Louis, President of the Missouri Pacific R.R. and to one of the principal managers of the Wiggins Company.

The company between July 1, 1872 and July 1, 1873 transported across the Mississippi by ferry, 18,755 carloads of freight.

Taxes for the year 1874, on the Wiggins property amounted to $814,700.00. This amount did not include any of its leased property.

This same year the Eads Bridge was opened to foot passengers, wagons, etc., the foot passengers toll was 5 cents for each trip across. To meet this competition the Wiggins Company inaugerated a swift transit over the exclusive use of passengers, this boat the "D.W. Hewitt" was to make the trip across in 3 minutes for a charge of 5 cents.

The following year the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge Company went into the hands of recievers. Solomon Humphreys and J.P. Morgan, representing both the New York and London firm of J.P. Morgan and Company were appointed recievers, with full power to continue operation of the company.

The year of 1876 saw the Wiggins Company establish a transfer company to transport across the river, freight shipments breaking bulk on the East Side, local freight to consignees in St. Louis. Shortly after the inaugeration of this enterprise, the Wiggins Company consolidated with the East St. Louis Transfer Company, and the St. Louis Transfer Company, under the title of the latter, with an aggregate nominally paid up capital stock of between $800,000 and $900,000.

In the first month of the year 1860, eighteen thousand nine hundred and twenty-one freight cars passed over the Illinois and St. Louis Bridge (Eads). The company charged $5.00 per car, making their revenue for carload freight above $94,605.00.

This same year the Terminal Railroad Company was incorporated, the alleged purpose of this organization, was to lay a track connecting with all the railroads entering East St. Louis.

In July 1885 the Wiggins Ferry Company leased the Madison County Ferry for a sum said to be $56,500 per year. This gave them practically all of the avenues and means of transit between the Illinois shore and St. Louis, the Eads Bridge excepted. The volume of business done by the Madison County Ferry previous to this transaction amounted to 13,268 cars being tansferred across the river. The Madison County Ferry also controlled the Venice and Carondlet R.R. and the Illinois and St. Louis Railroad, the later company had transferred 15,353 carloads of freight the year before. For the same year the Wiggins Company had trasferred 40,392 carloads. The acquisition of these properties gave the ferry company control of the levee belt on this side and of the car transfer, and made the Wiggins Company independent of the bridge and placed them in the position of dictator.

Total number of shares of stock in the Wiggins Ferry Company were 10,000.

The land of the Wiggins Ferry Co., was bounded on the west by the river, as the shore extended westward, the company's possession grew in that direction, and by dint of judicious and large outlays in rock dikes etc, were made permanent. The company considered themselves riparian owners, and as such were entitled to the accretions made in front of their possessions, by both the act of nature and the act of man, they treated these accretions as much their own as any of their original lands.

All land west of Fourth Street in the, then Third Ward were accretions, the entire first ferry division almost, including the wharf. Soon the immense value of these accretions became apparent, and a plan was concocted which resulted in the passage of an act by congress whereby St. Clair County was given these accretions. It was contended that the company did not have lawful rights to this property. The company to this time had every given a warrantee deed to any place of land sold by them but always [illegible].