On June 28, 1861, the new Central Pacific Rail Road of California incorporated with Leland Stanford serving as president, Collis Huntington vice president, Mark Hopkins treasurer, and Theodore Judah as chief engineer. A transcontinental railroad was now more than just…
Category: This and That
Theodore D. Judah, Part I – A Man With a Mission
Theodore D. Judah was born on March 4, 1826 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to an Episcopal minister and his wife. After his family moved to Troy, New York, Judah studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His first experience with railroading occurred…
Cinco de Mayo – What is it all about?
Each fifth of May we celebrate Cinco de Mayo, and while each year more and more Americans are celebrating it, few know exactly what they are celebrating. Most seem to believe that it is a celebration marking the Independence of…
William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. (1810? – 1848)
On the north side of Highway 50, just to the west of El Dorado County, there is a sign saying that you are traveling on the “William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. Memorial Highway.” Few people know of this person, but he was…