Southern Pacific Railroad Depot

The arrival of railroads to Wharton County restored the farm economy, previously devastated by the effects of the Civil War, by generating new capital investment in the region. The Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway, later known as Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway, established a station at East Bernard, traversing the northern section of the county by 1865, but did not result in significant local growth. In contrast, the New York, Texas, and Mexican Railway, which nearly bisected the county from north to south in 1881 and west to east from Wharton to Bay City via Iago and Pledger, had an immediate impact on economic growth and capital investment in the region. In 1885, this line was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was later controlled by two of its subsidiaries, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway and the Texas and New Orleans Railway. In 1900, the Cane Belt Railway was completed across Wharton County west to east, bisecting the City of Wharton near the location of the existing ca. 1915 Southern Pacific station. This rail line was later controlled by the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, which became the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe. The San Antonio and later Aransas Pass Railway line cut across the northwestern tip of Wharton County, but did not influence the economy.