Product Details

Intricately engraved antique stock certificate from the Fort Wayne and Elmwood Railway Co. dating back to the 1880's. This document, which has been signed by the company President and Secretary, was printed by the Calvert Lith. Co. of Detroit, and measures approximately 12" (w) by 6 1/2" (h).

This certificate's detailed vignette features a horse drawn trolley on a busy city street. The Michigan State Seal appears at the lower left corner and a small eagle can be seen at the bottom center of the piece.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Please note margin roughness, particularly along left side.

Historical Context

The second company to be granted a streetcar franchise in Detroit was the Fort Street and Elmwood Avenue Railway Company, which sought to build a new line along W. Fort Street.

At 4 pm, on September 6, 1865, the Fort Street and Elmwood line began operations, and would become the first line to operate across the entire city from east to west. Upon its completion, the new 5½-mile long line would operate from the city's western limits, just west of Porter Road (the present-day 24th St.), eastward along West Fort Street, through Michigan Grand Avenue (present-day Cadillac Square) to Randolph, then east along Croghan Street (present-day Monroe) to the Elmwood Cemetery at Elmwood Avenue.

By 1866, the line had been extended westward into Springwells Township, via Fort Street, Clark, and the River Road (W. Jefferson), to the entrance of the Fort Wayne military reservation, near what later became Artillery Avenue (Livernois).

In 1871, the company would be renamed the Fort Wayne and Elmwood Railway Company, and its streetcar line became the Fort Wayne and Elmwood line.

In 1892, the company was reorganized as the Fort Wayne & Belle Isle Railway Company.

In 1901, it was merged into the Detroit United Railway.