Mss: 724
1857-1865
B747
Historical Note:
The Boston & Maine Railroad was an amalgamation of small branch lines, consolidated in 1841. The first of its branch lines obtained a charter in 1833 to run a railroad in Massachusetts from Andover to Wilmington. The line was extended to Haverhill in 1835, and by 1837, it ran to the New Hampshire state line. This same line expanded from Andover eastward in 1844, with stops at Ballardvale Junction, South Reading, North Malden, Malden and Boston.
Expenditures for constructing and maintaining a railroad were significant. The company paid for all costs associated with tracks and rolling stock; the building of bridges and depots; and the salaries for all administrative personnel as well as those working on trains and in the numerous train stations dotted throughout the routes.
Scope and Content:
The collection consists of two volumes of account books. Volume 1, kept by the Malden ticket seller from 1857-1865, contains amounts of cash received for the sale of tickets in Malden on a weekly basis. Volume 2, kept by the Malden freight agent from 1859-1864, includes amount of cash received as well as notations as to which railroad was used. Pasted on the front cover of Volume 2 is a printed circular from the Boston and Maine Railroad Superintendent's Office, May 1, 1865. It describes the method of transferring cash from ticket sellers and freight agents to A. Blanchard, Jr., Esq., Treasurer, located in Boston.
Provenance : Gift of Harvard University Press, 1945
Amount: 2 volumes
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