SHANE: How the Coon Skin Railroad got its name

Poplar Bluff museums tell the story of us, our family, and our history. I want to tell you some of those tall tales found within our museum walls.

The St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (SLSF RR) began operating in the mid-west in 1876. It was affectionally nicknamed the “Frisco.” The railroad was formed by merging with many other short lines. It was the king of mergers. At its zenith, the Frisco serviced St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas, Wichita, Pensacola and Jacksonville. In 1901, the Southern Missouri and Arkansas Railroad merged with the Frisco. The Frisco soon built a depot which provided passenger service from Poplar Bluff to Cape Girardeau until 1965. In 1980, the Frisco itself merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad.

The first odd thing people noticed about the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad was its name. The trains didn’t run to San Francisco! It even used the nickname of San Francisco, “Frisco,” as its nickname. In its early years, many short line railroads like the Frisco, would share each other’s routes. One route used by the Frisco was on the Central Pacific Railroad line to San Francisco. The Frisco added the city to its name in hopes of acquiring it in a merger. Once that failed, they still kept San Francisco in its name.

The other odd thing people noticed was the railroad logo. If you thought it looked like an animal skin, you would be right. In 1896, the vice president of the railroad, G.N. Nettleton, arrived in Neosho, Missouri. He saw a number of “coon skins” tacked up on the wall of the Frisco depot. When he inquired about why the railroad property was being used in such a way, the agent told him he couldn’t make a living on a railroad salary, so he was supplementing his income by hunting. Mr. Nettleton scolded the agent, saying, “Railroading comes first,” and then smiled, “but a hobby is a different thing.” The vice president then purchased $2 worth of coon skins. When he returned to the corporate office, the coon skin logo was adopted.

The historic Frisco depot still stands today as one of Poplar Bluff’s famous landmarks. It houses the MoArk Railroad Museum. In the museum you can read about the history of the Coon Skin Railroad and look at many of its artifacts. Many other railroad treasures are also located there telling the story of the “town the railroad built.”

The museum is open every Saturday free of charge from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tell them Mike sent you!