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Ben Holladay, President of O&C RR Co
U.S. Revenue Stamped Check from Oregon &California Rail Road Co in the Amount of $3,323 signed by Ben Holladay in 1870
Payable to and Endorsed by George W. Weidler
$80
Item Details
1870
VG to VG+
[BANKING & FINANCE] [RAILROAD] [OREGON and CALIFORNIA RAIL ROAD COMPANY] Ben Holladay, President, O&CRRCo. United States revenue stamped check from the office of the Oregon and California Rail Road Company in Portland, Oregon, dated October 4th, 1870, made out to Geo. W. Weidler – Cash for the amount of $3,323 and signed by Ben Holladay, President of O&CRRCo. The amount was to be charged to the company’s account with North Pacific Transportation Company, San Francisco. Endorsed on the verso by Weidler and made payable to D. N. & Walter Co. The 2-cent printed revenue on the check appears to be Scott # RN-B16.
Check was printed by Britton & Rey of San Francisco and measures 3 1/8 x 9 inches; vignette of a locomotive on left side; circular date stamp, Oct 10, 1870, of the North Pacific Transportation Company in blue ink near the vignette. Some wrinkles and a light toning around several spots along the edges. Signatures are all very readable. VG to VG+ condition. [26-718]
Ben Holladay (1819-1887) often referred to as the “Stagecoach King”, played significant roles in the development of transportation systems in Gold Rush California and early Oregon. In California he operated stagecoach and express companies and was an investor in the Pony Express and the Butterfield Overland Stage Company. After selling his various holdings to Wells, Fargo & Co for $1,500,000 (that’s over $21 million in today’s money) headed north to Oregon in the late 1860s and invested in river transportation and railroads, including the Oregon & California Railroad. He helped fund the line from Portland south to Roseburg. The intent was to eventually extend the line to a connection in Sacramento, California. Richard Engeman, in his book The Oregon Companion (2009), quotes historian Malcom Clark, Jr. who wrote that Holladay was an “arrogant, aggressive and wholly unscrupulous man, with a genius for promotion unbalanced by any sound understanding of financial realities.” Nevertheless, he made significant contributions to the transportation infrastructure in the early West and Southwest
The combination of a revenue stamped check with the signature of Holladay makes this a very desirable memento of the early West.
Cultural Images
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