SABINE AND GALVESTON BAY RAILROAD AND LUMBER COMPANY. The Sabine and Galveston Bay Railroad and Lumber Company was chartered by Abram M. Gentry and others on September 1, 1856, to construct the Texas portion of a rail line connecting New Orleans and Texas. Groundbreaking occurred in Houston on August 27, 1857, and construction began early the following year. By December 1859 the company had completed about thirty miles of grade and had enough rails on hand for twenty-seven miles of track. On December 24, 1859, the railroad's name was changed to Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company. The company also received a charter from the state of Louisiana to build east from the Sabine River to form a connection with a line building west from New Orleans.
