Mail Service, Train Service, Growth!

 Even before there were towns it was necessary to establish a way of communication.  Congress was given the power to establish post offices and post roads.  Until post offices were established in rural areas,   a line of posts was set up along a designated road.  Moffett Rd known today as US 98  was a designated road   Dependable deputies were appointed to be accountable for carrying the mail.   James McCrary,  a pioneer of Semmes, received mail at the 15 mile post.
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Trains brought changes!
By the 1900's  Semmes had two trains a day, One train in the morning and one in the afternoon. The  Mail came by train. The center of the town moved close to the train station. There was a grocery market( McCrary’s store ), Post Office , the Funk Hotel and the 1902 Semmes School.

Trains brought train stations and the development of  towns.  Timber and timber production   became big business. Men harvested the timber using ox carts. "Dummy" railroads, were set up to move the timber out of the woods  to sawmills. Turpentine mills for the manufacturing of turpentine and other naval products were established. .  These products were shipped by rail to Mobile where they were loaded on wooden shipped and sent all  over the world.

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Semmes Train Depot-1920's
Mrs P.G. Christopher-Station Agent
Felie Christopher Metcalf with the mail bag in her hand.
If the train did not need to stop, for passengers or delivery of goods,the mail was hung on a hook where the train when it passed by  could grab the bag without stopping.

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"Dummy Train"
Most dummy lines used a Shay Engine which was a steam engine with three vertical cylinders on the left side of the engine. It did well by burning waste wood.
Ran slow, but had good pulling torque. Had
a horizontal shaft which drove all the wheels at once. Steam "Jennys," steam engine driven winch cable reels were used to pull logs to the trains from local yards. 
A yard arm was used to lift logs onto the flatcars. A dummy line ran from Mobile County to Waynesboro, MS. Rails were oak
lumber with only 1/4 inch steel plate on top.

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