It came to national prominence when its bonds were the subject of a scandal involving Republican presidential candidate James G. Blaine in 1876.
The original shareholders of the Little Rock and Fort Smith wished to create a mode of transit not limited to the capricious nature of the Arkansas River and saw an opportunity to do so when they received a federal land grant in 1853.
[1] Although the road was, as the name suggests, initially intended to connect the cities of Little Rock and Fort Smith, Arkansas, the railroad's president, Jesse Turner, and chief engineer, J.H.
[4] Construction had been so long delayed that the federal land grant was set to expire, but Arkansas Congressman Logan H. Roots convinced Speaker James G. Blaine to help him to pass a bill extending the deadline to April 28, 1870.
[11] Among the Northern investors in the Little Rock and Fort Smith was James G. Blaine, and his alleged sale of the bonds to the Union Pacific Railroad became the subject of a scandal when he was running for President in 1876.
[13] Blaine claimed he never had any dealings with the Little Rock and Fort Smith except to purchase bonds at market price, and that he had lost money on the transaction.