Robert S. Stevens (March 27, 1824 – February 23, 1893) was a 19th Century American politician, bank president, railroad executive, lawyer, Kansas State Senator and U.S. Representative from New York, serving one term from 1883 to 1885.

The only son of Judge Alden Sprague and Achsa (Smith) Stevens, he was initially educated in preparation to attend college, but his formal schooling was ended when his family went through a period of financial hardship.

The project, which included wood houses, sawmills, and small factories was looked on with disfavor by the Native American residents, who preferred to keep to their traditional ways of life.

As head of construction, and later the railroad's General Manager, Stevens was responsible for the founding of Parsons in Kansas, Denison in Texas, and other towns along the route.

[9] He also became involved in several civic and charitable causes, including constructing a library which was named for him,[10] modernizing and expanding local schools and rebuilding the Attica Presbyterian Church.

[14] In 1852 Stevens married Mary Proctor Smith, a distant cousin whose family operated a successful lumber business in Manchester, Massachusetts.