Northern Pacific Railroad Company. Missouri Division

The United States Congress chartered the Northern Pacific Railroad Company in 1864 to build a railroad from Lake Superior to the Pacific Ocean. The railroad was begun in Duluth in 1870. Tracks began to be laid between Kalama and the Puget Sound in 1871. Tacoma was designated as the railroad's western terminus in 1872. Throughout its construction, the railroad was plagued by financial difficulties, and changed hands several times. After the Financial Panic of 1873, construction ceased, and only resumed after 1877. The railroad reached the Missouri River by 1873, but relied on ferry service to cross the river for another decade. During the winters of 1879 to 1882, crews built a bridge across the Missouri between Bismarck and Mandan by laying tracks directly on the ice. The railroad was completed in 1883, when the eastern and western lines were connected at Gold Creek, Montana.