The New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railroad
began Osyka’s development. It took one year to map and 3 years to construct
the original 88 miles to the Louisiana/Mississippi state line at Osyka. Irish
and slave labor was used to build the railroad using Indian Trails. Carter’s
Hill at Chatawa, a near by town, furnished the gravel for the railroad. The
first trip was made on August 17, 1854 and left New Orleans at 7:00AM and arrived
in Osyka at 1:00PM. The Railroad opened officially on August 23, 1854, almost
149 years ago to date. The town built up rapidly with country trade from the
nearby towns of Holmesville, Covington, Baton Rouge and Natchez.
The “New Orleans” was the first locomotive on the line. It was a
wood burner and built by the Baldwin Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was shipped via sailing vessel to New Orleans in December of 1853. Other
locomotives were named “Creole”, “Southerner” &
“Dart”. During the Civil War the railroad was in ruins, with burned
buildings and bridges and twisted rails. From 1863 to 1865 the railroad was
out of use from Ponchatoula, Louisiana to Brookhaven, Mississippi. In the late
1860’s, P.G.T. Beauregard, a famous Confederate States of America General,
reconstructed the railroad. The West double track was laid in 1903 and increased
traffic in lumber, gravel, other freight and mail.
