Credit Foncier of America facts for kids

Credit Foncier of America was a company from the late 1800s. It focused on helping people get loans and buying and selling land. The company was based in Omaha, Nebraska. Its main goal was to help new towns grow along the Union Pacific Railroad line. The Nebraska government officially approved the company in 1866. Credit Foncier was known for being closely involved with all the early towns built along the Union Pacific route.

Even though it sounds similar to George Francis Train's Crédit Mobilier company, Credit Foncier was not part of the big Crédit Mobilier scandals. Those scandals caused a lot of trouble for the other company.

Building Towns and Railroads

The company was started and run by a unique person named George Francis Train. He was a big supporter of railroads. Credit Foncier was named after a French company called Credit Foncier de France.

Businessman Cyrus McCormick and Omaha banker Augustus Kountze helped Train get the company started. They were among the first "special commissioners" chosen by the government. The company was set up to make money from the large areas of land given to the Union Pacific Railroad.

Credit Foncier's Land Holdings

Credit Foncier owned a lot of land. It had almost 5,000 building plots in Omaha. It also owned 1,000 plots in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Plus, it had hundreds more in Columbus, Nebraska. The company owned other land along the main Union Pacific line too.

George Train had a big vision. He once said his plan was to create a chain of large towns across the country. He wanted to connect Boston and San Francisco with a "highway of magnificent cities."

Projects and Predictions

In 1868, the company built a hotel called "Credit Foncier" in Cleveland, Nebraska. The next year, this hotel was moved to Columbus. George Train owned so much land in Columbus that he believed it had a great future. He wrote newspaper articles and gave speeches to promote the town. He even called Columbus "the new center of the Union." He thought it might even become the future capital of the U.S.A.!

George Train was the president of Credit Foncier. George P. Bemis, who later became the mayor of Omaha, was the company's secretary. Train also built the Cozzens House Hotel in Omaha.

He also developed a section of land at the southern edge of Omaha. This area was first called "Train Town" because of its owner. Today, city records still call it the "Credit Foncier Addition." By selling homes and empty plots to new settlers, Train made "a small fortune."

Later, Train moved the main office of Credit Foncier. First, it went to Denver, Colorado. Then, it moved again to Tacoma, Washington. Train promised each of these cities, just like Omaha, that they would become the "gleaming metropolis" of the Union Pacific.