Henry Haines facts for kids

Henry Stevens Haines was an amazing engineer and a very important person in building railroads in the southern United States. He was a Colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He helped create the famous Plant System of railroads. Two places in Florida, Haines City and Lake Haines (on the Chain of Lakes in Winter Haven, Florida), are named after him!

Who Was Henry Stevens Haines?

His Early Life and Family

Henry Haines was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. But he grew up far away in Savannah, Georgia. When he was 21, he married Elizabeth J. Owens from Charleston, South Carolina. They had four children together. Sadly, his first wife died from yellow fever. Later, Henry married Anna H. Davies. They had two more sons. Henry worked on railroads until he was 58. After retiring, he traveled around Europe for several years. He lived to be almost 87 years old, which was very old for that time!

Working on the Railroads

In the 1850s, Henry Haines worked as a railroad manager in South Carolina. When the Civil War started, he joined the Confederate Army. He became a Colonel. His job was to manage military transport and supply lines in the Carolinas. He mostly focused on the railroad system. By the end of the war, he was an expert in building and running railroads. People said he could "lay track, run an engine, mend a boiler, issue payroll, and balance the books - all in the same morning."

After the war, Henry Haines had lost his money and his wife. He felt very discouraged. He then worked for the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. He helped rebuild the railroad system in the South. Later, he started working for Henry Plant. Henry Plant was a very rich man who bought many smaller railroads. Haines quickly became Plant's most trusted employee. He played a huge part in building the Plant System of railroads. He was a general manager and vice-president for Henry Plant's railroads. He even had an office in New York City. Haines worked for Henry Plant until he retired in 1894.

Even though Henry Haines did not go to college, he was known as one of the world's top experts on railroads. He wrote important books about railroads after he retired. These books include "American Railway Management" (1897) and "Problems In RailRoad Regulation" (1911).

Building the Sanford-Tampa Line

Henry Haines' most famous achievement was building the Sanford-Tampa Line. This railroad was built in 1883-1884. In 1883, Henry Plant got permission from Florida to connect Sanford, Florida and Tampa, Florida by railroad. Plant wanted to connect Tampa Bay's deep harbors to the national railroad system. He knew Tampa would become an important port for ships going to Cuba and Central America.

However, Plant's permission was only good for seven months. It lasted from June 1883 until the end of January 1884. To finish the railroad in time, Plant had to lay over 70 miles (110 km) of new track. This was through thick forests, wetlands, and swamps in central Florida. Plant asked Haines to manage the whole project on site.

Haines organized thousands of men. They worked together perfectly to finish this amazing engineering job. Over a thousand men just cut down trees and cleared the land. Blacksmiths and wheelwrights worked 24 hours a day to stay on schedule. Tools, heavy equipment, building materials, food, and fresh water all had to be brought to the work site. The project started in June 1883, right at the beginning of the rainy season. Afternoon rains would flood the work site, turning everything into mud. Haines and his men pushed forward. They finally reached Tampa Bay with only a few days to spare!

Finishing this railroad line made Henry Plant even more powerful in the railroad business. It also changed the history of central Florida. Towns like Orlando, Tampa, and Lakeland grew very quickly because of the new railroad. Today, Interstate Highway 4 follows a similar path to the original railroad. It passes through the same areas that grew because of the new railroad.

Plant City, Florida was started when the railroad was being built. It was named after Henry Plant. In 1887, four years after the Sanford-Tampa Line was finished, the village of Clay Cut was renamed Haines City. This was to honor Henry Haines. At the same time, Haines gave the town a permanent railroad station where trains would stop regularly.