Stockton & Tuolumne County Railroad Company - California 1898

Beautifully engraved uncancelled $1,000 Gold Bond Certificate from the Stockton & Tuolumne County Railroad Company issued in 1898. This historic document has an ornate border around it with a vignette of a train passing a mining camp. This item has the signatures of the Company’s President, Annie Kline Rikert and Secretary, R. S. Clarke and is over 107 years old. The certificate is also signed by California Title Insurance and Trust Company's President, Henry L. Davis. 40 coupons attached on top. The bond is in excellent condition. It was cut off a little in the scan due to its size but it is not cut in person and has complete borders.






Certificate Vignette



The Stockton & Tuolumne County Railroad Company was incorporated in December 1897 as a standard gauge steam railroad with headquarters in Stockton. The proposed line was to extend through Copperopolis to Sonora to Summersville. Grading began in April 1898 and was completed in 1899.

The Stockton and Tuolumne Railroad's main offices were located at Suite One, Grand Hotel, Market Street, in San Francisco from 1897-1900. This was a public-subscription railroad started by a group of women including ( Annie Kline Rikert, Hannah Louella Lane, Mrs. Maggie Downing Brainard, wife of Judge Henry Brainard, Sarah Bull - wife of Alpheus Bull, Jane Lathrop Stanford and other prominent women to compete with the Southern Pacific monopoly.) This became part of the Sierra Railway and ended after a lengthy court battle over valuable steel rails S&T owned in 1898 but were taken "by force" by agents of the Southern Pacific and Charles Erickson of Sierra. By then the S & T had twelve miles of rail from Stockton and eight miles out of Oakdale and Sonora.

Annie Kline Rikert was the only woman president of a railroad company.

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Gold Bonds

Many times Bonds were Payable in Gold or Gold Coin to give the impression that they were a more secure investment. In reality, they were not more secure since there wasn't any gold set aside as collateral for these bonds.

On April 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Presidential Executive Order 6102 which invoked his authority to make it unlawful to own or hold gold coins, gold bullion, or gold certificates. The export of Gold for purposes of payment was also outlawed, except under license from the Treasury.

On January 30, 1934, the Gold Reserve Act became law which made the ownership of gold illegal except for coins of numismatic value. As a result of this law, Bonds were no longer allowed to be Payable in Gold.