Career
- President — Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad
Biography
William B. Munford was an early president of the Memphis, Clarksville & Louisville Railroad and helped move the company from planning into active construction. A native of Danville, Kentucky, Munford moved to Clarksville in 1839 and became involved in the city’s effort to secure a rail connection between Memphis and Louisville. He was elected president of the railroad on June 25, 1855, succeeding G.A. Henry.
During Munford’s presidency, the railroad wrestled with route selection, construction contracts and chronic funding problems. On March 12, 1856, he authorized construction between the Kentucky state line and the Cumberland River, and the company awarded a contract for the first 30 miles of the line to Champlain, Holman & Co. Munford presided over the formal groundbreaking on June 23, 1856, and reportedly threw the first shovel of dirt at the ceremony.
Munford’s tenure was marked by delays caused by stockholder delinquencies, bond difficulties, contractor changes and the Panic of 1857. Because of declining health, he declined to continue as president in June 1858 but remained a director. He died on July 9, 1859. The railroad later named the locomotive W.B. Munford in his honor; in 1860, that engine became the first to cross Clarksville’s Cumberland River railroad bridge.