This line was built to connect Cape Girardeau with Morley, the watermelon capital of the world. Built in 1893 through thick marshes and bogs, this railway connected with an incline at the Mississippi River at Commerce to connect with the Illinois Central on the other side.
The official name for this railroad was "Houck's Missouri and Arkansas Railroad", named for Louis Houck, a railroad visionary in the area who came up with the idea for this railroad. It was ultimately merged into the Saint Louis & San Francisco Railroad, who abandoned the line soon after.