return on that investment that year, as well. In 1882, the main line reached Lampasas, and another branch opened from Alvin to Houston. The company received support from many counties and communities along the line. Donations ranged in size from $70 given by Nickleville to $85,000 contributed by Fort Worth. Other small towns, such as Weatherford, Paris, Ladonia, Honey Grove, and Farmersville, also provided funds. Along the way, the railroad developed towns such as Rosenberg, Sealy, and Temple, which became a division point. In the mid-1880s, chief engineer Temple was succeeded by engineer Walter Justin Sherman. Sherman encountered quite a few labor problems along the line. Especially in the hot summers, members of the construction crews would desert, and replacements were hard to find. GC&SF authorized a daily whiskey ration, and Sherman dispensed a dipper of liquor at the end of the day to each member of the crew in an effort to keep morale high. As early as 1881, GC&SF attracted the attention of several large railroad magnates. Jay Gould, who held a monopoly in North Texas, presented a threat to the other Texas lines, including the GC&SF. William Barstow Strong, president of AT&SF, actively pursued a way to break Gould's stronghold on Texas railroad commerce. Plagued by additional financial problems, Sealy and the other leaders of GC&SF realized the railway would need a connection north out of Texas if it were to survive. William Strong offered a connection between the two lines. On March 25, 1886, the stockholders authorized George Sealy to work toward an exchange of stock between the two companies. The agreement stated that the GC&SF line would be built from Fort Worth to Purcell, in Indian Territory, and would connect there with the southbound AT&SF line. Then GC&SF was to build to Paris and connect with the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, as well as build a branch from Cleburne to Weatherford. On April 26, 1887, Sherman reached Purcell, four hours ahead of schedule and before AT&SF crews. By June, trains began to run from Kansas City to Galveston. With the completion of the line to Purcell, AT&SF assumed control of GC&SF. The contract, signed on March 3, 1886, by Sealy and Strong, provided for the transfer of the entire capital stock of GC&SF to AT&SF in exchange for $8 million in AT&SF stock. On March 23, representatives of the AT&SF were elected to the board