Dot on a map
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In 1845, Capt. John C. Fremont (later General), known in history as the great pathfinder, drew a series of lines on a map of his old surveys of the western United States, setting down his dream of a railroad from St. Louis to San Francisco.
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The route, which extended from St. Louis to Springfield through Rolla, would enter Franklin County nine years later at present day Pacific. The dot on the map lay in the path of progress.