In 1871, the civic leaders of a small Texas town persuaded the Houston & Texas Central Railroad to change the course of its tracks and Texas history- in exchange for $5,000 and a chunk of unused land. When the Texas & Pacific Railroad refused a similar offer two years later, those same civic leaders had to apply some serious legislative muscle to the problem. But the ultimately prevailed and got their coveted connection to the Fort Worth stockyards and the world beyond. This bareknuckled Texas political victory is the reason there are no Corsicana Cowboys in the NFL today, and shows the determined spirit that set Dallas apart from the very beginning. In that respect little has changed over the last 130 years or so, even as the area has transformed itself several times over to become "Texas Silicon Valley," and the sophisticated, diverse Metroplex that it is today.