When Job Carr moved to Commencement Bay in 1864, his hope was that the site would be chosen as the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad. However, even though he built what would become Tacoma’s first permanent residence, he soon sold his claim to developer Morton McCarver. In the end, McCarver was one of those most responsible for the site’s selection.Tacoma was the underdog competitor to Seattle and Portland for the western terminus of the Northern Pacific railroad. When the line was first being constructed in Duluth, Minnesota in 1870, the only requirement for the line’s end was that it should be north of the 45^th degree of latitude, and near Portland. Tacoma’s eventual selection greatly angered Seattle, but it was just what the city needed to spur on its growth. New jobs brought new settlers, who bridged the two mile gap between Carr’s original site and the “New Tacoma” depot.Seattle was not content being ignored, however, and after a few years of clamoring, Henry Villard planned a railroad from Tacoma to Seattle in 1881. The track was about to be completed in 1883 when Villard resigned due to financial troubles, and three miles were left unfinished until the next year. Even with early troubles and lack of service on the railroad, the line was what was necessary to draw traffic away from Tacoma, and Seattle became the western terminus in 1887.Nevertheless, the railroad had done its work well in Tacoma. In 1888, another railroad was built over the Columbia River and through the Cascade Mountains. Tacoma was now firmly situated as a growing western city, and its fortunes would continue to grow over the years.