In 1901, when the Fort Worth and Denver City railroad began considering Childress as a division point, Childress voters approved bonds and donated land to build shops and terminal facilities. These businesses, in addition to the influx of farmers and homesteaders, provided more jobs and resulted in a considerable increase in population—to 5,003 by 1910. Future automobile tycoon Walter P. Chrysler served as general foreman of the Childress railroad shops from 1905 to 1906. He then relocated to Iowa, where he worked as a master mechanic before he founded Chrysler Motor Corporation.