The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway was incorporated in May 1870 in Junction City, Kansas. The company received government land grants to build a supply railroad connecting the frontier military bases of Fort Riley, Fort Gibson, and Fort Scott; and eventually Fort Worth, as well as establishing connections with other railroads that served Fort Leavenworth and Fort Smith — but its broader ambitions were to connect Chicago and New Orleans. Upon its incorporation, the MK&T acquired the Union Pacific Railway, Southern Branch (est. 1865) and its of track in Kansas.