Arthur Edward Stilwell was the founder of the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad, predecessor to the Kansas City Southern Railway, now CPKC.  He served as KCPG's president from 1897 to 1900.
Stilwell was born in Rochester, New York.  With money he made selling insurance policies, he began building the Kansas City Suburban Belt Railway.  He had a vision to connect Kansas City to the Gulf of Mexico by rail.  He began building and acquiring rail lines for the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railroad Company, which later became Kansas City Southern.  Stilwell plotted many townsites toward the Gulf, including Mena, Arkansas; Stilwell, Oklahoma; and Port Arthur, Texas.
Setbacks including lawsuits, a hurricane, and yellow fever caused financial problems for the otherwise successful venture, and on April 1, 1899, the KCPG was thrown into receivership by one of its financiers over an unpaid printing bill.  Stilwell was out, but the discovery of a giant oilfield in Texas in 1901 ensured the railroad's future success.
Unfazed by losing control of the KCPG, Stilwell announced plans to build a railroad connecting Kansas City with the Pacific Ocean and organized the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railway. Although progress was made, financial problems and the Mexican Revolution put this company in receivership in March 1912. Ironically, oil was discovered under its tracks and was to contribute to the fortune of its receiver, William T. Kemper.