The story of DeRidder goes something like this. In 1893, railroads were being built all across the United States, and one of their chief builders was a man by the name of "Stilwell."  It so happened that there was an international financial crisis that same year, and Mr. Stilwell could not raise the $3 million needed to finish constructing a railroad from Kansas City down to the Gulf of Mexico, about 800 miles. Since he could not raise the money in the United States, he decided to travel to Europe to seek aid. He first tried England but failed to find the support he needed. He then persistently ventured northward to Holland for assistance. He remained at a loss as to what to do while residing in Amsterdam, but fortunately he remembered a young enterprising coffee merchant he had met on a previous trip to Europe with his wife many years before. Mr. Stilwell went to the Coffee Exchange for their list of members and found the name of the young merchant, Jan Dehouyen. Mr. Stilwell found Jan Dehouyen and told him about his plans for building the railroad in the United States. These plans intrigued Jan Dehouyen so much that he raised the $3 million needed for this Kansas City Southern Railroad. Directly, Mr. Dehouyen decided to change careers from coffee to railroads and even traveled to the United States with Mr. Stilwell for a tour.