Georgia Railroad and Banking Company
Encyclopedia
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
.
History
It was originally chartered in 1833 in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
. In 1835, the charter was amended to include banking. Originally the line was chartered to build a railroad from Augusta to Athens with a branch to Madison.
The railroad opened in 1845 with its Chief Engineer being J. Edgar Thomson and Richard Peters
Richard Peters (Atlanta)
Richard Peters was an American railroad man and a founder of Atlanta.Grandson of Judge Richard Peters, Jr...
as the first Superintendent.
At that time the rates were as follows:
- 5¢ per mile for passengers
- 50¢ per 100 miles (160.9 km) for freight
Several other railroads were under construction at this time:
- The Western and Atlantic RailroadWestern and Atlantic RailroadThe Western and Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia' is a historic railroad that operated in the southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee....
was chartered to build a line from 7 miles (11.3 km) south of the Chattahoochee RiverChattahoochee RiverThe Chattahoochee River flows through or along the borders of the U.S. states of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chattahoochee and Flint Rivers and emptying into Apalachicola Bay in the Gulf of...
, at a point that was named Terminus (present-day Atlanta) to Chattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga, TennesseeChattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
(formerly Ross Landing).
- The South Carolina Railroad was building a line from Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
to North Augusta, South CarolinaNorth Augusta, South CarolinaNorth Augusta is a city in Aiken County, South Carolina, United States, on the north bank of the Savannah River. The population was 21,348 at the 2010 census. The city is included in the Central Savannah River Area and is also part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.- History :North...
(formerly Hamburg).
- The Memphis and Charleston RailroadMemphis and Charleston RailroadThe Memphis and Charleston Railroad, completed in 1857, was the first railroad in the United States to link the Atlantic Ocean with the Mississippi River. Chartered in 1846 the railroad ran from Memphis, Tennessee to Stevenson, Alabama through the towns of Corinth, Mississippi and Huntsville,...
was being built from Memphis, TennesseeMemphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
to Chattanooga.
- The Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad and the Louisville and Nashville RailroadLouisville and Nashville RailroadThe Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
were both constructing rival lines between Louisville, KentuckyLouisville, KentuckyLouisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and Nashville, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
The Georgia Railroad decided to extend the Madison branch to Terminus (Atlanta) and thus compete with the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia (later the Central of Georgia Railroad
Central of Georgia Railroad
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad at...
), which together with the Macon and Western Railroad
Macon and Western Railroad
The Macon & Western Railroad was originally chartered as the Monroe Railroad and Banking Company in December, 1833. It was not until 1838 that it opened for business with a line from Macon, Georgia to Forsyth. It was extended to Griffin in 1842...
, were competing for traffic through Charleston's rival port of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. By 1850, this railroad had built 213 miles (342.8 km) of track and was up to 232 miles (373.4 km) by 1860. At the time, goods from the Mississippi
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
valleys had to go by riverboat to New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
and then via coastal steamships around the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
to get to the big population centers in the northeast. Shipping cross-country by rail to the ports of Charleston and Savannah made perfect economic sense.
Banking
The banking side of the business was quickly more successful than the railroad side. The Georgia RR & Banking Company was perhaps the strongest bank in Georgia for many years. The bankers used some of their wealth to buy controlling interests in the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and the Western Railway of AlabamaWestern Railway of Alabama
The Western Railway of Alabama was created as the Western Railroad of Alabama by the owners of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad in 1860. It was built to further the M&WP's development West from Montgomery, Alabama to Selma, Alabama. When the line was finally constructed in 1870, the M&WP...
, which provided a continuous line from Atlanta to Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, although the WofA was standard gauge (4' 8½"), while all the other lines in the south were broad gauge (5' 0").
Civil War years
During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
maintained a gun powder factory in Augusta. Car load of gun powder would be transported on the Georgia Railroad to various battlefields in the "Western Campaign."
Although the Civil War saw heavy damage to railroads such as the Georgia Railroad, management used their considerable resources to restore operation as quickly as possible. The Georgia Railroad even resorted to temporarily abandoning the Athens branch to secure enough rail to reopen its main line. Returning Confederate soldiers were given free rides home to the extent that the company's limited rail network would allow.
They also honored all Confederate script issued by their bank. No depositor lost their savings even if Confederate money had no value. It helped that the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company had the financial strength to honor those promises. Meanwhile, most southern banks were busy repudiating any obligations related to Confederate currency. This helped solidify the bank's reputation as one of the premiere banks in the southeastern United States well into the 20th century.
Post war years
The Georgia Railroad Freight DepotGeorgia Railroad Freight Depot
The Georgia Railroad Freight Depot was completed in 1869 and is the oldest building in Downtown Atlanta. The architects were Corput and Bass. It was the main freight depot for the Georgia Railroad.A fire in 1935 destroyed the upper floors and cupola....
, designed by architect Max Corput
Max Corput
Max Corput, also documented as Maximilien or Maxwell Van Den Corput , was the architect of Atlanta, Georgia's second Union Station, built in 1871 in Second Empire style....
, was completed in 1869 and is the oldest building in Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the first and largest of the three financial districts in the city of Atlanta. Downtown Atlanta is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters, city, county, state and federal government facilities, sporting facilities, and is the central tourist attraction of the city...
.
The company was later rechartered as the Georgia Railroad Bank, then a subsidiary of the First Railroad and Banking Company, which eventually opened banks in Atlanta under the name of First Georgia Bank.
The banking operations were merged with First Union in 1986 and First Union subsequently merged with Wachovia Corporation
Wachovia
Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States based on total assets...
.
The Georgia Railroad Bank entered the insurance business using subsidiaries such as First of Georgia, however these were subsequently sold at considerable profit to the company.
In 1881, the president of the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia, Colonel William M. Wadley, personally leased the railroad properties of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, including the A&WP and WofA. Wadley assigned half of the lease to the Central and half to the L&N. Following the panic of 1897, the Central went into receivership and its portion of the lease lapsed, whereupon it was eventually reassigned to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was an American railroad that existed between 1900 and 1967, when it merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, its long-time rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad...
. In 1902, the ACL acquired controlling interest in the L&N and thus the Georgia, A&WP and WofA became non-operating subsidiaries of the ACL.
With the building of the Savannah and Atlanta Railroad, which connected with the Georgia Railroad at Warrenton, Georgia
Warrenton, Georgia
Warrenton is a city in Warren County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,013 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Warren County.-Geography:Warrenton is located at ....
, the Georgia Railroad now competed with the Central of Georgia Railroad for traffic to and from Savannah. Soon, however, the ACL came to dominate the Augusta interchange traffic through its Charleston and West Carolina Railroad subsidiary and the ACL's own spur from its main line at Florence, Georgia, so now the Georgia Railroad could compete with the Seaboard and Southern Railroad for traffic from Atlanta up the eastern seaboard.
A unique feature of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company charter was that the legislature gave the corporation a huge tax break. That was challenged many times in the courts, but the company always won. The charter also called for daily except Sunday passenger service. The lawyers advised management to maintain passenger service on all lines so as to not violate the charter, and thus the Georgia was perhaps the last railroad to operate mixed trains in the "Lower 48," well into the Amtrak era.
Subsumed by CSX
The Georgia Railroad originally fell under common management with the Atlanta and West Point Railroad and the Western Railway of AlabamaWestern Railway of Alabama
The Western Railway of Alabama was created as the Western Railroad of Alabama by the owners of the Montgomery and West Point Railroad in 1860. It was built to further the M&WP's development West from Montgomery, Alabama to Selma, Alabama. When the line was finally constructed in 1870, the M&WP...
, commonly known as "The West Point Route."
In 1967 the ACL merged with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line...
to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad
The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a former Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971...
[SCL]. In the early 1970s SCL merged with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad
Louisville and Nashville Railroad
The Louisville and Nashville Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States.Chartered by the state of Kentucky in 1850, the L&N, as it was generally known, grew into one of the great success stories of American business...
and the Clinchfield Railroad
Clinchfield Railroad
The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina...
to become the Family Lines System. Family Lines continued to operate the Georgia Railroad under its initial charter and thus the Georgia Railroad was maintained as a separate company, with Family Lines leasing the rail properties.
1983 saw the end of the Georgia Railroad as a separate company after Family Lines purchased the railroad properties of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, which had until then been the subject of the lease.
The Seaboard System subsequently merged with the Chessie System
Chessie System
Chessie System, Inc. was a holding company that owned the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway , the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , the Western Maryland Railway , and several smaller carriers. It was incorporated in Virginia on February 26, 1973, and it acquired the C&O on June 15...
in 1986 to form CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
.
Today the original Georgia Railroad and Banking Company is in the real estate development business, controlling numerous properties along its former rail lines.
1867 timetable
Distances of Depots from Atlanta| # | Name | Miles | Notes |
| 1 | Decatur, Georgia Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name... |
6 | |
| 2 | Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 5,802 at the 2010 census. It is an outer suburb of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area.-Geography:... |
16 | |
| 3 | Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia is a suburban town in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, incorporated as a city. Lithonia's population was 1,924 at the 2010 census.-Geography:... |
24 | |
| 4 | Conyers, Georgia Conyers, Georgia Conyers is the only city in Rockdale County, Georgia, USA. It is twenty-four miles east of Atlanta. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 10,689. Census estimates of 2005 indicate a population of 12,205. The city is the county seat of Rockdale County. By 2009, the reported population was... |
31 | |
| 5 | Covington, Georgia Covington, Georgia Covington is a city in Newton County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 13,118. The city is the county seat of Newton County... |
41 | |
| 6 | Social Circle, Georgia Social Circle, Georgia Social Circle is a city in Walton County, extending into Newton County, in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately 45 miles east of Atlanta, and approximately four miles due north of access to Interstate 20.... |
52 | |
| 7 | Rutledge, Georgia Rutledge, Georgia Rutledge is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 707 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Rutledge is located at .... |
59 | |
| 8 | Madison, Georgia Madison, Georgia Madison is a city in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,636 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Morgan County.... |
68 | |
| 9 | Buckhead, Georgia Buckhead, Georgia Buckhead is a town in Morgan County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2008 census, the town had a total population of 233 people.-Geography:Buckhead is located at .reference... |
76 | |
| 10 | Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro, Georgia Greensboro is a town in Greene County, Georgia, United States. Its population was 3,238 at the time of the 2000 U.S. census. This town is the county seat of Greene County.-Geography:Greensboro is located at .According to the U.S... |
88 | |
| 11 | Union Point, Georgia Union Point, Georgia Union Point is a city in Greene County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 1,669.-Geography:Union Point is located at .... |
95 | |
| 12 | Crawfordville, Georgia Crawfordville, Georgia Crawfordville is a city in Taliaferro County, Georgia, United States. The population was 572 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Taliaferro County.-Geography:Crawfordville is located at .... |
107 | |
| 13 | Barnett, Georgia | 114 | Near U.S. Highway 278 and I-20 |
| 14 | Camack, Georgia Camak, Georgia Camak is a town in Warren County, Georgia, United States. The town is located just off Interstate 20 between Atlanta and Augusta, GA. The population was 165 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Camak is located at .... |
125 | Old spelling |
| 15 | Thomson, Georgia Thomson, Georgia Thomson, incorporated February 15, 1854, is a city in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,828 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of McDuffie County. Thomson's nickname is "The Camellia City of the South", in honor of the thousands of camellia plants... |
134 | |
| 16 | Dearing, Georgia Dearing, Georgia Dearing is a town in McDuffie County, Georgia, United States. The population was 441 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area.-Geography:Dearing is located at .... |
142 | |
| 17 | Saw Dust, Georgia Harlem, Georgia Harlem is a city in Columbia County, Georgia and is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. The population was 1,814 at the 2000 census... |
146 | Now called Harlem |
| 18 | Berzelia, Georgia | 152 | Near Berzelia Pond |
| 19 | Belair, Georgia Grovetown, Georgia Grovetown, Georgia is a city in Columbia County, in the United States state of Georgia. It is part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area as well as the Central Savannah River Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,216. The mayor of Grovetown is George W... |
162 | Now called Grovetown |
| 20 | Augusta, Georgia Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County... |
171 | |
Trains departed from Atlanta at 8:55AM and 7:15PM and arrived there at 10:05AM and 6:00PM.