The Importance Of Railroads In Georgia History
Railroads and their roll in Georgia history
Railroads and their roll in Georgia history
"The time will come when people will travel in stages moved by steam engines from one city to another, almost as fast as birds can fly, 15 or 20 miles an hour.... A carriage will start from Washington in the morning, the passengers will breakfast at Baltimore, dine at Philadelphia, and sup in New York the same day.... Engines will drive boats 10 or 12 miles an hour, and there will be hundreds of steamers running on the Mississippi, as predicted years ago."
--Oliver Evans, 1800
It is hard to believe as early as 1800 people understood the importance of railroads as a vital means of transportation. From the railroads earliest …show more content…
The idea was to build a route that would link the cities of Chattanooga, Tennessee to the ports of Savannah, Georgia and through modern day Atlanta. The railroad saw many obstacles during its construction including economic depression, the loss of Chief Engineer 's who set out to design the state route, and other railroads trying to intervene for their own personnel wealth. There were also success stories from the building of the W&ARR like that of Mark Anthony Cooper. Cooper Returned from the Seminole Wars and in 1843 ran for Governor, although he lost the election he decided to purchase an iron furnace in Etowah. On December 22, 1843 days after the purchase, state legislation approved work to begin north of the Etowah River. Coopers Furnace, which still stands today, benefited tremendously from the railroad, both purchasing his iron and giving him a means by which to reach other customers. The town of Etowah, built around the furnace, flourished. One of the largest obstacles the W&ARR had prior to the civil war and the greatest engineering feat of the time was the Chetoogeta Mountain. Passengers would have to disembark the train and carry their luggage over the mountain to board another train to finish the route to Chattanooga. On May 9th, 1850 under chief engineer William L. Mitchell the tunnel through the Chetoogeta Mountain was complete, and for the first time travel westward was available. The completed railroad proved to be an economic miracle, creating commercial centers up and down the 138 miles of roadbed paid for by the state of Georgia. After completion of the Western and Atlantic Railroad the state of Georgia put it up for sale. The price, one million dollars, was significantly less than the 5 million dollar cost of the railroad construction. It would remain on sale for
Railroads and their roll in Georgia history
"The time will come when people will travel in stages moved by steam engines from one city to another, almost as fast as birds can fly, 15 or 20 miles an hour.... A carriage will start from Washington in the morning, the passengers will breakfast at Baltimore, dine at Philadelphia, and sup in New York the same day.... Engines will drive boats 10 or 12 miles an hour, and there will be hundreds of steamers running on the Mississippi, as predicted years ago."
--Oliver Evans, 1800
It is hard to believe as early as 1800 people understood the importance of railroads as a vital means of transportation. From the railroads earliest …show more content…
The idea was to build a route that would link the cities of Chattanooga, Tennessee to the ports of Savannah, Georgia and through modern day Atlanta. The railroad saw many obstacles during its construction including economic depression, the loss of Chief Engineer 's who set out to design the state route, and other railroads trying to intervene for their own personnel wealth. There were also success stories from the building of the W&ARR like that of Mark Anthony Cooper. Cooper Returned from the Seminole Wars and in 1843 ran for Governor, although he lost the election he decided to purchase an iron furnace in Etowah. On December 22, 1843 days after the purchase, state legislation approved work to begin north of the Etowah River. Coopers Furnace, which still stands today, benefited tremendously from the railroad, both purchasing his iron and giving him a means by which to reach other customers. The town of Etowah, built around the furnace, flourished. One of the largest obstacles the W&ARR had prior to the civil war and the greatest engineering feat of the time was the Chetoogeta Mountain. Passengers would have to disembark the train and carry their luggage over the mountain to board another train to finish the route to Chattanooga. On May 9th, 1850 under chief engineer William L. Mitchell the tunnel through the Chetoogeta Mountain was complete, and for the first time travel westward was available. The completed railroad proved to be an economic miracle, creating commercial centers up and down the 138 miles of roadbed paid for by the state of Georgia. After completion of the Western and Atlantic Railroad the state of Georgia put it up for sale. The price, one million dollars, was significantly less than the 5 million dollar cost of the railroad construction. It would remain on sale for