Knoxville Railroads
The year 1835 mentioned in the beginning of this sketch of the railroad history of Knoxville, as that in which the spirit of public enterprise manifested itself to such a degree that internal improvements were largely undertaken, is that in which Col Robert T Hayne, of South Carolina, paid a visit to Nashville, for the purpose of urging the construction of a railroad from Memphis to Knoxville and thence to Charleston, S C, on the Atlantic coast. Such a railroad would, if constructed, connect the Mississippi river with the Atlantic ocean. A similar effort was made in 1836 by William Armour, then a representative in the state legislature from Shelby county, to connect the Mississippi with the seaboard by a line "running from the eligible point on that river as near the center of the state as practicable to the Tennessee river thence near the center of the state to a point on the Virginia line."
For the purpose of discussing the subject of internal improvements, which was still of interest to the public mind, a convention assembled at Nashville in 1836, at which sixteen counties were represented and at this convention a resolution was adopted advocating the construction of the above mentioned road. The legislature which was then in session, appropriated $15,000 for the survey of a road by the name of the "Central Railroad" and Albert Miller Lea was appointed chief engineer of this road, with authority to survey the line through the state and to estimate the cost of both a single track and a double track road.
During this same year a charter was procured for the Hiwassee railroad, the charter requiring that stock should be subscribed within two years to the amount of $600,000; and on July 4, 1836, a railroad convention assembled at Knoxville composed of gentlemen from many of the states in the Union of which convention Col Robert T Hayne was chosen chairman. This convention adopted measures for the construction of a railroad from Cincinnati or Louisville through Cumberland and Gap up the French Broad and on through to Charleston, SC. Several delegates, however, from lower East Tennessee and Georgia were dissatisfied with this route, and having their attention called to the Hiwassee charter, determined if possible to avail themselves of its privileges and construct a road under them. By the adoption of this route they considered that a railroad could be built from Knoxville through Georgia to Charleston and put in operation before the road by way of Cumberland Gap could be commenced. The McMinn county delegates hastened home and opened subscription books, while the Georgia delegates procured a charter from their state legislature, intending to construct the road in such a way as to meet at the state line. The taking of stock in McMinn county being somewhat slow, six residents of that county agreed to subscribe each $100,000, thus furnishing the entire $600,000 required by the Hiwassee charter, in order to prevent its forfeiture. These six residents were General Nathaniel Smith, Onslow G Murrell, Ashbury M Coffey, James H Tyffe, Alexander D Keys and TN Vandyke. But it was found upon examination of the books that $120,000 had already been subscribed, and thus it was necessary for each of these six gentlemen to subscribe only $80,000. Upon the organization of the company Solomon P Jacobs was chosen president and Ashbury M Coffey, secretary and treasurer. As chief engineer, JC Trautwine, of Philadelphia, was selected. This road was surveyed and ground was broken two miles west of Athens in 1837, and this was the first work on a railroad in the state of Tennessee. The road was soon afterward graded from the state line to Loudon and a bridge erected across Hiwassee river.
After considerable difficulty with the state occasioned by its having subscribed $650,000 to the stock of the road, because of the insufficiency of the original $600,000, already mentioned as having been subscribed, the difficulty taking the form of a lawsuit which was won by the railroad company in the supreme court; and by reason of various difficulties caused by the stringency of the times, several unsuccessful efforts being made to raise money enough to build the road, the company made an agreement with Gen Duff Green under which agreement Gen Green, undertook to build the road from Dalton, Ga to Knoxville, Tenn. But Gen Green failed and at length was compelled to surrender his contract.
The company then made an agreement with William Grant & Co to complete the road from Dalton to the Hiwassee river, and with JG Dent & Co to complete it from the Hiwassee river to Loudon in 1852 and in 1854, it was completed from Loudon to Knoxville. In the chapter on the municipality of Knoxville may be found an account of the proceedings of the mayor and board of aldermen with reference to the location of the depot of this road in the town But through failures disappointments and other difficulties the name "Hiwassee" had been changed in 1848, to "East Tennessee and Georgia." In
1852, the East Tennessee and Virginia railroad company was chartered, the road extending from Knoxville to Bristol on the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. Thus a connecting link was formed between the great railroad systems of the Northeast with the roads of the Southwest, in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. This route was completed in 1858, and the two roads mentioned above were afterwards in 1869, consolidated under the name of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia railroad.
On February 21, 1851, the mayor and board of aldermen passed the following preambles and resolution:
"Whereas, The East Tennessee and Virginia railroad and the East Tennessee and Georgia railroad are each under contract for a considerable portion of their respective lines, and at no distant day, will be united at Knoxville, thereby affording one great line of railroad from the northeast to the southwest, and
Whereas, It is desirable that the precise localities of their respective depots at Knoxville be fixed upon and known at as early a day as may be, therefore
Resolved by the mayor and aldermen of the city of Knoxville that the respective presidents of said railroads be and they are hereby requested to take the necessary measures to fix and establish permanently and definitely the locations of their said depots at Knoxville at as early a day as they may deem practicable."
Following up this question of the
railroads coming into Knoxville it will be interesting to note the
course of the mayor and board of aldermen and the people themselves
with reference to the issue of bonds, to aid in the construction of
the roads. On March 24, 1852, a resolution was adopted to the effect
that a committee of two be appointed to inquire whether or not it
would be expedient to submit to the voters within the corporation a
proposition made on the part of the East Tennessee and Virginia
Railroad company to the corporate authorities of the town to
subscribe for stock, in said railroad company, and to issue coupon
bonds in payment of said stock etc. Aldermen Rodgers and Coffin were
appointed the committee. On April 3 a town meeting was held to
consider the question of subscribing to the capital stock of the
aforesaid company it was determined to hold an election at the court
house to determine the question, $50,000 worth of bonds being the
amount under consideration, and at this election there were cast in
all 85 votes of which 59 were for the bond issue and 26 against it.
These bonds were to run not less than thirty nor more than forty
years, and the railroad company was to pay the interest on them
semi-annually until the completion of the road, and if on the
completion of the road the company had not used, the bonds it was to
have the privilege of returning those unused. These conditions were
not satisfactory to the company and it therefore declined to accept
the bonds. The corporation thereupon considered itself released from
any further obligation with reference to the bonds. On March 26,
1853, an election was held for the purpose of ascertaining the sense
of the voters upon the proposition to subscribe $50,000 to the bonds
of the Knoxville and Lexington railroad company, the result being
that ninety two out of ninety three votes were cast in favor of the
bonds. This railroad is now the Knoxville and Ohio. On October 4,
1856, it was voted to increase the amount taken in the stock of this
company to $100,000. This increase was effected by diverting the
amount $50,000 from the amount voted on April 26 previous, namely
$100,000 toward or for the erection of waterworks for the city. The
vote on April 26 was 58 in favor of the waterworks bonds and on
October 4 on the diversion of $50,000 to the railroad was 144 in
favor and 26 against. This railroad was then called the Knoxville
and Kentucky railroad.
For some time after the advent of railroads in the city its growth went on slowly. At the time when they appeared the principal busniess houses were on Gay street between Main and Church, and most of the dwellings were between the same two streets and the two creeks, First and Second. Coal has for many years been the base of business and industrial civilization, and when the coal mines were opened up by means of the railroads reaching to Knoxville then business began to improve and to expand; but when the railroad was carried through the Cumberland mountains, and thus through a number of coal fields, the business interests of Knoxville, feeling the impulse, began to show signs of an activity theretofore unknown to them. Manufacturing establishments then in existence became enlarged, and new establishments came in and the area covered by the wholesale trade of the city was very greatly extended. Not only the whole of East Tennessee was reached, but also many of the surrounding states especially those immediately adjoining the state of Tennessee and even many of the Western and Southern states farther away.
The system of railroads was gradually extended by the construction of new lines and the absorption of other lines, until it became one of the most important systems of the South. The Knoxville & Ohio road was begun before the war being built as far as Clinton. In 1867 its construction was resumed and it was completed to Careyville. Still later it was extended through the coal fields to the Kentucky state line at Jellico. Some time between 1870 and 1880, a line was built from Morristown to Wolf Creek in the Unaka mountains, and while Mr Thomas was president this line was extended to Paint Rock connecting with the Western North Carolina railroad, forming with it a through line or connection with the East.
Still later a connection was made between the southwestern terminal of the system at Ooltewah Junction with the Selma Rome & Dalton to Cohutta, Ga, and a line built thence to Atlanta and Macon, thus making connection with the Macon & Brunswick road and giving a direct line to the sea at Brunswick, which place is still one of the most important ocean terminals of the Southern railway.
A branch road was also built from
Johnson City to Embreeville, the road from Emory Gap on the
Cincinnati Southern to Oliver Springs was purchased, and the
connecting link between the latter point and Clinton on the
Knoxville & Ohio was built. Another branch was built from Knoxville
to Maryville, Tenn, which is the Maryville branch of the Southern
railway. This branch was surveyed in 1876 and completed in 1881, and
for the grading of the road from Maryville to the Smoky mountains
five hundred Swiss laborers were engaged, but this part of the road
has not yet been built. The road from Knoxville to Maryville is
known as the Knoxville & Augusta railway.
There was also acquired by the company
the road from Rome, Ga to Meridian, Miss: the Mobile & Birmingham,
from Mobile to Marion, Junction, Ala and the Memphis & Charleston
and the Blocton branch; from Birmingham to Blocton, Ala.
On May 31 and June 1, 1886, the gauge
of this system of roads was changed from a five foot to a four foot
nine inch gauge, the standard gauge, or nearly so all the roads in
the country at that time, except the Pennsylvania railway, having a
gauge of four feet and eight and a half inches.
In 1894, the East Tennessee Virginia &
Georgia railway system comprised 1.780 3 miles and it was in this
year that the organization of the present Southern railway system
which included the Richmond & Danville, the East Tennessee, Virginia
& Georgia, the Georgia Pacific and most of the leased and operated
lines of those systems. The Memphis & Charleston and the Mobile &
Birmingham were not included, but the former was purchased and
absorbed by the Southern Railway Company in February 1898. It was in
this same year, 1894, that the Louisville Southern railway extending
from Louisville to Lexington, Ky, a distance of eighty seven miles,
was purchased by the Southern and as it had the Knoxville & Ohio, to
Harriman Junction, it thus obtained through the Cincinnati Southern
railway an outlet to the Ohio river.
The officers of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad Company elected November 26, 1869, the time of the formal consolidation of the East Tennessee & Virginia with the East Tennessee & Georgia. were Thomas H Calloway, president Joseph Jacques, vice president James G Mitchell, secretary and treasurer, RC Jackson, superintendent, C Hodge, master of transportation, and JR Ogden general freight and ticket agent. Among the directors were Thomas H Calloway. Joseph Jacques, JT Grisham, CM McGhee ,BM Branner, William Galbraith, Joseph H Earnest, Perez Dickinson, JM Meek William R Sevier and Joseph R Anderson.
At the time of the consolidation the total owned mileage of these roads was 270 miles, including the line from Bristol, Tenn to Chattanooga, Tenn and from Cleveland, Tenn to Dalton Ga.
On May 25 1886, the East Tennessee
Virginia & Georgia Railway Company's property was sold under
foreclosure by special master, William Rule, for $10,250,000 and was
bought in by interests therein controlled and the East Tennessee
Virginia & Georgia Railway Company was organized to succeed it. The
officers elected under this reorganization were: Samuel Thomas,
president, Henry Fink, vice president, LM Schwan, secretary and JG
Mitchell, treasurer.
In 1891 the mileage of the roads owned
leased and operated by this company as given by Poor's railway
manual was as follows:
East Tennessee Division
Bristol Tenn to Chattanooga Tenn 242
Ooltewah Cut Off Ooltewah Tenn to Cohutta Ga 11.5
North Carolina Branch Morristown to Paint Rock Tenn 43.5
Walden's Ridge RR Clinton to Harriman Junction Tenn 30.6
Tennessee Valley Branch R R 4
Tennessee & Ohio RR Rogersville to Rogersville Junction Tenn 16
Embreeville Branch Johnson City to Embreeville Tenn 15.5
Atlanta Division
Cleveland Tenn to Rome Ga 68
Rome & Decatur Division
North Rome Ga to Attalla Ala 61.3
Atlanta Subdivision Rome to Macon Ga 158.5
Alabama Division
Rome Ga to Selma Ala 196
Meridian Subdivision Selma to Meridian Miss 113
Akron Branch Marion Junction to Akron Ala 53.1
Blockton Branch Birmingham Junction to Blockton Ala 31.4
Bessemer Branch Junction to Bessemer Ala 20.6
Knoxville & Ohio RR- Knoxville to Jellico Tenn and branches 69.3
Mobile & Birmingham Ry- Mobile to Selma Ala 150
Louisville Southern Railway- Louisville to Burgin Ky and branches 130
Memphis & Charleston- Memphis to Stevenson Ala and branches 330
Alabama Great Southern Railway- Chattanooga to Meridian Miss 295.5
Cin NO & Texas Pacific Railway- Cincinnati O to Chattanooga Tenn 336
The Embreeville branch was opened June
1, 1891 and the Bessemer branch on the same date. In September 1891,
the company purchased a controlling interest in the Chattanooga
Union Railway Company. The board of directors of the East Tennessee
Virginia & Georgia Railway Company elected December 16, 1891 was as
follows: Samuel Thomas, New York; Calvin S Brice; Lima, Ohio; John G
Moore, New York; Samuel M Felton, Cincinnati, Ohio; John H Inman,
New York; James Swann, New York ;TM Logan, New York; John Greenough,
New York; William L Bull, New York; RG Erwin, New York; EP Howell,
Atlanta: George J Gould, New York; CM McGhee, New York; George
Coppell, New York and EJ Sanford, Knoxville Tenn.
Henry Poor's manual for 1893 states that plans for reorganization were under consideration. According to the manual, in 1892, Charles M McGhee and Henry Fink of New York were appointed receivers of the East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia Company. At the election held November 16, 1892, WG Oakman of New York became president and ex President Samuel M Felton became vice president in place of Calvin S Brice. Samuel Thomas of New York was again chosen chairman of the board Mr Brice remained as a director. The Richmond & Danville railway was sold under foreclosure June 15, 1894, and was purchased by the reorganization committee. The Southern railway was then organized with the following officers: Samuel Spencer, president; AB Andrews, second vice president; WH Baldwin Jr, third vice president; Francis Lynde Stetson, general counsel; WAC Ewen, secretary; George S Hobbs, auditor. The new company began to operate the property on June 30 1894. In 1892, Samuel Spencer of New York was added as a receiver of the East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia Railway Company, in connection with the two former receivers Messrs M McGhee and Henry Fink. The same board elected November 16 1892 are reported in Poor's manual for the year 1894.
The Southern Railway Company was
chartered by the legislature of Virginia February 20, 1894 and the
corporation was organized in Richmond Va June 18, following. Augusst
1, 1894, the operation of the East Tennessee Virginia Georgia
railroad was assumed, as was that of the Charlotte Columbia &
Augusta and the Columbia & Greeneville railroad. Other railroads
were acquired September 1, 1894 giving that date a mileage to the
Southern system of 4.429 47 miles.
On August 1 1894 the Southern railway
assumed the operation of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia; the
Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta and the Columbia & Greenville roads.
The mileage at that time as given by Poor's manual was before given.
The Southern railway covers almost the entire South, from the Ohio
and Potomac rivers to the Gulf, and from the Mississippi to the
Atlantic. There are few important cities which it does not reach,
and it gives all points on its lines direct passenger and freight
service and facilities scarcely, if at all. surpassed by points on
any line.
Since the organization of the Southern railway, the trackage, grades, equipment and service of the roads amalgamated to form it and afterwards added have been greatly improved. Patrons have been given facilities not before enjoyed and such as are now equal to those given by any railroad line. The administration and policy of the company are progressive and wide awake. All that is possible is done to build up the country tributary to the lines of the company and within the past few years a great development in agriculture horticulture manufacturing and commerce has been witnessed. That development is still in progress. (289)
The Knoxville Southern Railroad Company was organized in 1887 and began the construction of its railroad the same year. On the completion of this line to Blue Ridge station where it made a junction with the Marietta & North Georgia railroad, which started some years before and was constructed as a narrow gauge to run from Marietta, Ga, north and northeast into the mineral region of northeastern Georgia and northwestern North Carolina, the entire line was made standard gauge and was taken up under the same management. But the division of the old Marietta & North Georgia railroad from Blue Ridge station to Murphy, NC, a distance of twenty five miles, is still a narrow gauge.
At Marietta connection is made with the Western & Atlantic railroad and in this way solid trains have since been run from Knoxville to Atlanta
From Knoxville the Knoxville Southern, as it was originally called, but which is at the present time known as the Atlanta, Knoxville & Northern railroad, runs through an agricultural country until it reaches Louisville, fourteen miles from Knoxville and six miles further on, reaches Friendsville, an old Quaker settlement, Madisonville, the county seat of Monroe county, is forty four miles from Knoxville. Jellico Junction is sixty one miles and Wetmore, at the head of navigation on the Hiwassee river, is sixty seven miles from Knoxville. From this place there is weekly steamboat connection with Knoxville and Chattanooga.
The Knoxville Southern Railroad Company on August 13, 1887, asked the mayor and board of aldermen of the city of Knoxville for a subscription to its capital stock of $275,000 to be paid for in the company's stock to aid in the construction of the road under an act of assembly passed February 17, 1887, regulating the manner in which counties and municipalities might subscribe to the capital stock of railroad companies and upon the submission of the question to the people of Knoxville as to whether they would authorize such subscription there were cast for the subscription 3,329 votes to 20 against.
The railroad was completed within the next three years and on August 25, 1890, a committee of the mayor and board of aldermen appointed for the purpose reported, that the road began at a point on the south side of the Tennessee river, within one mile of the city of Knoxville, that it was a standard gauge steel railroad, that the southern terminus was at the state line between North Carolina and Tennessee, and that the cars had run into the city of Atlanta from Knoxville and into the city of Knoxville from Atlanta. All the conditions having therefore been complied with by the railroad company, an ordinance was passed by the mayor and aldermen of Knoxville September 2, 1890.
This company was afterward consolidated with the Marietta & North Georgia Railroad Company, the consolidation being authorized by legislation, both by the state of Georgia and the state of Tennessee. The first legislation of Georgia on this subject was had December 17, 1892, and this act was amended December 15, 1894 and also December 16, 1895. Under these acts, the Atlanta, Knoxville & Northern Railroad Construction Company had become lawful purchasers of the property and franchises of the Marietta & North Georgia Railroad Company, through a judicial sale of the same in the city of Marietta, Ga, which sale was confirmed by the circuit court for the northern district of Georgia January 6, 1896. This company therefore filed a petition in the office of the secretary of state of Georgia praying for the formation of a corporation to exist for the period of 101 years, with the right to renew the charter and to be known as the Atlanta Knoxville & Northern Railroad Company.
The Knoxville Cumberland Gap & Louisville railroad was formerly the Powell's Valley railroad and was begun in 1887, about the same time as the Knoxville Southern railroad, now the Atlanta Knoxville & Northern. It extends from Knoxville to Middlesboro, Ky, a distance of seventy three miles and in an almost exactly northern direction. It passes through Beverly, Corryton, Powder Springs, Lone Mountain, Powell's River and Cumberland Gap, the latter station being three miles from Middleboro, Ky.
Knoxville Southern Railroad Company
This is a very useful road to
the city of Knoxville as it passes through a rich agricultural and
mining country and almost exactly over the old Cumberland Gap trail,
which had for nearly a century been used as a wagon road and which
during the civil war was famous as being the only practicable route
from the North into the valley of the Tennessee and was kept open by
the government of the United States at enormous expense. At
Knoxville this road connects with the Knoxville Belt railroad and at
Middleboro with the Middleboro Belt railroad, thus increasing its
mileage considerably and it also has short spurs running out from
the main line to coal mines at several places. On August 22, 1889,
an excursion party from Knoxville and West Knoxville, being on board
a train, making a tour of observation over this road, a very serious
accident occurred at Flat Creek, Grainger County, Tenn, in which
several citizens of the two corporations were either killed or
wounded. Those who were killed were: Col Isham Young, chairman of
the board of public works of Knoxville, and Alderman F Hocken jos of
the same city ST Powers and Alexander Reeder and Judge George
Andrews of West Knoxville. The wounded were Peter Kern and Aldermen
Barry and Perry and Citizens HH Ingersoll, HH Taylor, AJ Albers,
John T Hearn, Dr West Alexander, A Arthur Hugh McKeldin, AM Wilson,
WI Smith, C Aebli, H Schubert, R Schmidt, EW Adkins and ES Kinzel,
all of Knoxville, and Hon George L Maloney, HB Wetzel, Ed Barker, WW
Woodruff and Thomas Rodgers, citizens and Aldermen Park and Ross of
West Knoxville. This accident produced a profound sensation in the
two corporations and the boards of mayor and aldermen of each 295
The Knoxville Belt Railway Company was chartered February 28 1887 by AL Maxwell, OP Temple, JWS Frierson, Sam House, WR Tuttle, William Morrow, AA Arthur, Henry B Wetzel and Charles Seymour, for the purpose of constructing a railway from near the mouth of William's Spring branch, near the Crescent Marble Company's quarries, about one mile above the mouth of First creek on the Tennessee river, thence northwest passing through or near the fair grounds, crossing the East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia railway near the zinc works and on up the valley of First creek to a point near where the Broad street turnpike crosses said creek, and thence around the city in such a way as to cross the Knoxville & Ohio railway at a point near the Brookside Cotton mills, thence on to the valley of Third creek, not far from where the old Clinton road, from Knoxville crosses the north prong of the east fork of Third creek thence down the valley of Third creek, crossing the tracks of the East Tennessee Virginia & Georgia railway near the car works, and thence on down the valley of Third creek to the Tennessee river thence up the river along the northern bank to the point of beginning making a complete circuit of the city in a line twelve miles in length.
(Source: Standard History of Knoxville, Tennessee:,edited by William Rule, George Frederick Mellen, John Wooldridge, 1900)
