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After the war, Knoxville businessman
Charles McClung McGhee (1828–1907) and several other investors formed a syndicate which purchased both the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad and the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad. In 1869, the two lines were consolidated to form the East Tennessee,
278:, providing Knoxville with a link to the Atlantic Coast. Like its competitors with the Cincinnati and Charleston, the Hiwassee ran into financial difficulties, and the Hiwassee Company nearly collapsed. The company was forced to focus on turnpike construction and iron production to survive.
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In 1844, the
Charleston and Hamburg extension to Dalton was completed, and Knoxville and Athens businessmen again entertained the idea of building a rail line to Georgia. The Hiwassee Company was recharted in 1847 as the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, and with renewed support from the
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Virginia and
Georgia Railroad, with Thomas Howard Callaway as president, and McGhee and Richard T. Wilson as agents. As a nexus between northern financiers and local interests, McGhee was able to obtain for the ETV&G large amounts of capital, and the new company rapidly expanded.
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formed a syndicate which purchased both lines to form the ETV&G in 1869, and largely through McGhee's efforts, the new ETV&G bought out numerous other rail lines across the region. By 1890, the ETV&G controlled over 2,500 miles (4,000 km) of tracks in five states.
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on the north and west. Shortly after the advent of railroads in the 1820s, the region's business leaders began discussing railroad construction as a way to relieve this isolation. In the mid-1830s, several businessmen, among them
Knoxville physician
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While efforts to establish a railroad in East
Tennessee began in the 1830s, financial difficulties stalled construction until the late 1840s. The East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad was built between 1847 and 1859, connecting
357:, forcing the Confederate government to invoke martial law in the region. Throughout the war, both Confederate and Union forces destroyed railroad tracks and facilities to prevent them from falling under the other's control.
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The railroads in East
Tennessee provided a major supply route between Virginia and the Deep South, and thus both Confederate and Union forces considered the region of vital importance. On November 8, 1861,
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Map of the
Shenandoah Valley route via Luray Caverns, Natural Bridge & the Grottos. The Shenandoah Valley R.R. Norfolk & Western R.R. and East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia System and their
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In the mid-1880s, overspeculation in railroad construction began to take its toll on the ETV&G's finances. In 1886, the company was reorganized as the East
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Rail
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in 1856. After overcoming financial and engineering difficulties, the tracks from
Knoxville to Bristol were completed on May 14, 1858, with Cunningham personally driving the last spike.
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In 1869, the ETV&G bought the
Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad, which had been revived after the war, and over the subsequent decade extended its tracks to the Kentucky state line at
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On July 4, 1855, as Knoxvillians celebrated the arrival of the railroad, track work began on the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, which sought to connect Knoxville with
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463:"), and eventually came under the control of the Richmond Terminal Company conglomerate. After the collapse of Richmond Terminal in the early 1890s, New York financier
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340:, chartered the Knoxville and Kentucky Railroad, which planned to build a line northward into Kentucky, where it would join existing lines to Cincinnati and
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Throughout the first half of the 19th century, East Tennessee struggled to overcome the economic isolation created by its natural barriers, namely the
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During the 1850s, virtually every major business and political leader in Knoxville was involved in railroad building. In 1852, congressmen
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298:), just southwest of Knoxville. On June 22, 1855, the first train rolled into Knoxville over the East Tennessee and Georgia's tracks.
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Tennessee state legislature, work on the line began the following year. By 1852, the line had reached Blair's Ferry (modern
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system that operated in the southeastern United States during the late 19th century. Created with the consolidation of the
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on the Atlantic Coast. By 1882, the ETV&G had completed tracks from Rome to Macon, connecting these last two lines.
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state line to join with the Western North Carolina Railroad system, and provide a direct link from Knoxville to
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562:. Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society. pp. 100–111, 226–231.
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In the early 1880s, the ETV&G managed to build a line through the rugged
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In 1836, a group of businessmen chartered the Hiwassee Railroad, based in
606:. Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society. pp. 192–199.
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The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee
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East Tennessee Historical Society (1976). Deaderick, Lucile (ed.).
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formed the Southern Railway, which purchased the ETV&G and the
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Share of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company
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East Tennessee Historical Society (1972). Rothrock, Mary (ed.).
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East Tennessee Union loyalists destroyed five railroad bridges
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in 1869, the ETV&G played an important role in connecting
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1890 map of the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway
263:(which would have passed through East Tennessee), but the
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East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad (ETV&G)
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Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee
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452:, westward to Memphis, and eastward to Brunswick.
313:physician Samuel B. Cunningham, this line reached
205:centers. In 1894, the ETV&G merged with the
618:"East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad"
401:, which connected Memphis and Chattanooga, the
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490:Southern Terminal, Knoxville, Tennessee
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361:The rise and decline of the ETV&G
193:and other isolated parts of Southern
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677:ETV&G's Annual Report for 1889
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510:"The Days They Changed the Gauge"
751:1869 establishments in Tennessee
726:Defunct North Carolina railroads
575:Interstate Commerce Commission.
399:Memphis and Charleston Railroad
469:Richmond and Danville Railroad
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761:1894 mergers and acquisitions
377:ETV&G advertisement, 1884
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736:Defunct Virginia railroads
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231:Charles McClung McGhee
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628:on November 28, 2010
459:(as opposed to "Rail
338:Thomas William Humes
244:Blue Ridge Mountains
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248:Cumberland Plateau
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148:American Civil War
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238:Predecessor lines
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632:December 8,
203:wholesaling
98:Track gauge
68:Predecessor
695:Categories
496:References
440:tracks at
342:Louisville
315:New Market
261:Charleston
257:Cincinnati
195:Appalachia
585:297351688
436:with the
430:Asheville
348:Civil War
285:Depot in
199:Knoxville
167:) in 1886
154:converted
138:5 ft
92:Technical
82:Successor
479:See also
442:Harriman
185:and the
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47:Overview
434:Clinton
413:, with
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307:Memphis
221:, with
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
