We arose and after checking the Internet, we went downstairs and had our last breakfast in the hotel then waited at the bus for the driver. We boarded our usual two seats and all of us were soon off to Winder, our first stop of the morning.
Seaboard Coast Line caboose 01081, nee Seaboard Air Line 56xx, built by International Car, year unkown.
Gainesville Midland 2-10-0 208, ex. donated City of Winder and Barrow County in 1959, exx. sold to Gainesville Midland Railroad Company 208, nee Seaboard Air Line Railway Company 530, built by Baldwin in 1930.
Builder of the Nation Georgia Historical Board.
Seaboard Air Line Winder restored wooden combination station which houses the Winder Chamber of Commerce. In 1881, the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern, later the Gainesville Midland Railroad, built tracks between Gainesville and Social Circle that passed through Winder, known as Jug Tavern. Four years later, the Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railroad started building its line between Baltimore and Atlanta, with a route passing though town. The line reached Atlanta in 1882, though before the railroad was completed, it was leased to a company operating as Seaboard Air Line.
The community was named after John H. Winder, a railroad builder, who was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, to John and Octavio Winder. He started with Seaboard as a clerk then rose to become a general manager and died in Baltimore in 1952.
One of the original benches in the station.
Seaboard Air line initials on the back of the bench.
A railroad crossing shanty building.
The Wishing Well.
The bus took us all to Statham.
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Seaboard Air Line Statham wooden combination station built in 1912 and houses an antique shop. Statham grew from a combination country store and post office owned and operated by Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Statham. The post office was first known as Barbers Creek, then Delay and changed to Statham in 1897. The first depot was built in 1900.
This monument represents the center of Statham, Georgia chartered December 20, 1892.
The coach took us to third station of the day in Athens.
Southern Railway Athens brick combination depot built in 1913 which saw its last passenger train in 1951. During the Civil War, Athens became a significant supply center when the New Orleans armory was relocated to the present day Chicopee building.
Southern Railway Passenger station built 1913 plaque.
Next we went to the Seaboard Air Line station.
Seaboard Air Line Athens brick combination station built in 1891 which is used by CSX crews. In 1906, the Gainesville Midland constructed an extension from Jefferson to a connection with the Seaboard Air Line two miles west of Athens at Fowler Junction. From that point, Gainesville Midland trains continued to Athens through a trackage agreement. In 1999, the 40 mile line from Gainesville to Athens was sold to Seaboard Air Line.
The Seaboard name is still on the bridge.
CSX power laying over in front of the depot.
CSX GP40-2 6929 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1970.
Next we all went to Winterville.
CSX bay window caboose 900424, builder and year unknown.
Georgia Railroad Winterville wooden combination depot built in the late 1800's. Winterville was named after John Winter, a railroad official, and incorporated in 1904 and was first known as Six Mile due to the distance from Athens. It is the Marigold Capital of Georgia and has celebrated a Marigold Festival for over thirty years.
Our next stop was Crawford.
Firefly Trail banner.
Georgia Railroad Crawford stone comnbination depot which houses the Oglethorpe County Chamber of Commerce and was built in 1848. Crawford was orginally called "Lexington Depot" and under this name, had its start when the railroad was extended to that point. The Georgia General Assemby incorporated the place as the town of Crawford in 1876. The present name is after William H. Crawford {1772-1834}, U.S. Secretary of War and Secretary of the Treasury.
We then travelled to Maxeys.
Georgia Railroad Maxeys wooden combination depot has been restored. It is on the 40-mile Union Point-to-Athens line abandoned in 1984. As the area began to grow, local landowner William H. Gilliam was appointed U.S. Postmaster of the town. First known as "Shanty", Gilliam set up shop in the newly-built railroad depot and acted as Shanty's first depot agent. Lewis Salmons {1842-1844} changed the post office to "Salmonsville". Postmaster George W. Maxey {1848-1850} sucessfully lobbied to have the local post office changed to Maxey. By the Civil War the town had added a possessive "s".
In the early 1900's, Maxeys was a booming cotton town. There was a cotton gin, sawmills, a planing mill, a wagon and buggy manufacturing works, a fertilizer plant and a funeral directing concern, having the first motor hearse in the area.
Our adventures continued in Farmington.
Our bus that we were using today.
Central of Georgia Farmington gabled wooden depot in this unincorporated communuity. It houses a regional fine art gallery with exhibits including paintings, sculptures, folk art, ceramics, jewellery, furniture and more.
Central of Georgia Milepost 89.
We were then taken to Madison.
Central of Georgia Madison gabled combination depot has been moved 60 feet to a location accessible to the public and had previoulsy been occupied by Norfolk Southern's tenant, Cater Parrot Railnet. The rehabilitation began with the discovery of the building in 2008. After forty-five years of neglect, the building was leased from the Norfolk Southern by the Madison Downtown Development Authority and moved to an adjacent city-owned lot after undertaking significant historical research on the building including exterior rehabilition.
The station board for Madison.
The Cater Parrot mailbox, after which we walked up and over to the second station in Madison.
Georgia Railroad Madison combination brick depot built in 1841, which is one of the oldest in the state. The Georgia Railroad was chartered in 1883 and reached Madison from Augusta in 1841. This was the first brick station in Georgia built by John B. Walker on land deeded by Adam B. Saffold. It was partially burned by federal troops on December 3, 1894 but was repaired the following year. The first train from Madison to Marthasville ran on September 15, 1845.
A lunch stop was planned for Madison and the two of us chose Arby's, which really hit the spot.
The first station of the afternoon was Rutledge.
Georgia Railroad Rutledge combination station built in 1919 and rebuilt after a 1988 fire and serves as the City Hall. Rutledge had its start in 1849 when the Georgia Railroad was extended to that point. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Rutledge as a town in 1869 and a city in 1904.
Mural on the baggage door.
City of Rutledge Where Cotton Was King mural.
We continued to Mansfield.
Central of Georgia Mansfield wooden combination depot built between 1895 and 1900. Early variant names of the town were "Bob Lee" and "Camel". A post office called Mansfield has been in operation since 1897. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Mansfield as a town in 1903.
The bus next took us all to Social Circle.
Georgia Railroad Social Circle brick passenger depot built in 1913. Social Circle, according to tradition, was named for an incident in which a group of people living in the settlement offered water to weary travellers whose response was "This certainly is a social circle". The city officially notes that citzens of another village community which was already known by the name of Social Circle joined the settlement in the early days. Social Circle was incorporated as a town in 1869 and a city in 1904.
Several of us were expecting a more elaborate station given the town's name.
CSX ES44AH 3001 built by General Electric in 2012.
CSX ES44AH 773 built by General Electric in 2012.
We left Social Circle for the final depot of this convention in Monroe.
Georgia Railroad Monroe brick combination depot built in 1885 and used by BMSI, a packing firm. Monroe was founded in 1818 as the seat of the newly-formed Walton County. It was incorporated as a town in 1821 and as a city in 1896. Monroe was a major cotton producer during the 1900's and the two main cotton mills were the driving economic force in the region. Now they house antique markets and other unique retail.
This ends our 2024 convention and we returned to the Fairfield Inn in Gainesville. The two of us and Doug returned to Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen for an excellent meal then drove back to the hotel for the night.
Thank you to Jim Dent, Michael Finzel, Gary Miller, Russel Nevins, William Sosnowski and David Phraner as well as Ted Xakellis for all their work and efforts in putting together this year's convention, which covered fifty-four stations over four days.
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