The origins of metro Atlanta, in particular the cities of Atlanta and Marietta, are closely tied to the development of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in the early 19th century.

The December 05, 1837, issue of a newspaper called the Federal Union ran a lengthy report from S.A. Long, the chief engineer of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, addressed to Georgia Governor George Gilmer. The Courier retrieved the article from the Georgia Historic Newspapers website.

The report outlined the results of a survey and proposed a route.

The report began, “I embrace the earliest opportunity to forward my report on the surveys executed under my direction, with a view to the selection of the most favorable route for a Railroad from the Chattahoochee river to the Tennessee line.” (Capitalizations in the original)

In an earlier Cobb Courier article about the state-chartered railroad company, we wrote:

It was formed to build a state-owned railroad from what later became Atlanta, to the Tennessee River, opening Georgia to trade connections with the Tennessee and Ohio river valleys. In 1845 the partially completed railroad began regular service between Atlanta (which had been renamed from Terminus to Marthasville at that time) and Marietta.

The railroad was established in 1836 and its route completed in 1851, meeting its goal of opening trade between north Georgia and the two major rivers (Tennessee and Ohio).

The 1837 report further stated that at the Chattahoochee River crossing, the location should provide opportunities for branch lines to Augusta, Milledgeville, Macon, and Columbus.

“Commencing on the Chattahoochee near Montgomery’s Ferry, the road crosses the Chattahoochee, and ascends to Marietta, the seat of justice for Cobb County,” the report states. “It there crosses the Kennesaw summit, on the north side of the mountain of the same name, and descends towards the Etowah, passing through the village of Allatoona.”

The Tennessee endpoint, according to the report, should be “at or near Rossville,” which the planners decided would give good access to the Tennessee River.

The report stated that most of the route was occupied by the Cherokee. This report was prepared in 1837, and the infamous “Trail of Tears” commenced the next year, in 1838.

“The country alluded to constitutes a very respectable portion of the region at present occupied by the Cherokee Indians, and is generally designated as the Cherokee Country,” the report continued. “It embraces that part of Georgia situated between the Chattahoochee River and the State of Tennessee.”

The report then went on to outline the challenges posed by the rough terrain:

Its extent along the Chattahoochee, from Winn’s Ferry to Campbellton, is about 70 miles, and on the Tennessee line, about half that distance eastward from Rossville. Its length, from north to south, is about one hundred miles.

Within this district are comprised the counties of Walker, Murray, Floyd, Cass, Cherokee, Forsyth, Paulding, Cobb, and a part of Campbell. All of these, except Paulding, are characterized by intervals of broken terrain, seldom preserving any degree of uniformity in height, depth, or direction for any considerable distance.

This irregularity is particularly notable in the parts of the district that have been examined with a view to locating the contemplated railroad.

The report stated that the land was sparsely populated, and could accomodate a large population of settlers.

It described the valleys in the region as suitable for corn, wheat, rye, and cotton. It mentioned the trees present along the route, including yellow pine, post oak, white oak, chestnut oak, poplar, chestnut, hickory, and black walnut.

It also mentioned the gold found in the region, and several mines along the potential rail routes.

The bulk of the report, which covered the entire first and second pages of the newspaper and most of the third page, described each creek, valley, mountain, and ridge on the potential routes of the railroad. It then gave cost estimates, in 1837 dollars, for the construction of each portion of the line.

To read the entire report, follow this link.

About Georgia Historic Newspapers

Georgia Historic Newspapers is a part of the GALILEO project and is housed at the University of Georgia. It’s a fantastic resource for anyone with an interest in the history of Georgia and its regions.

According to the “About” page on its website:

The Georgia Historic Newspapers Archive is a project of the Digital Library of Georgia (DLG), a part of Georgia’s Virtual Library GALILEO and is based at the University of Georgia Libraries. Since 2007, the DLG has partnered with universities, archives, public libraries, historical societies, museums, and other cultural heritage institutions to digitize historical newspapers from around the state. The archive is free and open for public use and includes over two million Georgia newspaper pages between 1763 and 2021.

Newspaper titles are regularly digitized and added to the archive. If you are interested in including a particular title, you can visit our participation page. A majority of the newspapers on this site were digitized from the microfilm produced by the Georgia Newspaper Project (GNP). For more information about the microfilm available through the GNP, please visit their website.