Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-24
FIFTY YEARS OF HISTORY.
RELICS OF THE CENTRALis
EARLY DAYS.

the signatures lhey BORE
A few DAYS ago, while the records ofthe
Auditors Office Of the Central Railroad
were being moved with the view Of select
ing such books and papers as might be
deemed worthy Of preservation, a number
Of old time relics were discovered
which are ASSOCIATED with the history
Of the road forty-eight years ago. when it
was being constructed from Savannah
towards Macon. Among these relics is
the Central Railroad Bank Ledger Of 1896,
the Merchants and Freight lists Of 1874
and a number Of one hundred dollar
bonds issued in iS4l, running i've years
at 3 per cent. and paid in lS4l.
These mementoes Of over a generation
ago show the signatures Of Gordon, Guy
Ter. James Cumming. Thomas Purse. j.
Olmstead. 4. Porter, +. MOlyneuX, Isaac
scott. and others who, in one way OF an
other. were identified with the early his
tory OF a corporation which did as MUCH
II not more, to advance the material
interests Of Georgia than any 9th
er factor which was Identified
with the development previous to the war
What that giant corporation has done
since the war is familiar TO the residents
Of the State. It was not as easy TO build
and equip a railway in 1896 as ii Is now,
and many who had means to invest then
regarded railway projects as hallucina-
tiOns. Of at best as experiments OF doubt
full advantage. 1t was claimed that the
locomotives would brighten all the deer
ont Of the country, kill all the grazing
cattle and that but few people would
abandon the stage coach and the two
wheel cart merely to ride faster, If not to
be killed in collision. The earlier reports
Of the President of the Central Railroad
show that when the road was PROJECT,
merely, two surveys were made between
this city and Macon. One was known as
the Northern and the other as the South
ern survey. The southern route was run
from Macon to the vicinity of Dublin, In
Laurens county, and OhOOpee and Reds
Vile. i'm Tattnall county, the latter
place about seyenty-fye miles west OF
savannah. There are old residents OF
those counties who remember the excite
ment which arose among the farmers Nv
ing near the line of the Southern survey.
Some Of them say that they were asked at
that time to donate a right Of way
through their lands, or to assist the pro-
feet in whatever way might be most con-
yenient. Mass meetings were held and
the project was denounced as visionary.
1t was said the scheme might enable
few men to place a few pieces of picture
paper. called bonds, on the market, and
that when they had got all the spare
money of the farmers, and others who
might be foolish enough to buy them, that
would be the last that would be
heard Of the railroad and its
projectors. Meanwhile the survey of the
Northern route was beiRg made under the
superintendence of L. D. Reynolds, the
Chief Engineer. who submitted his re-
ports to the President and BOardOf Direc-
tors in 1883. BY this time portion OF the
road had been constructed, and among the
several persons who took part in the work
was Mr.. Chas. Van Horn, OF tins city, now
one Of the Wardens of the port.
These old records in Auditor ThOmsOn's
Office gives the names of the men who
worked under Mr. Van Horn, as we'll as
the time Of labor of each from week to
week The Northern route was finally
adopted and the road was constructed.
Instead Of being run in sOutheasterly
course from Macon into Tattnall county,
according 10 the line of the Southern sur
vev. and near the line of the old wagon
road by which goods were hauled from
Savannah to Macon in those days, it was
projected almost east, in a very serpen-
tine and indirect line into the southern
portion Of Jefferson county, and thence
down the left bank of the Ogeechee river
through the southern portions Of Burke
and Scriyen and the western portion of
Eflingham county to Chatham county,
and thence into the city. Thus the county
site Of Tattnall was tianked, and has since
been about 3J miles from the line Of the
road.
Among the bonds issued by the road
were the one hundred dollar bonds above
referred TO, issued in 1871. They are hand
sOmely engraved pieces Of paper about
eight inches in length and four inches in
width. The marginal line at the top
shows the word "Hundred' repeated
eight times, while on the bottom marginal
line the word IS repeated eleven times.
On the left hand top and lower corners is
a medallion representation Of the face and
neck Of female bearing on the crown OF
the head the three numerals 100 IN white
or open type on the darker ground work of
the likeness. A wide har is shown be-
| tween the medalliOns. The ground work
or field of the bar is dark, and resting
upon il are three numerals representing
100. These figures are five times larger
than those shown on the medalliOns, and
are executed with more pretensien TO
! finer work. In the lower left-hand
corner, to the right of the medal
lion. Is a representation of the seal
Of the railroad company. In the centre is
shown a locomotive, facing the right, to
which is attached a tender and two cars,
the train resting on track. The engine
has no cab, and the engineer is standing
Immediately in the rear of the whistle
with his head on a level with the top of
that piece Of mechanism. The fireman is
standing in the centre of the
tender, and apparently leaning forward
to pick up a piece of wood.
The inner marginal line of the seal bears
the following Inscription: "Central Rail-
road and Banking Company, Georgia"
In the upper portion of the bond there is
/ i. f1oTT -
| Washington, on either side of which is a
bar, one bearing the number of the bond
and the other the amount with the in
scriptiOn: ''BOund for 1000 dollars" On
the extreme right Of the bond the figures
100 are repeated, one set Of numerals be-
ing in the upper right hand corner, and
the other in the lower. while between the
sets Of numerals are the words RAILROAD
Bond" Across the face of the paper is
the following:
Know an men by these presents, that the
Central Railroad and Banking Company Of
Georgia hereby acknowledges TO owe for work
done on road, and binds itself to pay TO 4. N
yannah. after the laDse Of five years from
date. the sum of one hundred dollars, with
interest at per cent. per annum from date,
the interest payable annually in savannah.
on production Of this bond for entry Of pay
Witness the corporate seal of said company
at Savannah, March l, 1871.
r. r. CUYLKR, Cashier.
w. w. GORDON. President.
As the interest was paid the successive
dates OF payment were written in the
book, signed by Oliver p. Felt, the last
payment being signed f. MOlyneuX,
March 81, 1916. The foregoing described
bond was No. ~. No. As has the sigma
ture A. Porter, in place of Molyneux;
that Of No. 2O7, I. Purse, and that Of No.
1S5. J. Olmstead.
The merchants and freight lists, run
ming from 1874 to 1919, fill two books only,
whereas in 1884 many books of much
larger size are required. The most sug-
gestiye description of the amount of bust
ness done them compared to that which
is being done now is to say that
in the years 1914 and 1919
the transportation department was an in
FAINT. whereas now il is a giant. On the
list Of shippers from Savannah from 1874
TO 1S49 the following names appears:
GOwdy & Wells, r. Habersham & Son, l..
Baldwin & Co., Harris & Reilly, Weed &
Morrell, Wood & ClaghOrn, c. Hartridge,
w. II. MAY & Co, snider, Lathrop &
hewitt. j. Washburne & Wilder,
:. Philbrick, I. III. Harden, j..
T. Rowland. Sims & Lamar,
c. Guilmartin, John Lama, Edward Pad
elfOrd. William Duncan, g. \. NeYle, n.
A. Hardee Il Co., DIR. r. ID. Arnold, j..
Lippman, II. A. Crane, A. n. Miller, Haz-
ara. Denslow & Webster, T. NJ. Turner
and c. II. Campbell. Some of these par
ties are still living; others have left sue
cessOrs distinguished either as merchants,
lawyers or bankers.
THE SUPERIOR COURT.