SOURCE: Streetcar Service in Columbus, Georgia by John R. Lassiter. Muscogiana, Summer 1991, Volume 2, Numbers 1 and 2. John S. Lupold Collection (MC197), Series 6, Box 4, Folder 9.
The city of Columbus, Georgia, was shaped from the wilderness and grew into a thriving community at a time in American history when emphasis was placed on the development of a suitable means of transportation for passengers and freight between inland frontier towns. Steamboats plied their way up and down the Chattahoochee River between Columbus and Apalachicola, Florida soon after the city's founding in 1828. By the late 1850s railroad lines had connected Columbus with other cities and the need for transportation in the area was being satisfied by road, the river, and railroads.
After the Civil War had taken its toll on the nation and the city of Columbus, a period of rebuilding began that can truthfully be called the age of "reconstruction." The end of the war also brought about a greater awareness of the need for some form of public transportation. Partial realization of the transportation problem came with the granting of a charter by the Georgia state general assembly on March 9, 1866, to the Columbus Street Railroad Company. Names on the act as incorporators were J. G Bowers, W. M. Moses, J. R. Ivey, W. W. Garrard, R. B. Murdock, and W. R. Turmire. Coming as it did on the heels of the Civil War and at the beginning of reconstruction, it is not surprising that the street railway business in Columbus did not turn out to be as profitable a venture as originally anticipated. This being the case, the charter was not put into use at that time.
Broad Street, c. 1870s. From collection of David Phillips.
In 1883 the Columbus Railroad Company was formed using the 1866 charter. By April 1884 the line was operating three mule-drawn cars on two miles of track in downtown Columbus. These cars carried a burdensome load of fourteen passengers each. Cliff B. Grimes was the first president of the company. Two years later, the lines had been extended to follow Broad from 7th Street to 14th Street. From 7th Street the tracks went east to 6th Avenue then south to 6th Street. At Broad and 12th Street a line went to Union Station at 6th Avenue. From Broad and 14th Street tracks went east to 2nd Avenue, up 2nd Avenue to 17th Street, down 17th passing 3rd Avenue and crossing 4th, then up the hill via Hamilton Avenue to Rose Hill.
John Francis Flournoy took over as president of the Columbus Railroad Company in 1887. Throughout his life he would figure prominently in the development of local parks, real estate, hydroelectric power, and public transportation especially until his resignation as president of the Columbus Railroad Company in 1901. A good friend of Flournoy's, Louis Ford Garrard, became a member of the railroad company's board of directors in 1887. Both were born in Wynnton in 1847 and attended school in the one room brick schoolhouse that is now the library of Wynnton Elementary School. Both attended the University of Alabama and there enlisted in the Confederate Army. During the war the two would be assigned to the same unit, Nelson's Rangers. In 1888, a year after the Flournoy takeover, the best remembered of all Columbus trolley lines was established.
This was the "Belt Line." In addition to being known as the Belt Line, the route was often called the "Wynnton Circuit," and for many years was a source of transportation to and from Wildwood Park. The seven-mile Wynnton loop took approximately forty-five minutes to cover during the time that a steam "dummy" was used as the means of motive power.
Broad Street, c. 1890s. From collection of David Phillips.
The dummy locomotives were about twenty feet in length and were 0-4-0 type engines (no front wheels, four in the center, and none behind the drive wheels). They were wood burning initially, using pine about three feet in length, and had no tender as did standard steam railroad locomotives. After a number of Wynnton residents complained about the smoke from the dummy, coke was substituted for pine and used from then on because of its smokeless nature. The passenger dummies, unlike the ones for freight, were enclosed in a cab so horses in town would not be frightened. This being the case, the appearance of the belt line engine would be somewhat like that of a wooden box car with a few modifications. The passenger dummies were named "Wildwood" and "John Hill." When established, the belt line was the only line that was not horse-drawn.
Service began at 6:00 AM and continued until 10:30 PM, normal equipment being the dummy and one to three cars. For special events such as parties, dances, or picnics, the line would put on additional cars and run later into the evening. The cars were thirty feet long and carried from forty to fifty passengers. For five cents, a person could travel the whole Belt Line, and if they so desired, with a conductor in every car, could get off anywhere they wished. To do this the conductor would pull a cord three times, ringing a bell in the engine, and the train would stop. Two trains ran at the same time on the belt line, one from Broad through East Highlands to Wildwood Park, the other out 10th Street up Wynnton Road to Wildwood. They would switch at Wildwood and also at 10th Street and Broad.
The freight and passenger dummies were both of standard gauge (four feet eight- and one-half inches) and because of the unusually sharp curves along the route, wheel arrangement was thus dictated to a small number, so the engine could turn easily. The area that these engines serviced was Front Street, Bay Street, and Broad Street, the tracks on Broad being used to deliver freight to merchants on the west side of the street. In 1900, these freight lines were leased by the Seaboard Air Line Railway for a period of fifty years. It was also hoped that the railroad would purchase the Alabama Warehouse, owned by the Columbus Railroad Company, and then use it as a depot. In 1902 the railroad built a new brick structure for that purpose on Front Avenue (pictured below).
During the 1880s cities throughout the country were electrifying businesses, homes, and streetcars. Electrical power saw its first commercial use in Columbus at this time also. The first streetcar system in the country operated by electricity came about in 1886 in Montgomery, Alabama. At the regular monthly meeting of the Columbus city council on the evening of November 5, 1890, a petition was received from the Columbus Railroad Company for permission to electrify its lines. The permission was granted.
Slightly more than a month later, on December 24, 1890, the state legislature granted a charter to E. J. Rankin, J. B. Holt, T. F. Smith, R. A. Carson, D. P. Dozier, Rhodes Browne, and Samuel A. Carter, forming a new streetcar company in Columbus, the North Highlands Electric Railroad Company. This competitor to Flournoy had been organized with $50,000 in capital and was authorized by its franchise to operate within a five-mile radius of the center of Columbus. In 1892, the first electrified line was put into use, the North Highlands line. This was a proud moment for the citizens of Columbus, especially for those reaping the most benefit, the people of North Highlands and Bibb City. The line owned three cars and extended from the North Highlands Casino (the site is presently occupied by Comer Auditorium) down 2nd Avenue to 11th Street, where it made a turn and ended at the bell tower on Broad Street.
There was much speculation as to when the lines of the Columbus Railroad Company would be electrified. In two years, the problem was solved when the North Highlands Electric Railroad Company was absorbed by the Columbus Railroad Company. Prior to the actual consolidation of the Columbus and North Highlands companies, a certain amount of competitive aggressiveness existed that at times was expressed through fights among employees of the two companies. This hostility led a minority of Columbusites to believe that such a merger was not possible. The majority, however, agreed with the predictions of the Enquirer-Sun, that consolidation was imminent, and in the best interests of the city and its citizens.
On the morning of November 22, 1894, the consolidation was made official. Up to this time officials of both companies had been unwilling to disclose any information. The silence imposed on the press and public created a desire for information, and when the morning of the 22nd came, the press was there also. Representatives of the North Highlands Railroad Company were S. A. Carter (president, and brother-in-law of W. C. Bradley), Rhodes Browne, and E. J. Rankin. The Columbus Railroad Company was represented by J. F. Flournoy and L. F. Garrard, as attorney.
The terms of the merger were simple. For $25,000 cash all bonds of the North Highlands Company were turned over to Flournoy, giving control and ownership of all tracks, right of way, and equipment to the Columbus Railroad Company. With reorganization, the North Highlands Company also saw a change in presidency, from S. A. Carter to John F. Flournoy. Although the property of the Columbus Railroad Company, the North Highlands line continued to operate under the same name. Three weeks prior, the consolidation had actually been made legal with members of the company holding a majority of the Columbus stock, the Drake and Stratton Company.
In an Enquirer-Sun interview Mr. Flournoy stated: “...the lion and the lamb will now lie down together...” Obviously, he was referring to the turmoil between the two companies. At that time, the main emphasis of the consolidation was the benefits reaped from it for the benefit of Columbus. Plans put forth included the connection of the Rose Hill line and the North Highlands line at 2nd Avenue and 17th Street, a new line connecting Broad at 15th Street and 2nd Avenue, and the use of heavier rail to upgrade the track between 15th and 17th Streets because of expected heavy use. The next day crews were put to work connecting the 10th and 12th Street lines along 5th Avenue. The idea of establishing a transfer station was also expressed. It was envisioned that no one would have to walk more than one block in any direction to catch a streetcar.
Other events took place in 1894 that were important to the streetcar lines. On November 9th an agreement was reached between the Columbus Railroad Company and City Mills by which a power station would be built at the dam. Early in 1894 stock was issued to fund the City Mills dam project. In this regard the Drake and Stratton Company bought most of the stock and thus established their controlling interest. The railroad agreed to pay $4,000 a year for this privilege and also not to sell the power to any competitor of City Mills. This station was the first hydroelectric power plant in Columbus.
Soon after the North Highlands merger, the steam powered electric generating plant used to power the cars of the North Highlands Company was moved to the car barn and used as an additional power source for streetcars throughout the entire city.
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