- Railroad
- Early
- September 1845
- City of Atlanta
- Location approximate
Georgia Railroad arrives (1845)
The Georgia Railroad, chartered in 1833, was completed from Augusta to Marthasville in September 1845 by way of Stone Mountain and Decatur, joining the Western & Atlantic.
The record
The GHS depot marker says the line was completed in September 1845, at a cost of $3,369,856.42, to the village first called Terminus and then Marthasville, and that chief engineer J. Edgar Thomson soon suggested the name Atlanta. NGE says the company was chartered to Athens businessmen in 1833 and completed to Marthasville in 1845. Lithonia and Stone Mountain became stops on the line that year. The DeKalb History Center and a 1966 Goff article (via an online compilation) say it followed the ridge of the old Sandtown Trail.
Today: The CSX line and MARTA East Line follow the corridor.
Where on the map: Downtown Atlanta east along the CSX/MARTA East Line through Inman Park, Decatur, Clarkston, Stone Mountain and Lithonia toward Augusta.