Georgia and Florida Railway

Product Details

Beautifully engraved antique stock certificate from the Georgia and Florida Railway dating back to the 1910's. This document is signed by the company President and Secretary, was printed by the American Bank Note Company and measures approximately 12" (w) by 8 1/4" (h).

This certificate's fantastic vignette features the Commerce allegory with a train, ship and cargo. She is flanked by the Georgia and Florida State Seals.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Historical Context

Organized in 1906, the Georgia and Florida Railway bought, constructed and operated railroads in the connecting Southern states of Georgia and Florida. John Skelton Williams, a former president of the Seaboard Air Line Railway, began building the G&F when he acquired six existing rail lines between 1906 and 1911. These lines included:

• The Atlantic and Gulf Short Line Railroad, which ran 20 miles from Midville to Swainsboro.
• The Augusta and Florida Railway, which ran 30 miles from Keysville to Midville.
• The Douglas, Augusta and Gulf Railway, which ran 87 miles between Hazlehurst-Nashville and Barrows Bluff-Broxton.
• The Millen & Southwestern Railroad, which ran 53 miles from Millen through Pendleton to Vidalia.
• The Nashville and Sparks Railroad, running 12 miles between Nashville and Sparks.
• The Valdosta Southern Railway, running 28 miles from Valdosta, Georgia to Madison, Florida. Trackage rights between Keysville and Augusta via the Augusta Southern Railroad were also obtained in 1906.

A north-south line from Augusta, Georgia to Madison, Florida was realized in 1910 by building three new lines from Swainsboro to Pendleton, from Hazlehurst to Vidalia, and from Nashville to Valdosta, all three connecting with the recently acquired lines.

A shortcut was constructed in Coffee County from Douglas to Garrant, abandoning the older tracks between Broxton and Garrant. Broxton was now off the main line, but a branch line remained that connected Broxton to the new main line at Douglas. When the Sparks Western Railway was purchased, the G&F established a branch to Moultrie in 1911 through trackage rights agreements and the construction of short connectors. A 2.2-mile branch from Sparks to Adel also established a branch to Moultrie. In 1915 the G&F entered receivership, but was able to remain intact.

By 1916 the G&F owned 318 miles of road that consisted of a 224-mile main line from Keysville, Georgia, to Madison, Florida along with a 44-mile branch from Pendleton to Millen; a 17-mile branch from Douglas Junction to Barrows Bluff; a 32-mile branch from Nashville to Kingwood; and a 2.2-mile line between Sparks and Adel, as well as trackage rights of 2.2 miles from Kingwood to Moultrie on the AB&A and another 26 miles from Keysville to Augusta on the Augusta Southern.

The G&F acquired the Augusta Southern (Augusta-Sandersville) in 1919. In 1924, the railroad added a branch line to Statesboro by leasing the Midland Railway where it connected with the main line at Stevens Crossing.

In 1926, the G&F reorganized and was renamed the Georgia and Florida Railroad. Beginning in 1927 the G&F constructed an extension from Augusta to Greenwood, South Carolina, enabling a connection to the Seaboard Air Line and the Piedmont & Northern to be obtained by 1929. The year of 1929 also saw the Georgia and Florida again enter into receivership.