Alabama, Florida & Georgia Railroad
The Alabama, Florida & Georgia Railroad Company (A, F&G) was the earliest company in the Pensacola area to attempt construction of a railroad, though it was ultimately unsuccessful. It was the predecessor of the Alabama & Florida Railroad.
Origins
As railroads first began operation in the 1820s, Pensacola's business leaders began planning a way to connect the harbor to this new transportation network. In December 1833, a public meeting was held that resulted in a request to the Alabama state legislature and Florida territorial council for permission to construct a 210-mile railroad. Finding enthusiastic approval from the Florida lawmakers, the Florida, Alabama & Georgia Railroad was incorporated on February 14, 1834, authorized to build a road from Pensacola to the Florida-Alabama border, where it would join a road from Columbus, Georgia.
The Alabama legislature was less enthusiastic, as Mobile delegates worried that a proposed branch line to Montgomery would affect commerce down the Alabama River. When their delegation blocked a first attempt to pass a charter, a compromise was reached that scrapped the Montgomery line, after which the plan was approved in late 1834.
Funding & planning
The charter of the railroad company was approved on December 12, 1834, with thirty-one initial commissioners: John A. Cameron, Robert Mitchell, Samuel W. Oliver, Starke Hunter, George Stonum, Scaborn Jones, John Forsyth, Jr., William H. Chase, Walter Gregory, Hanson Kelly, John Innerarity, Henry Hyer, Thomas M. Blount, George W. Barkley, Charles Le Barron, John H. Parker, Walker Anderson, Daniel McDougal, James C. Watson, William McMahan, Jefferson Buford, Eli Townsend, Wilson Ashley, Robert Joyner, Charles C. Keyser, Bird C. Willis, Jasper Strong, James Catlin, Jackson Morton, John Hunt and Joseph Forsyth. $1.5 million worth of A, F&G stock was put on the market at $0.25 per share, quickly collecting $3,750 and allowing the company to organize five days later, on December 17. William H. Chase was elected the board's president.
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References
- Charters of the Bank of Pensacola; Alabama, Florida and Georgia railroad company; Pensacola and Perdido rail road company; Blakely and Perdido rail road company; Montgomery rail road company; and Selma and Tennessee rail road company, 1838.
- Charles H. Hildreth. "Railroads Out Of Pensacola, 1833-1883." Florida Historical Quarterly, Volume XXXCII, Numbers 3 and 4, January-April 1959.
