UPDATE: The director of the Southern Museum informed Railfanning.org Editor Todd DeFeo the museum has canceled this event.
KENNESAW, Georgia — Railfanning.org Editor Todd DeFeo will present “People and Places of the Western & Atlantic” at Kennesaw’s Southern Museum on March 9.
The presentation, which starts at 1 p.m. on March 9, will highlight the history of the state-owned railroad through people who shaped its history, including a mix of well-known and more obscure historical figures. Museum entry is required.
DeFeo has written two books about the Western & Atlantic Railroad — Western & Atlantic Railroad (Images of Rail), published by Arcadia Publishing in 2019, and The ‘Crookedest Road Under the Sun’: A Driving Tour of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, published by The DeFeo Groupe in 2022.
The State of Georgia chartered the Western & Atlantic in 1836, and the state still owns the line, having leased it since 1870. To build the State Road, as it was often called, workers created a winding route that cut through the North Georgia landscape.
The railroad aided the development and growth of many communities between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and remains essential to North Georgia and the region’s industry. During the Civil War, both armies used the vital artery, and it was the setting for one of the war’s most iconic events, the Great Locomotive Chase, also known as The Andrews Raid.
DeFeo will also lead a bus tour of the Western & Atlantic on behalf of the Kennesaw Museum Foundation to support the Southern Museum. The Kennesaw Museum Foundation expects to release tour details shortly.
For more information, visit SouthernMuseum.org.
