John C. Moore

Biography

John C. Moore (August 16, 1830-May 10, 1897) was a Western & Atlantic Railroad conductor, civic leader, and the first mayor of Smyrna, Georgia.

Evidence suggests he joined the state-owned railroad around 1868 and spent much of his career working as a delivery clerk and later a conductor on the line between Atlanta and Chattanooga. After purchasing a homestead in Smyrna following the Civil War, Moore became one of the community’s leading citizens and was elected the town’s first mayor following its incorporation.

Like many nineteenth-century railroaders, Moore experienced his share of mishaps. During his railroad career, he was involved in derailments, grade-crossing accidents, and other incidents common to the era. In 1891, he was conductor of a passenger train that derailed south of Marietta, sending the locomotive tumbling down an embankment. Despite periodic reports that he had been dismissed by the railroad, Moore continued in railroad service for many years.

In 1896, Moore was injured after he was struck by a horse on an Atlanta street, an accident that reportedly ended his ability to earn a living. He died the following year and was buried in Smyrna Memorial Cemetery, only a short distance from the Western & Atlantic Railroad that had shaped both his career and his community.