Substack

We live in a crazy world, and we’re always looking forward, it seems. I like to take the opportunity to ponder the past for a moment — to understand the events of the past that led us to the world we know today.

I think we tend to forget history and the impacts of yesterday’s decisions on our world today. But if we look, it’s all around us.

Whether it’s the Beltline in Atlanta, downtown Smyrna or the heart of Dunwoody, it can be hard to believe trains once rumbled through the area. Long before roads, rails were the best way to move goods to market and navigate the landscape.

The Roswell Railroad, like many railroads, emerged from an era when the country couldn’t get enough of railroads. Anyone who’s read old newspapers can find countless announcements of proposed lines.

In the decade before the Civil War, Clarksville was a quiet city. Firing up one of the railroad’s locomotives caused a real sensation.