The Atlanta Consolidated Street Railway was an attempt by

Joel Hurt Joel Hurt (1850–1926) was an American businessman. He was the president of Trust Company of Georgia, and a developer in Atlanta. He was one of the many founders of SunTrust Bank. Early life Hurt was born on July 31, 1850, in Hurtsboro, Ala ...

to take over the various

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

streetcar systems. Incorporated in May 1891, Hurt began negotiations to consolidate widely overlapping competing companies. On September 21, 1891, the titles of the following were conveyed to the Consolidated: *

Atlanta Street Railway The Atlanta Street Railway was the first streetcar system in Atlanta. Originally chartered by the state of Georgia on February 23, 1866, by George Hillyer, John Westmoreland and John Thrasher soon after the city put such onerous demands on th ...

owned by Edward C. Peters *

Gate City Street Railroad The Gate City Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was chartered by the state of Georgia on September 26, 1879. The individuals involved in the formation of the company included Laurent DeGive (Belgian consul and opera house owner), Levi B. ...

* Fulton County Street Railroad *

West End and Atlanta Street Railroad The West End & Atlanta Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1872 by Thomas Alexander, M. G. Dobbins, B. J. Wilson, Benjamin H. BroomheadAlvin K. Seago J. M. Alexander, James Atkins, J. W. Goldsmith, John M. Harwell and J ...

Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railroad The Atlanta & Edgewood Street Railroad Company of Atlanta, Georgia was organized in 1886 by Joel Hurt, C. W. Hubner, H. E. W. Palmer, W. P. Inman, Peter Lynch, R. C. Mitchell, Asa Griggs Candler, J. P. McDonald, J. G. Reynolds, A. F. Morela ...

already owned by Hurt The fully steam-powered

Metropolitan Street Railroad The Metropolitan Street Railroad was an early streetcar company in Atlanta. The horsecar line was organized in 1882 by Lemuel Grant, Jesse W. Rankin, William L. Abbott, William A. Haygood, and Jacob Haas. The goal was to serve the southeast sid ...

was absorbed on November 22, 1892. Only the Atlanta & Edgewood was completely electrified and they began work to convert the others. There were three small companies left outside of the system at the time (two headed to the northwest and one down to the barracks at

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

) but by the mid-1890s many more competitors were built. Hurt continued with the electrification project having to contract for more and more power from Henry M. Atkinson while fighting a public relations battle over a perception of monopoly. By 1899 Hurt and Atkinson were feuding in what has come to be called the "Second Battle of Atlanta" which resulted in the formation of

Georgia Railway and Electric Company Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consolidat ...

(predecessor of

Georgia Power Georgia Power is an electric utility headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was established as the Georgia Railway and Power Company and began operations in 1902 running streetcars in Atlanta as a successor to the Atlanta Consolida ...

) combining all existing companies in 1902.

See also