Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed is a former passenger depot and trainshed constructed in 1860 by the

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

(CofG) before the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. This pair of buildings was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1976, (includes 7 pages of drawings) and a listing that was expanded in 1978 to the old Central of Georgia Railway Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities. Located on the northwest corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Louisville Road in the city's historic downtown, the red brick passenger terminal of the CofG complex houses the Savannah Visitor Center and the Savannah History Museum. The site complex includes several notable structures, including cotton yard, a blacksmith shop, a brick

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...

and the trainshed, as well as an

office car A private railroad car, private railway coach, private car, or private varnish is a railroad passenger car either originally built or later converted for service as a business car for private individuals. A private car could be added to the make- ...

and

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damag ...

. It is owned by the Coastal Heritage Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of coastal Georgia and adjacent regions. The Savannah History Museum is located at 303 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard ( Georgia State Route 25 Connector). The museum is housed inside the old passenger terminal. It contains artifacts and exhibits relating to the history of Savannah from its establishment to the current time.Savannah History Museum. "Savannah History Museum" brochure, circa 2007. The shops and terminal facilities were listed separately on June 2, 1978, and the Coastal Heritage Society opened the museum on the site in 1989.

Passenger trains in the station

The Central of Georgia operated several trains to the station, on an

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 ...

(

Terminal Station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...

) - Macon (

) - Savannah itinerary. The last of these was the '' Nancy Hanks II,'' operating to 1971, when

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

assumed most passenger train operations in the United States."Passenger Trains Operating on the Eve of Amtrak" Trains magazine http://ctr.trains.com/~/media/import/files/pdf/f/7/7/passenger_trains_operating_on_the_eve_of_amtrak.pdf

References

External links

Savannah History Museum
– Coastal Heritage Society
Savannah Visitors Center Locations
– Visit Savannah

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Historic American Engineering Record Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HAER) documentation, filed under Savannah, Chatham County, GA: ** ** ** ** {{National Register of Historic Places Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic American Engineering Record in Georgia (U.S. state) Railway stations in the United States opened in 1860

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

Former railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state) Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks Museums in Savannah, Georgia History museums in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Savannah, Georgia Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Blacksmith shops Repurposed railway stations in the United States