The Port Royal Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that was constructed following 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 ...

. The line was chartered in 1856 but wasn't built until 1870. By 1871, it ran from

Port Royal, South Carolina Port Royal is a List of cities and towns in South Carolina, town on Port Royal Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 14,220 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Hilton Head Is ...

, to

Yemassee, South Carolina Yemassee () is a small Lowcountry town in Beaufort and Hampton counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 1,027 at the 2010 census. Yemassee is near the borders of Colleton and Jasper counties. The town is divided by the co ...

. It was extended to

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navig ...

in 1873. That same year, the company declared bankruptcy and was sold to the new

Port Royal and Augusta Railway The Port Royal and Augusta Railway was a South Carolina railroad that existed in the latter half of the 19th century. The Port Royal Railroad Company was chartered in 1856 and the line was completed in 1870. In 1873, the Georgia Railroad provided ...

in 1878. Although the railroad's ownership changed hands several times over the years of its operation, the physical railroad was in continuous operation until 2006, when the Port of Port Royal was finally closed by the State of South Carolina. In 2009, ownership of the railroad right-of-way was transferred to the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority and was officially decommissioned. BJWSA began removing the rails in 2010 to prepare for water & sewer infrastructure and the creation of a

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

. Portions of the

Spanish Moss Trail The Spanish Moss Trail is a partially-completed, ten-mile multi-purpose rail trail in northern Beaufort County, South Carolina. Using the former Port Royal Railroad right-of-way now owned by Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, the dedica ...

opened to the public in 2012.Spanish Moss Trail expected to open by Thanksgiving
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References

External links

Port Royal to Yemasee, SC (Abandoned Railroads)
Defunct South Carolina railroads Defunct Georgia (U.S. state) railroads Railway companies established in 1870 Railway companies disestablished in 1878 {{US-rail-transport-stub

See also

References

External links