The Augusta, Knoxville and Greenwood Railroad (AK&G) was a

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

railroad company chartered shortly after the end of the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

period. In May 1877, the Greenwood and Augusta Railroad was incorporated into and became a

branch A branch, also called a ramus in botany, is a stem that grows off from another stem, or when structures like veins in leaves are divided into smaller veins. History and etymology In Old English, there are numerous words for branch, includ ...

of the AK&G. In February 1878, it was reported that the company had completed grading on of

right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

beginning at

Greenwood, South Carolina Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina. The population in the 2020 United States Census was 22,545 down from 23,222 at the 2010 census. The city is home to Lander University. History In 1823 John McG ...

, with the goal of building a line to

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

. On May 8, 1878, the AK&G board awarded a contract to Wm. D. Grant of Atlanta to grade the next section of the line from Augusta to Walton's Island and to bridge across Warren's Canal. The

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, turf-cutting, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such cer ...

ceremony for this next section was held on May 25, 1878. By June 1878, grading had proceeded such that they had expected to grade of right-of-way in a month. At the AK&G's second annual meeting of stockholders, it was announced that grading work continued through to June 10, 1879, with the last sections expected to be completed by December 20, and the actual cost of construction so far had come in about $17,600 under budget; additionally, progress on the bridge piers and abutments at the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

was positively reported. In 1880 the AK&G was consolidated with the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad. By the time of the acquisition, the AK&G had graded of right-of-way. Following the merger, the new company was called the Augusta and Knoxville Railroad.

References

Defunct South Carolina railroads Railway companies disestablished in 1880 {{SouthCarolina-transport-stub