West of Downtown

This set of photographs feature the main facilities of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, which were located west (actually northwest) of the main section of the city, around the present-day area of the Georgia Dome and Federal office complex.

These photographs were taken on at least three separate days, twice apparently in November, 1864 and again after the war had ended, when Barnard revisited the city. They are obviously meant to document the thoroughness with which Sherman's men broke up the rails and destroyed the railroad infrastructure of the city before departing on the "March to the Sea."

The locator map on the right attempts to identify where these photographs were taken and where these buildings were in relation to other landmarks in the city.

This photo focuses on six locomotives parked within the ruins of a stone turntable which was located just to the west of Forsyth Street. However, I cannot identify to which railroad this turntable belonged. It does not appear on Vincent's 1853 map of Atlanta. Some scholars have said this was the Georgia Railroad roundhouse, but that was far to the east of this location. Since it is so near the Western & Atlantic facilities, and since the W&A was often referred to as the "State Road" some confusion may have occurred.

My best guess is that this building was associated with the Atlanta and West Point RR (called the Atlanta and LaGrange RR until 1857), which was completed in May 1854, one year after Vincent's map. A&WP trains used Macon and Western track to enter the city until 1889, and other Macon and Western's facilities were on the southern side of the Railroad Gulch, near the Hunter and Alabama street intersection, which is near where this photograph was taken.

Also, three of the locomotives in this turntable belonged to the Atlanta & West Point, according to author Robert C. Black who identified these engines in his book, "The Railroads of the Confederacy." The Telegraph, O.A. Bull and the E.L. Ellsworth were A&WP locos; the M.P. Stovall and the Hercules belonged to the Georgia RR while the E.Y. Hill (renamed by the Federals) was a Western & Atlantic engine.

The buildings in the background stood in the block framed by Broad, Marietta, Forsyth and Alabama streets, with the Railroad Gulch running through the middle. Inset A shows an unidentified family grocery store - which I take to mean they sold groceries to individuals in large amounts. Inset B shows one of several buildings which belonged to the five Lynch brothers. We have previously seen that they also owned a buiiding at the northwest corner of Whitehall and Alabama.

Inset C shows the Fire Headquarters building built in 1854 on what was then Market Street. By wartime, when the street had been renamed first to Bridge and then Broad Street, there was a new headquarters building being built across the street from this building before wartime shortages tabled its completion..

Inset D shows one of the masts which are discussed in the "Mysteries" section. Indeed, from its position relative to the Fire Headquarters, it may

be the same mast seen in Photo Set One, Picture V4-2. Although this seems unlikely, Barnard's stereographic camera tended to flatten perspectives so that distant objects appeared closer than they were.

Inset E shows the best view we have seen of the Broad Street bridge, which crossed the hand-dug gap through which Chattanooga-bound trains left the city. To the left of the bridge stands the small store of Beermann and Kuhrt (sign circled), a dealer in "Havana and domestic segars" and smoking implements.

Here Federal soldiers use pry bars and other tools to break up the Western & Atlantic RR. It is very likely that these soldiers belong to companies H and I of the First Michigan Engineers - and if that is so, we know that this photo was taken on Nov. 13, 1864, because it was on that day those units were detailed to tear up Georgia (State) Railroad track from the roundhouse for about 10 miles east.

It is also worth noting that this photo represents one of the first true examples of photojournalism in America, for here Barnard is documenting "for the folks back home" how the Federal occupying force destroyed railroad infrastructure in Atlanta.

This is a very similar view to the one above, except that it was taken on a different day, but not long before or afterwards. While they appear to have been taken from the same spot, View Four appears to have been taken in the early afternoon, while View Three was taken in the late afternoon. Many of the freight items remain but some have been shifted in position. In this photograph, there more items atop the boxcars which now appear joined together. The dark section of the upper right is damage to the photographic plate.

This photograph shows some of the industries and buildings at the western end of the city, in the area of Spring and Hunter streets To the left of the picture are some of the facilities of the Macon and Western Railroad; the semicircular building is the railroad's locomotive house.

To the right of the picture are the ruins of the Atlanta Lard Oil Factory, next door to an unidentified wholesale commission merchant's. These buildings were not destroyed by Federal troops, who at this point had done very little destruction except for the railroads. These buildings were instead razed by Hood's troops before abandoning the city.

In the square is an enhanced section of the photograph which I believe shows the home of Judge John Collier, which stood west of and fronting the Macon and Western RR and south of Stockton (Mitchell) Street. Collier was one of Atlanta's pioneer settlers and his brother, George Washington "Wash" Collier was the town's first postmaster and one of the longest lived pioneers, dying in 1903 at age 80. Judge Collier's home served as a hospital for Confederate and Federal officers.