Old Western & Atlantic Railroad Train Station in GA
Ringgold Depot, Ringgold Georgia
The Ringgold Depot is one of Georgia's few remaining antebellum depots. It was built of native stone and reflects a utilitarian style, rather than any of the architectural trends of the day. It is very similar to the Old Stone Church built at the same time in the same county, using similar stonework. The building features the military and transportation themes of the area, having been one of the depots completed about 1850 when the 137-mile-long rail line linked Atlanta and Chattanooga and thus opened the interior of Georgia to commercial traffic. During the Civil War, it was the scene of several important events, which it survived, although in a somewhat damaged condition.
In the 1830s, northwest Georgia was known as the Cherokee Territory, an area with few roads, and no railroads, making it difficult to carry on trade with the interior of the state. Once the Cherokee Indians were removed, toward the end of the decade, railroad plans connecting Georgia and Chattanooga were well underway. The interior of Georgia would be more accessible due to a series of rail lines to the Tennessee River, the Savannah River, and thus on to foreign ports. The Western and Atlantic Railroad was one of those transportation links.
On December 21st, 1836, Governor William Schley approved an act authorizing construction of a state-owned railroad from a point on the Tennessee River, near the Tennessee state line, to a point on the southeastern bank of the Chattahoochee River. This line was to be known as the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The southern end eventually became the site of Atlanta, while the northern ending, originally Ross's Landing, became Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In the spring of 1838, bids were made at Marietta, Georgia, for the construction of the line. Thirteen years and $4 million were spent to finish this ambitious project.
By September of 1845, the first twenty miles to Marietta were in operation, and the Georgia Railroad had joined the W & A in Atlanta. The road was lengthened to Dalton (99 miles from Atlanta) by July of 1847. On March 22nd, 1848, contracts were drawn to complete all work on the line between Dalton and Chattanooga by October 1st, 1849, including rails and depots. On May 9th, 1850, a celebration took place, for all the tracks had indeed been opened between the two points.
However, the laying of the tracks and the building of the depots were not simultaneous. Although the contractors apparently finished the tracks by the deadline of October 1st (the first train went through Ringgold on December 1st, 1849), at that time the chief engineer was reporting that the contract for the Ringgold Depot had to be renegotiated with a different party. The stone masonry was contracted to Garrett V. Margeram, a 32-year-old Pennsylvania native who, in 1850, was living in Marietta, the central office of the construction work for the W & A. In that year, the Margeram household included a young Mr. Whitney, a Georgia native who was a stonecutter. The railroad later contracted with Margeram to make the marble mile markers for the road. Contracted to do the woodwork on the depot was M.G. Collins. The wells were to be dug by James P. Hackney. At the time of the re-contracting, it was stated that the same team was doing the Chattanooga Depot. Pictures of the depot that existed there during the Civil War show a stone structure very similar to Ringgold's depot. No completion date, payments, or cost has been found for the depot, even though the railroad records for the era exist.
The depot was in existence by early 1850, as the first agent, E.R. Harden, was on duty then. Later, depot operations took on a more structured approach to business when local Ringgold businessman and former postmaster George W.H. Anderson began his day book on February 2nd, 1852. During the first few months, he logs such "beginning" expenditures as an iron chest, the office books, railing around the office, the platform outside the depot (for $1.00 per foot for a total of 334 board feet), including the steps, the ink, paper, candles, and fire buckets (one for the office and one for the train), as well as a bed and clothing for the depot hand. It seems unlikely that, this was a functioning depot without some of these necessities.
Ringgold had been incorporated on December 18th, 1847, while the area was in Walker County. The first election was held in 1848. Previously named Taylor's Gap and Dogwood Post Office, it was known as Cross Roads until named after Samuel Ringgold, who had died in the Mexican War in 1846. Catoosa County was created in 1853 and Ringgold was located in the newly-formed county. At its peak of prosperity in these years, Ringgold became the county seat and could boast a larger trading business than Chattanooga.
Although the W & A had been built to bring prosperity to the larger towns of north central Georgia, it also enabled Ringgold to become one of the fastest railroad "boomtowns" in the country. The depot was the busiest along the 137-mile route from Chattanooga to Atlanta, among the twenty or so stops along the way. In 1863, General U.S. Grant described it as a town of 2,500, with romantic scenery. Although he felt the town showed evidence of neglect and decay on the one hand, he complimented the taste and refinement of certain homes in Ringgold. Two nearby health resorts were frequented by north Georgians.
AS war clouds began to gather in 1860, Ringgold and its depot were the site of several events. Jefferson Davis rode to his inauguration as President of the Confederacy on the W & A, stopping briefly in Ringgold and speaking to a crowd in 1861. The rails were used for Confederate troop transportation, and in April of 1862, the tracks about Ringgold figured in the Great Locomotive Chase.
By 1863, the Federal troops had made significant inroads into the Southern states. By July 4th, when Vicksburg, Mississippi, fell, the entire Mississippi River was in Federal hands, severing the Confederacy in half. At the same time that General Grant accepted Vicksburg's surrender, General William S. Rosecrans and his Federal army were pushing toward middle Tennessee. He encountered Confederate General Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, and rather than be trapped as the Federals encircled Chattanooga, Bragg retreated to northwestern Georgia. Rosecrans seized Chattanooga, the northern terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad, and pursued Bragg. Two Federal contingents, offshoots of the main force, met in Ringgold in September. Reinforcements from the Army of Northern Virginia, 12,000 strong, arrived at Catoosa Station on September 18th in what was the largest troop movement by rail up to that time. In the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863), Bragg's army divided the Federal forces in half and crushed them in the Confederacy's greatest triumph on the western front. The victory was a hollow one, however, since General Bragg did not pursue the Federals, allowing them to regroup instead in Chattanooga and prepare a new campaign. During November 23-25, the reinforced Federals attacked, and at the battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge defeated the Southerners who fled, eventually retreating as far South as Dalton, fifteen miles south of Ringgold. On November 26th, 1863, Bragg began his retreat toward Ringgold and General W.T. Sherman followed.
By November 27th, the forces were meeting near Ringgold for what was later called the Battle of Ringgold or Ringgold Gap. A two-and-one-half-hour battle occurred when Confederate division Commander General Pat Cleburne retreated after the above-mentioned battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain to Ringgold Gap. His orders were to maintain his position here until the trains and rear of the Army of Tennessee had advanced out of reach of the Federals. The ensuing battle brought Cleburne the commendation of the Confederate Congress, for it saved the Army of Tennessee from annihilation. General Hooker was advancing and had forced Cleburne's cavalry to retreat through the gap. This left the retreating trains and wagons in view of the advancing Yankees. The confrontation began at about 8 A.M. Encounters occurred between the different parties at various points along the ridge that lies near Ringgold. There was much shelling of houses in the area, and some were seized by the advancing Yankees. By noon, word was received that the army train was safe, and after consultation, Cleburne withdrew from the ridge and moved a mile to the rear (or south). He had lost twenty killed and 190 wounded and eleven missing out of his nearly 4,200 troops in the fight. By the close of the fight, General U.S. Grant was himself at Ringgold and at first ordered General W.T. Sherman to send a brigade to flank Cleburne, but later decided differently, and the Yankees did not pursue. Shortly thereafter, heavy winter rains set in, and the roads became impassable.
Orders were given to burn most of the town, including the depot, as well as to destroy the rail lines. The town was occupied by the Yankees from November 27th until May 6th, 1864. General Sherman arrived on May 5th and early the next morning began his march to Atlanta, further dividing the South by capturing this important rail center. After his Atlanta victory during the summer, his infamous March to the Sea began, leading him on to Savannah.
After the war, the Federals took possession of the entire line in the spring of 1865 and in September returned it to state control. A report made in 1866 of the status of the rails and associated structures indicated that nine depots had been destroyed and thus had to be rebuilt. Ringgold was one of those that had survived.
The Ringgold Depot was earmarked for repairs, especially to the south wall in 1867, and a new roof and "thorough overhauling" were requested in 1869. In 1871, it was described as being rough, in bad order, with a very bad roof. Then it had six labor shanties as outbuildings.
Ringgold has remained a depot for the W & A Railroad ever since. Although the State of Georgia still owns the line, since Reconstruction it has been leased to private enterprise. Currently, the lease is with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
Catoosa County began in 1853 with a population of just over 5,000 and stayed close to that mark until 1900. By 1930, it had doubled, and by 1970, the population was just over 28,000. The depot remains a focal point of the community of Ringgold, still the county seat. Although passenger service has long since been discontinued, this structure still serves as a freight depot. While other communities have seen their depots closed, abandoned, and even destroyed, Ringgold's has continued in its original purpose.
Building Description
The Ringgold Depot is located on the L & N Railroad at U.S. Highway 41 on a half-acre site. Originally built as a depot on the Western and Atlantic Railroad, it is a rectangular building with dimensions of approximately 33 x 192 feet. The 14-inch sandstone walls, damaged in the Civil War, were repaired with limestone blocks. Sketches made during the war show a low-pitched hipped roof on the building; however, today there is a flat roof with extended eaves. Visible on three sides is a projecting base, possibly to accommodate for a drop in the terrain.
Visible from north to south on the west facade are one rectangular opening, four arched doorways, and one window with four-over-four lights at the damaged southern end. The stonework around the arches is done in such a manner so that voussoirs of contrasting stone form the curve of each arch, whereas stone blocks in alternating horizontal and vertical patterns flank the wooden sliding door. Some of the sliding doors display the original flush diagonal boarding.
The east facade faces the tracks and displays (from the north end to the south) a lintel over a doorway that subsequently has been enclosed, three arched doorways like those on the west facade, a bay window, a recessed doorway with transom, followed by another recessed opening. These latter openings are capped with flat arches of vertically placed stone.
The bay window interrupts the regularity of this facade. Serving as a ticket window, it is a paneled wooden protrusion with single-light windows installed on three sides.
The north facade is very simple. There are two rectangular openings, each capped with a flat arch of vertical stone. One opening has flush diagonal boarding, the other vertical boarding.
The south facade has two deeply set doorways with transoms. These symmetrically flank two windows with four-over-four lights and are all capped with flat arches of vertical stone.
The major part of the depot is warehouse space with the original wide-board flooring. Tie-beam trusses with iron-rod centers in a triangular arrangement form a supportive framework for the roof. This upper portion of the building was heavily damaged; thus, the materials are not those installed in the original construction.
Ascending to most of the sliding doors are wooden ramps to aid in loading and unloading. The doors are hung and operate on a simple rod construction, one horizontal bar that runs along the wall above the door. This bar receives support from two rods that extend from the rafters.
Examining closely, one can see there are two thicknesses of wall, indicating repair.
In the warehouse also is a set of cast-iron scales supported by doric fluted columns and a full entablature.
The office area is located at the southern end of the depot. The most noticeable feature of the room is a wooden-arch alcove that frames a bay window. Beaded wainscotting extends around the room.
Two rooms leading off the office area appear to be used for storage.
West and south facades (1976)
East and south facades (1976)
Close-up of doorway detail of south facade (1976)
Railroad office (1976)
Beams in ceiling (1976)
