Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad - Georgia

The Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad was chartered August 23rd, 1872 with the goal of creating a 44-mile line from Gainesville in Hall County south to Monroe in Walton County, Georgia. A 13-mile branch was planned from Florence to Jefferson. By June 1st, 1883, the line completed 18 miles from Gainesville south to Hoschton. On August 1st, 1904, the Gainesville-Midland Railway acquired the Gainesville, Jefferson and Southern Railroad, which comprised 22 miles of line from Gainesville to Jefferson and a 32 mile-branch line from Belmont to Monroe. By the end of the 19th century, the line extended as far south as Social Circle (on the Georgia Railroad) and, in 1906, a line was extended to Fowler Junction, near Athens. Eventually, the Gainesville to Athens line became the most profitable. In 1948, the entire line from Belmont to Monroe was abandoned.