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East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad Records

 Collection
Identifier: MS-1100

  • Staff Only

This collection contains documents from the Office of East Tennessee & Virginia Rail Road Company in 1854. Included is a dray ticket, a letter to James L. Coile and sons about money owed for shares of stock in the company, and copy of a resolution to the Board of Directors regarding stock money collection arrangements.

Dates

  • 1854

Conditions Governing Access

Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Conditions Governing Use

The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.

Extent

0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Abstract

This collection contains documents from the Office of East Tennessee & Virginia Rail Road Company in 1854. Included is a dray ticket, a letter to James L. Coile and sons about money owed for shares of stock in the company, and copy of a resolution to the Board of Directors regarding stock money collection arrangements.

Biographical/Historical Note

Chartered on January 24, 1848, in Greeneville, Tenn., the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad was formed for the purpose of establishing a rail communication between Knoxville and the State of Virginia. Stock subscription books were made available in 17 East Tennessee towns, however, the majority were sold in the Jonesborough region in Washington County. After the initial sale of stock, a committee of twelve (eight of whom were from Jonesborough) was elected to lead the company. Leading the committee was Samuel B. Cunningham, a surgeon and community leader in Jonesborough, who was named president.

Completion of the railroad came in 1858 at a total reported cost of $2.5 million. Dr. Cunningham served as president throughout the construction, resigning his post in 1859. During the Civil War, the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad became the object of much destruction by soldiers and Unionist civilians alike, as it was a vital link in the connection between Atlanta and Richmond. In 1869, a merger with the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad formed the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railroad, operating from Chattanooga to Bristol.

Arrangement

This collection is in one folder.

Repository Details

Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository

Contact:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville TN 37996 USA
865-974-4480