Valdosta Street Railway 1899-1924

 

What's that little shelter by the front gate of VSU? It's the last physical remnant of the Valdosta Street Railway, an early 20^th century streetcar system, when Valdosta was the smallest city in the country to have one. Valdosta had 5,613 people in 1900, about twice as many as present-day Hahira.

Dean Poling described the origins of Valdosta's streetcars in Valdosta Scene 26 February 2010:

In 1900, Valdosta-Lowndes County arranged to host the Georgia State Fair, which marked the first such fair in South Georgia, according to the “History of Lowndes County Georgia: 1825-1941.”

Area leaders boldly invited the world to attend. To accompany the fair, Valdosta built a streetcar system, becoming America's smallest town to operate a trolley. Thousands flocked to Valdosta for the fair as the town earned other nicknames, “Queen City of Southwest Georgia,” “blossom among the pines,” and “the busiest little city of them all,” Schmier notes.

That postcard image and the one of the waiting shelter at VSU come from RailGA.com's Street Railways of Valdosta. Back in 1922 it was South Georgia State Normal college and the only building (other than the waiting shelter) was West Hall.

For how futuristic those streetcars must have seemed in 1900, compare the electric streetcar on the right below to the horse-drawn carriages on the same street. The street is North Patterson. Do you recognize the building?

Want to buy a ticket?

Sorry, it went out of business in 1924, and the tracks were sold for scrap during World War II. Why? Maybe there's some insight in Taken for a Ride showing at VSU Wednesday.

Of course, if we wanted to, we could have streetcars again. Or a a bus system; there's already a plan for that, and it would cost less than many of the road projects proposed around here. Or at least better bicycle lanes. Any of these non-automobile transportation methods would help the whole county by helping attract knowledge-based businesses.

-jsq