Tifton in Tift County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Tifton: A Railroad Town
| — | Historic Downtown Tifton | — |
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022
1. Tifton: A Railroad Town Marker
In March 1873, Tifton’s founder, Henry Harding Tift built a sawmill on the site of the tracks of the Brunswick and Albany RR where two old, well-trodden pioneer trails converged. He then loaded his 14 ft. x 16 ft. living quarters shack onto a flat car and rode the rails to his newly established sawmill. Had the railroad not been there, Tifton would not be located where it is today.
The Brunswick and Albany was the first train many Wiregrass citizens saw. The community's daily life was regulated by the whistle of the train; when it sounded, the entire community would turn out to meet the train.
In 1887, when the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad crossed the Brunswick and Albany tracks, it opened up north and south, east and west for Tifton. On a cool November day in 1888, the town enjoyed a huge celebration when the first passenger train passed through, issuing in a golden era of prosperity for Tifton.
By 1895, the number of trains had doubled and a train was operated every day except Sunday. The Tifton Gazette proclaimed…
Tifton is essentially a railroad town. We are in a network of rails. Within eight hours of Jacksonville,twenty-four hours of Key West and thirty hours of New York, we have mail, express and railway facilities of the very best.
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—Tifton Gazette, 1895
By 1920, a variety of railroad companies had been established, traded or merged and five depots dotted city streets. The present Atlantic Coast Line Depot was built for freight handling and railroad offices. Twenty years later, in 1940, it served as the shipping point for U.S. troops and for the arrival of German War soldiers captured in North Africa and sent to work the farmlands of the south, including Tifton.
In the 1950's, the first section of Interstate 75 was built on Tifton's doorstep and quickly replaced trains as the major means of transporting goods and people. Yet even now, the train whistle still resonates as 38 trains run day and night through the very heart of town.
In time, Tifton's original railroad, the Brunswick and Albany was taken over by the Plant System and later became the Atlantic Coast Line. In the early 2000’s, the depot was restored and now serves as the Tifton Terminal Railroad Museum, keeping alive this vital element of Tifton's history.
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• Captain
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022
2. Tifton: A Railroad Town Marker
Looking northeast from East 3rd Street. Tift Avenue South crosses in the background.
• Henry Tift’s sawmill, circa 1890.
• WWII soldiers departing in train transit.
• Tifton Tobacco Market Day, Tift Avenue at Second Street.
• With the trains came businesses like this jewelry store, circa 1895.
• Major interior lighting for many stores came from overhead lights.
• T. W. Chestnut Grocery
• Burmingham and Atlantic Depot, Main Street, now Highway 41 South.
• Trains contributed to a flourishing downtown.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Settlements & Settlers • War, World II. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1873.
Location. 31° 27.157′ N, 83° 30.499′ W. Marker is in Tifton, Georgia, in Tift County. It is at the intersection of East 3rd Street and Tift Avenue South, on the left when traveling east on East 3rd Street. The marker is on the sidewalk beside the Tifton Terminal Railway Museum. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 Tift Avenue South, Tifton GA 31794, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Coastal Plain. It is also
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022
3. Atlantic Coast Line Depot (west elevation)
Today it houses the Tifton Terminal Railway Museum.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Olympic Torch Paused at this Site (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); From Mystic to Wiregrass (about 400 feet away); Tift-Lee Building (about 500 feet away); Tift County (about 600 feet away); Who Are We and Where Did We Come From? (about 600 feet away); The Myon (about 600 feet away); "Major" Jack L. Woolard (about 700 feet away); Purple Heart Memorial (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tifton.
Also see . . . Tifton Terminal Railway Museum (HawkinsRails.net).
Excerpt: The museum is located in the former Atlantic Coast Line station, erected in 1910 and one of four remaining railroad depots in this once-busy railroad town. In its railroad heyday, Tifton served as the crossroads for three busy regional railroads: the Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic; the Atlantic Coast Line; and the Georgia Southern & Florida. The ABA line between Fitzgerald and Moultrie was the first to be abandoned. Later the Seaboard System would give up its east-west- secondary through Tifton as far west as Sylvester. The former GSF line remains in service, passing through Southern Railway into today's Norfolk Southern active Macon-Brunswick mainline. The name of the museum — Tifton Terminal Railway Museum — pays homage to a small terminal switching railroad that once moved carloads among the three railroads serving Tifton.(Submitted on October 13, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on October 13, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 12, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 13, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
