| Locale | Alabama, Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1852–1871 |
| Successor | Alabama Central Railroad Company then East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company then East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company |
| Track gauge | 5 ft (1,524 mm) |
The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company was incorporated under special act of Alabama on February 7, 1850 as The Alabama and Mississippi Rivers Rail Road Company. [1] On November 29, 1864, the name of the company was changed to The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company. [1]
Alabama is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states. With a total of 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of inland waterways, Alabama has among the most of any state.
The Alabama and Mississippi Rivers Rail Road Company was incorporated under special act of Alabama on February 7, 1850.
Contents
On the date of the name change in 1864, the Selma and Meridian continued the operation of 77.3 miles (124.4 km) of railroad line between Selma, Alabama and York, Alabama. This line had been constructed between the years 1852 and 1864 under the company's previous name. [2]
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 20,756 as of the 2010 census. About 80% of the population is African-American.
York is a city in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. Founded around 1838 after the merging of two communities, Old Anvil and New York Station, the latter a station on a stagecoach line. The rail came through in the 1850s and later, the "New" was dropped from York Station in 1861. With the discovery that another community in Alabama bore that name, the "Station" was dropped and York was formally incorporated on April 6, 1881. At the 2018 census the population was 97, down from 2,854. From 1920-1980, it was the largest town in the county. Since 1990, it has been the second largest city behind the county seat of Livingston.
During the period from 1864 to 1868, The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company leased and operated 11 miles (18 km) of railroad line between Uniontown, Alabama, a station on its line, and Newbern, Alabama. The lessor railroad, The Northwestern Rail Road Company of Alabama had built the line in 1863 and 1864. [3] [4] The lease ended with the Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company entering receivership in 1868. [3]
Uniontown is a city in Perry County, Alabama, in the United States of America. At the 2010 census, the population of the city was 1,775, up from 1,636 in 2000. The census estimate for 2014 gave the population as 2,471. The current mayor is Jamaal O. Hunter.
Newbern is a town in Hale County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1854. The population as of the 2010 U.S. Census was 186, down from 231 in 2000. This was its lowest population since the census reported figures for the community beginning in 1880. It is part of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was named for New Bern, North Carolina. It is in the Central Standard Time Zone. The Rural Studio of Auburn University is based in Newbern; its architecture student practitioners work under the supervision of faculty on designing and building affordable housing and similar projects to support the population of rural areas in Alabama.
During the period from 1864 to 1868, The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company also leased and operated 27 miles (43 km) of railroad line between Meridian, Mississippi and York, Alabama. The lessor railroad, The North East and South West Alabama Railroad Company, had built the line between the years 1858 through 1860. [3] The Meridian-York line had not been operated until it was connected to the Alabama and Mississippi Rivers Railroad Company line at York, Alabama in 1864. The connection was built a short time before the Alabama and Mississippi Rivers Railroad changed its name to The Selma and Meridian Rail Road and leased the line from the North East and South West Alabama Railroad.
Meridian is the sixth largest city in the state of Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. Along major highways, the city is 93 mi (150 km) east of Jackson, Mississippi; 154 mi (248 km) southwest of Birmingham, Alabama; 202 mi (325 km) northeast of New Orleans, Louisiana; and 231 mi (372 km) southeast of Memphis, Tennessee.
The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company was placed in receivership on March 19, 1868. [1] The company's property, including the leased line between York, Alabama and Meridian, Mississippi, was operated by the receiver until May 1, 1871. [3] The Selma and Meridian Rail Road Company was sold in foreclosure on May 1, 1871, and its 77.3 miles (124.4 km) railroad line between Selma, Alabama and York, Alabama was conveyed to The Alabama Central Railroad Company. [1]
The Alabama Central Railroad Company was incorporated under the general laws of Alabama on June 22, 1871, by certificate of incorporation dated June 21, 1871.
The property eventually became part of Southern Railway Company on July 7, 1894, through Southern Railway's acquisition of a later successor company of the Alabama Central Railroad Company, namely the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway Company. [5]
The Southern Railway is a name of a class 1 railroad that was based in the Southern United States. The railroad is the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894.
The East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad (ETV&G) was a rail transport system that operated in the southeastern United States during the late 19th century. Created with the consolidation of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad and the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1869, the ETV&G played an important role in connecting East Tennessee and other isolated parts of Southern Appalachia with the rest of the country, and helped make Knoxville one of the region's major wholesaling centers. In 1894, the ETV&G merged with the Richmond and Danville Railroad to form the Southern Railway.
