County of site: Douglas County
Location of tracks: along Broad St. from Rose Ave. to Hagin St., Douglasville
Original Occupant: Georgia Western Railroad
Current Occupant: Norfolk-Southern Railroad
"... The city
contains a variety of historic commercial buildings, the majority of
which are arranged along Broad Street, facing the railroad tracks. ...These five blocks are part of the original town plan and parallel the
railroad tracks. ... and the
historic railroad right-of-way which parallels Broad Street through
the downtown district.
"... There are some
plantings of shade trees, crepe myrtles, and yucca along a grassed
area on E. Broad Street next to the railroad tracks.
"Douglasville is a good example of local interpretations of popular
architectural styles typically found in small southern railroad towns
during the late 19th and early 20th century.
"The district is significant in transportation and community
planning and development because the town was planned as a new county
seat in conjunction with the railroad and laid out paralleling it,
thus reflecting the role of the railroad and transportation in the
location of the town and in its layout. The importance of the
railroad is still visible in the way that the principal buildings in
the district and the historic courthouse square face the tracks and in
the way that the street plan is oriented to the railroad right-of-way.
Indeed, the railroad right-of-way and the courthouse square are the
principal landscape or urban design features in the community.
Douglasville was at one time an important rail stop providing both
passenger and freight service to the Douglas County area. As early as
1860s, the Georgia Western Railroad was chartered, and a depot on that
line was constructed in Douglasville in the 1870s. Moreover, the
street and lot layout of the new town was arranged according to the
alignment of the railroad, and the city limits were measured from a
point on the rail line. The east/west rail connection not only
provided passenger service to the community but also warehousing and
shipping services from the nearby lumber and textile mill industries.
Together, the services offered by the Douglasville businesses and the
rail line which parallels Broad Street made transportation a
significant activity in this small Georgia town.
"... The railroad line reflects the town's early
development as a rail stop on the Georgia Western Railroad. ... This property fronted both sides of the Georgia Western Railroad which ran through the center of town. ...
"The Act to Incorporate the City of Douglasville was approved
February 25, 1875. The following is the text of the Act to
Incorporate:
"Section III. Be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
that the corporate limits of the said town shall be as
follows, to wit:
"The center shall be a point directly opposite the courthouse in
said town, on the Georgia Western Railroad, thence
running along
the center of said road each way three-fourths of a mile, and
extending one-half mile each way from
the center of said road, the form of said territory to be an oblong square."
~ NRHP Nomination Form
"Douglasville was a “New South” railroad town that developed a dominant
commercial district complemented by a cotton mill. The espousal of Henry
Grady’s New South ideology by a majority of Douglasville’s businessmen,
professionals, and politicians transformed the little farming village of Douglasville
into a thriving town.
"The rise of
southern railroad towns and the farmers’ shift to cash crop agriculture were
mutually reinforcing trends that fostered a spirit of entrepreneurial boosterism
among local businessmen and professionals. As railroads and diversified trade
became integral elements of the South’s economic renaissance during the
1880s, entrepreneurs with ties to their city’s economy assumed key leadership
roles. They embraced New South ideology and created an environment that
welcomed investment and economic development." ~ Walking Tour of District