The Western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert over Noonday Creek is the oldest remaining culvert from the construction of the rail line in The culvert is associated with the growth and expansion of rail transportation in the United States and the American Civil War, The culvert also reflects the distinctive characteristics of a type and method of construction, the mid-nineteenth century railroad construction. C western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert (Noonday Creek Culvert) HAER No. GA-90 (Page 2) Part I. Physical Description The Western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert (Noonday Creek Culvert) spans Noonday Creek miles northeast of the intersection of Stilesboro Road and New Salem Church Road. Situated in the floodplain of Noonday Creek, the terrain rises steeply east and west of the culvert.
The culvert is constructed entirely from cut and dressed fieldstone. The stone arch measures approximately feet in width and 9.1 feet in height. Construction of the culvert enabled the Western & Atlantic Railroad to cross Noonday Creek without hindering the normal drainage patterns. Construction of Barrett Parkway will alter the appearance of the Western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert by removing the wing walls and installing a lining that will obscure the stonework. Part II. Historical Context The Western & Atlantic Railroad between Atlanta and Chattanooga represents a significant chapter in the history of transportation and internal improvements in the United States.
It was commissioned and financed by the State of Georgia to connect the rapidly expanding Midwest region of the United States and the Georgia port of Savannah, as well as to establish a central transportation hub for the Georgia interior that would serve lines connecting throughout the Southeast. The witnessed a surge of interest in internal improvements in general and railroads in particular. The opening of the South Carolina Railroad from Charleston to ,_. Hamburg, South Carolina, across the Savannah River from Augusta, ignited a spirit of interstate competition and civic pride that resulted in the completion of over miles of rails in Georgia by making its system second only to Virginia's on the eve of the Civil War.
The legislative act creating the Western & Atlantic Railroad was passed in December and within a year a complete survey had been completed by Col. Stephen Long, who had served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The exact date on which construction began is not known, but in April bids were accepted at Marietta for construction of the masonry and grading, and some excavation and embankment had apparently begun before then (Johnston On December the legislature determined to suspend work on the road due to a lack of funding, and little was accomplished over the next several years. In however, the first section, from Marietta to Atlanta still officially named Marthasville was completed.
Although the project received some criticism, it proceeded steadily northward from Marietta from to and each new section was opened to service as quickly as possible (Johnston The section of the line that crosses Noonday Creek was operational no later than October when service was opened to Cartersville (Garnett Noonday Creek was first crossed by a bridge, which was used until when a contract was made to fill the ravine and, apparently, install a culvert. In his annual ( report to the governor in October Chief Engineer Mitchell noted: Western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert (Noonday Creek Culvert) HAER No.
GA-90 (Page 3) I have put under contract upon satisfactory terms, the embankment of the ravines at Noon-day and Proctor's creeks in lieu of rebuilding bridges there; and I propose to press this policy in reference to all our present bridges as far as practicable, with all the urgency the funds of the Road will warrant having due regard to economy as to the time of substituting banks for bridges The expense of embanking Noon- day and Proctor, are to be paid out of the profits of the road.
[Mitchell 1848a:2] In a letter dated October Mitchell indicated that the contract for the work was made with Henry Thompson, who was authorized to secure iron bars from a company in Cass County in exchange for credit with the railroad (Mitchell Existing records of the treasurer and auditor of the railroad from and were examined for information related to the construction of this culvert, but no reference to that specific project was found, nor was any disbursement made to Henry Thompson. A certain Henry Thompson, 25 years of age, is recorded as a mechanic in the census of Walker County, near Chattanooga, but whether this is the same man is unknown.
According to the inventory descriptions at the Georgia Department of Archives and History, a special report was made to the governor concerning the condition of the railroad after its return to the state from the federal authorities in after the Civil War; however, this report could not be located. The first annual report of the , superintendent of the railroad after the Civil War was made in The section of that report entitled "Bridges and Culverts" makes no mention of the culvert over Noonday Creek. The superintendent's report of notes that 258 culverts were located along the line, but only 15 were of the stone arch type. The report also states the culverts "with some exceptions, perform their office satisfactorily.
Most of them were put in when the road was constructed." He notes, however, that "much of the masonry of these culverts ... is in a dilapidated condition, and in some instances require extensive repairs." He concludes that over 30 culverts are in need of "general overhauling." Specifically, culverts over Allatoona and Pettit's Creeks were shoddily constructed, and the one at Allatoona had collapsed. A suit was brought against the contractor, H. G. Cole, who sublet the work at considerable profit. Several workers testified that interior work was hidden from the engineer in charge during his inspections. The culvert at Noonday Creek was apparently better constructed.
When the line was inventoried in the six-foot stone arch was reported to be in good condition; it was also noted that many old culverts were being replaced by box culverts of masonry construction. Photographs of the old and new types were included, with a stone arch type given as an example of the old type. Seventeen stone arch culverts are listed in the inventory (Johnston and Cohen Subsequent annual reports of "betterments" to the line do not indicate any major work on the Noonday Creek culvert through the In "Armco Mult.
Plate /~ Lining" was installed on three stone arch culverts (Annual Report of Betterments western oc Atlantic is.au ro a a culvert iiNoonaay < reeK culvert) HAERNo.GA-90 (Page 4) This lining would presumably obscure the original stonework and compromise the historical integrity of the structure. Other improvements to culverts are recorded in these annual reports, but how many were stone arch structures is unknown. Also unknown is how many of the original stone arch culverts remain along the Western & Atlantic Railroad line. David Runton, a project engineer with had seen other stone arch culverts on the line but was uncertain where, except for one at Vinings that has been covered and extended on one end, similar to what has been proposed for Barrett Parkway Site 7.
He thought that a figure of based on the available reports from the surveys in and was probably accurate (David Runton, personal communication Without a formal survey of the entire line, it seems reasonable to assume that less than 20 culverts of this type were ever built and that at least some have been replaced or altered. Given the age, condition, and the uniqueness of the stone arch culvert at Noonday Creek, it is considered a significant cultural resource eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Part III. Sources Annual Report of Betterments Supplementary Report to Condition Report and Inventory of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, by J. Houston Johnston and J. Groves Cohen. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 1. Garnett, C F.
M. Report of the Chief Engineer of the Western & Atlantic Railroad. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 72. Johnston, J. Houstoun The Western & Atlantic of the State of Georgia. In Pursuance of Legislative Action, Georgia Public Service Commission, Atlanta. Johnston, J. Houstoun, and J. Groves Cohen Condition Report and Inventory of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, Submitted to the Western & Atlantic Railroad Commission by Its Engineer and Secretary. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 1. Mitchell, William L. 1848a Annual Report to the Governor of Georgia of the Chief Engineer of the Western & Atlantic Railroad. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 72.
C western sc Atlantic Kanroaa *_uivert uxoonaay *_reeK i_uivertj HAER No. GA-90 (Page 5) Letter to Cooper, Stoup, and Wiley, Iron Works, Cass County. Outgoing Correspondence of the Chief Engineer, Western & Atlantic Railroad. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 72. Superintendent of the Western & Atlantic Railroad Annual Report of the Officers of the Western & Atlantic Railroad to His Excellency Chas. J. Jenkins, Governor, for the Fiscal Year Ending Sept. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 72. Annual Report of the Superintendent of the Western & Atlantic Railroad to the Governor. On file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta, Record Group Series 72. U.S.
Bureau of the Census Manuscript Returns of the Seventh Census of the United States, Population Schedule, Walker County, Georgia. Microfilm on file, Georgia Department of Archives and History, Atlanta. PartlV. Organization Dr. Robert J. Fryman Senior Archaeologist GARROW & ASSOCIATES, INC. Pleasantdale Road, Suite 200 Atlanta, Georgia August r I western cc Atlantic uanroaa culvert UNOonaay *_reeK *_uiveru HAER No. GA-90 (Page 6) WE6TgfcM $ A<UAU-TI6 KAIUSOA0 OULVgeT PLAW view $T0#e COLV&GrC- L'w/S'H/lbo'u &UIL.T-0P \ FACE -A/- ? ^ ^^ r western & Atlantic Railroad Culvert (Noonday Creek Culvert) HAER No. GA-90 (Page 7) W 6T M 4 ATLAMTl^ KAIUKOAP CUUVg^T (UOOUPAY CREEK CULVERT"? W 6T FACE '*> u YATloM S^ CfZE K B t> xS ! . . . * T WEST FAC^ \..
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