“G” is for Greenville and Columbia Railroad

“G” is for Greenville and Columbia Railroad. The Greenville and Columbia Railroad was the first railroad to enter the South Carolina upcountry. When the road was completed in 1853, the160-mile route included spurs to Anderson and Abbeville. The success of those spurs inspired the creation of other short routes that extended the reach of the Greenville and Columbia in the upstate. By 1859 spurs connected the line to Laurens, Newberry, Spartanburg, and Union. Finally, the ambitious Blue Ridge Railroad was proposed to depart from Anderson and eventually reach to the Ohio Valley. The railroad’s property suffered extensive damage during the Civil War. The railroad reopened in 1866 but was quickly beset with financial difficulties. By 1893, after a series of purchases and mergers, the Greenville and Columbia railroad had become part of the Southern Railway System.