Muscogee County GaArchives Photo Person.....Jordan, G. Gunby ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Christine Thacker http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00033.html#0008100 May 13, 2007, 7:25 pm Source: Sesquicentennial Supplement III, Ledger-Enquirer Name: G. Gunby Jordan Photo can be seen at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/jordan12838gph.jpg Image file size: 71.2 Kb Jordan Gave Trains A Push By Plott Brice Ledger Staff Writer There was a time when Columbus was "bottled up." It was on the verge of becoming a growing, prosperous city, but there were a few stumbling blocks. People coming to Columbus and those going out had transportation problems. A trip to Atlanta meant going through Opelika, Ala. That route certainly wasn't the shortest distrance between two points. And, because of lack of adequate transportation, freight rates were high. Trade into and out of Columbus wasn't brisk by any standards. Northern and Eastern capitalists were hesitant about investing in the area. But the "Master Spirit" happened to come along at the right time in history, as far as the future of Columbus was concerned. This guiding force to the solution of transportation problems was G. Gunby Jordan,(1846-1930). Jordan was a native of Sparta, Ga., in Hancock County, about 25 miles southwest of Athens. He came to the Columbus area early in life, early enough to have enlisted in the Confederate Army. Following the Civil War, Jordan led a busy, productive life beneficial to himself and Cotumbus. His first area of interest was banking. Starting out as a cashier with Eagle and Phenix Savings Bank, he moved on to other banking posts and later became a member of the Board of Directors of the Third National Bank, also called Columbus Savings Bank. He was on the bank's directory board from 1888 to Jan. 11, 1921. He was also heavily into civic matters. He served as president of the School Board in 1901 when the board using funds from the legendary George Foster Peabody, built the First Industrial High School. He was also among the directors of the first formal library association in Columbus. Until then, in the late 1880s, the only thing resembling a library was in the backroom of a drug store and the selection was very limited. Volunteer fire department units were popular and, of course, heavily counted upon in the 1800s. Jordan was president of the Rescue Hook and Ladder Co., a position he took very seriously. One of his proclamations read, "no excuses from drills were valid, except for funerals and the like." He noted, however, volunteers were exempt from jury duty. His major lasting accomplishments were in the area of industrial development. In the mid 1880s, he and other Columbus businessmen were terribly concerned with the transportation problems. The major problem appeared to have been that the only city of any appreciable size with which Columbus had rail connections was Macon. The problem with that was that Macon wasn't exactly the industrial hive of the South. Jordan led the push, and in 1885 construction began on two rail lines that significantly increased the city's stock as a business center. The first railroad was the Georgia Midland and Gulf, incorporated in 1885. When completed, it left a rail line of 104 miles to Atlanta, via Greenville and Newnan. This line improved passenger service, opened up much more trade into the area and, importantly, reduced freight rates. Jordan was prominent among the business leaders listed as incorporators in the Midland and Gulf line. A year later, Jordan and some associated incorporated another rail service, Columbus Southern Railway. Columbus Southern was the skeleton of several unsuccessful efforts to establish a rail line southward. Jordan's efforts succeeded. Columbus Southern's route went to Valdosta and on into Florida. While the rail lines served Columbus immediate needs, the lasting results were that Columbus soon became recipient of the services of two major systems; Southern Railway System and Seaboard. Jordan's original Midland and Gulf line was later deflected and extended to Athens. Jordan was also behind the movement to establish what was one of the nation's first and largest plants successfully operated off hydroelectric power. From 1890 through 1902, Jordan extolled the potentials of the Chattahoochee River as a source of power to capitalist investors up and down the Eastern Seaboard. But talking about its potential didn't satisfy him as he led the movement to build the Columbus Power Co. dam, completed in 1902. From the power generated by this dam, Jordan and Columbus Manufacturing gained national prominence. Reflecting in the 1920s, Jordan said the dam project was really "a small beginning." But he did note, as did many around the South and the nation; ". . .it was probably the very best successful commercial hydroelectric developments in the southern states and one of the first in the U.S." Special Sesquicentennial Supplement III Ledger- Enquirer, Sunday, April 30, 1978, pg S-29. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/muscogee/photos/jordan12838gph.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 5.6 Kb