ET&WNC | George W. Hardin
Appalachian-Railroads Navigation: Home Page
- Railroad Overview | Route Comparison
- Legacy: B&O | C&O | Clinchfield | L&N | NC&StL | N&W | PRR | SOU | VGN
- Early: 3Cs | ET&WNC | LC&C | Blue Ridge | More
- Related: ACL | SAL | SCL
- Northern: DL&W | Erie | Erie Lack | NYC | P&LE | Reading | Western MD | W&LE
- Short: G Mid | K&T | Tallulah | More
- Consolidation: Chessie | Family | Penn Cen | Conrail | Seaboard
- Today: CSX | Norfolk Southern | Amtrak
- Abandoned | Railfan Guides | Rail Trails
- Railroad Cities/Towns | Mtn Gaps/Passes
- Resources: Bibliography & Further Reading | Authors | Books | Museums | Organizations | Links
- Model Railroads: 3Cs | ET&WNC
- Website: Site Map | Editor
- Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org
Page Contents
George W. Hardin and the Hardin Family
The ET&WNC is a fabled and beloved railroad. Much of its legacy, charm, and existence is due to one family, the Hardins. Jordan C. Hardin was one of the first investors in the railroad in the 1880s and served on the Board of Directors. His son George Hardin (George W. Hardin) had the same passion for railroading and the ET&WNC, leading the iconic railroad in the 1900s.
George Hardin – Vice President & General Manager
George W. Hardin was ET&WNC Railroad’s Superintendent, and Vice-President and General Manager up until his death in 1922.
In his youth, George Hardin graduated from Milligan University and later started out as a switchman on the ET&WNC in 1886. Throughout the years he served as a yard master, station agent, and master of the transportation department. In 1901 he was appointed Superintendent of the Railway and in 1918 VP/General Manager.
Photo courtesy Cy Crumley Collection at StateOfFranklin.net
In 1901, a flood damaged a section of the railroad that ran through the Doe River Gorge near Hampton TN. This photo is of Hardin supervising the repair and reconstruction of line at Pardee Point. Due to the mountainous terrain and the spring rains, floods were common in upper East Tennessee, especially in the gorge and nearby mountain valleys. Railroad bicycles and rail cars were used to inspect and to survey the roadbed and rails.
Photo courtesy Cy Crumley Collection at StateOfFranklin.net
Community Leader/Milligan University
Hardin was also a Johnson City civic leader and a major benefactor to then Milligan College, now Milligan University. Hardin Hall on the campus is named in his honor.
ET&WNC Bibliography
- Personal Maps & Memorabilia: Documents, maps, timetables, and track charts
- Archives: Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University.
- Newspaper Articles: Newspapers.com
- Magazines/Online: ‘Trains‘, ‘Classic Trains‘
- Ferrell, Mallory Hope. Tweetsie Country: The East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co., 1976 (Revised edition, Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1991).
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume I: Early Narrow Gauge Locomotives. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2001.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume II: The Ten-Wheelers. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2002.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume III: Depots. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2003.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume IV: Freight Cars, Part A – Boxcars, Reefers, and Stock Cars. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2005.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume V: Freight Cars, Part B – Flatcars, Gondolas, and Maintenance-of-Way. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2007.
- Graybeal, Johnny. Along the ET&WNC, Volume VI: Passenger Cars and Cabooses. Hickory: Tarheel Press, 2011.
- Graybeal, Johnny. The Railroads of Johnson City. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing (Images of Rail), 2007.
- Poole, Carey Franklin. A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina. Johnson City: Overmountain Press, 1995.
- Scheer, Julian, and Elizabeth McD. Black. Tweetsie: The Blue Ridge Stemwinder. Charlotte: Heritage Printers, 1958 (Reprinted by Overmountain Press, 1991).
- Sulzer, Elmer G. Ghost Railroads of Tennessee. Indianapolis: V.A. Jones Co., 1975 (Reprinted by Indiana University Press, 1998).
- Websites: Carolana.com, CarterCountyHistory.com, StateOfFranklin.net which hosts Johnson’s Depot, SteamLocomotive.com
