The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History is a civil war museum in Kennesaw, Georgia, that contains a collection of artifacts and relics from the American Civil War, as well as from railroads of the state of Georgia and surrounding regions.
History[]
The museum (then known as the Big Shanty Museum), in a barn that once housed a cotton gin, initially opened on April 12, 1972, appropriately on the very date which the chase occurred one hundred and ten years prior, with the General as the centerpiece. Later, the theme expanded to include Civil War pieces as well.
In the mid- to late 1990, the property of the former Glover Machine Works was to be demolished. The buildings on this site, having sat vacant for nearly 50 years, still contained records, locomotive parts, machinery for locomotive construction, and at least one complete locomotive, which had only seen a few months of active service before being repossessed. Descendants of the Glover family, who had retained ownership of the firm and its collection, in turn donated the collection to the museum in 2001.
With the acquisition of the rather large collection of artifacts, the museum closed in late 2001 and began a massive expansion to house them. During the construction, a large box of plywood boards was built overtop of the General to protect it. The augmented museum reopened in March 2003 as the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History. A further expansion was finished in 2007 to house the recently acquired French Merci Boxcar.
Locomotive Roaster[]
Current Locomotives:
| Number | Images | Heritage | Type | Builder | Built | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 
|
Western and Atlantic Railroad | 4-4-0 | Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor Co. | 1855 | Display | The General is considered to be among one of the most famous and iconic steam locomotives in the US. It is also the most famous locomotive in American history, and the most popular locomotive in Georgia. |
| 3 | 
|
Splint-Jellico Coal Company | 0-4-0T | Glover Machine Works | 1926 | Display | |
| None | 
|
Tennessee Coal Company | 0-4-0T | Glover Machine Works | 1906 | Dismantled |
Trivia[]
- The museum is also the best place to learn about "The Great Locomotive Chase".
- The General has been on display at the museum since 1972, which was the year that the locomotive was retired from excursion service, as well as donated to the museum when it opens.
- The archives house a significant collection of company records, engineering drawings, blueprints, glass plate negatives, photographs and correspondence from various American businesses representing the railroad industry in the South after the Civil War. The archives also contain a growing collection of Civil War letters, diaries, and official records.
- It is close next to the Western and Atlantic Railroad's mainline (Now own by CSX Transportation) in Kennesaw, Georgia, close to where the chase began.