Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum, Cornelia, Georgia

The United States of America began with thirteen states.  Among those states is Georgia, the largest state east of the Mississippi River.  The state is famous for some of its cities like Atlanta and Savannah, both of which are big railroad cities, but the state has small towns that were shaped by the railroad.  Among these towns is a town in the northern region of the state known as Cornelia.

Some of you are saying, “Here we go again.  It is another one of those small towns that has this old train station that just sits there and it not used anymore, or it has a tiny little museum to let everyone know that trains came to the station.  This is just what these small train stations are.  They are nothing special.  I will not waste my time visiting here.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the town of Cornelia, Georgia, the home of the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum.  Be advised.  If you enjoy boring typical railroad station museums that do not have much to see or have any history to them, then this museum is not for you.

So what is special about the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum?  When the town was established as a settlement in 1860 and became a town in 1865, there was no railroad here.  The railroad came to the town in 1872 bringing passenger and freight service to the town.  In 1882, another railroad line was built that took passengers to the Tallulah Falls, and it became known as the Tallulah Railway as it passed through the Tallulah Gorge in the northern region of the state.  The town grew around the two railroads.  Sadly, the Tallulah Railway ceased service after World War II, but the original line that brought service to the town remained, and it remains in service today under ownership of the Norfolk Southern Railway.

Today, the train station is no longer active but now houses the museum.  As you arrive, the first thing you will see is a big red apple on an eight foot high pedestal.

Some of you are saying, “Well, it is an apple on a pedestal.  There is nothing special about it.”

Oh, there is something special about this apple.  The town of Cornelia is known as ‘The Home of the Big Red Apple’.  Where does this name come from?  The town is the center of a region where apples are grown, but that is only part of the story.  The apple itself was designed in Winchester, Virginia.  It was brought to the town by way of the Southern Railway who donated the Big Red Apple to the town.

The next thing you will see is a red caboose.  Well, there are two red cabooses, but this one is resting on a track under an overhang.  What is special about this caboose?  It has Tallulah Falls one the side of it.  The caboose is on the old railroad bed of the Tallulah Railway.  A small monument was erected by the caboose showing the route of the Tallulah Railway all the way to Franklin, North Carolina.  The second caboose sits next to the main railroad line.

Enough about seeing the outside.  It is time to go into the train depot itself.  You enter the museum and look ahead at the ticket window where the ticket master sat and looked for trains and sold tickets to passengers.  As you look around, you notice that on October 20, 1992, a famous visitor visited the town.  He said to the people, “You made my day.”  Who was this visitor?  His name was George Herbert Walker Bush, the President of the United States of America who came to Cornelia by train.

The passenger waiting room and the freight room are full of artifacts from the Southern Railway and the Tallulah Railway.  Among the artifacts is the original switchboard used to switch tracks in the region.

So you think that the Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum is just another small town museum?  You will be surprised when you visit here.

The Cornelia Depot Railroad Museum is located in downtown Cornelia at 102 Grant Street just minutes from U.S. Routes 23 and 441.  Parking is located at the museum, and the museum is wheelchair accessible.  Most important is that admission is free, but they gladly accept donations.  You can get more information about the museum, the museum hours, the history of the town, the other attractions in the region at https://www.corneliageorgia.org/living-visiting/places-of-interest/cornelia-depot-railroad-museum/.

If you are ever in the northern region of the state of Georgia, you will sure want to have Cornelia, Georgia on your mind.  You will be glad you visited.  Maybe get some apple pie or apple juice at ‘The Home of the Big Red Apple’.