Lumber Baron E.E. Foy’s Railroad. The timber bridge pilings here once supported a railroad that connected Portal and the rich timberlands surrounding it in Bulloch County with Rocky Ford, the Central of Georgia Railroad and Foy’s sawmills. The E.E. Foy Company was one of the prominent lumber businesses in the late 1800s and early 1900s, tapping the ancient long-leaf pines that once dominated this area for turpentine and then felling them for lumber. His business mode was simple and unsustainable: he purchased the land, cut the timber and then sold the land. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, that business model created boom towns like Portal where turpentine was distilled (Portal calls itself “The Turpentine City”) and lumber was loaded on the trains. In 1902, an Ogeechee flood damaged the railroad trestle here and shortly after, Foy abandoned Portal.
Copyright Photos by: Two Crafty Cats Photography
I'm not able to find any information on the old railroad station in Rocky Ford, GA. It looks like there is a building for train repairs and an old station. It was neat to explore.
Comments