One of the oldest train depots built in 1845 in George sits next to the passenger depot of 1899 in Forsyth. If you have heard of this town you will know that its extremely old and historic. Its one of these old civil war towns with a population of around 4,000 residents. The train station built in 1845 served as an unloading point for wounded confederate soldiers and was owned by the Macon & Western Railroad. The building is made out of stone. However are focus is not on the older depot but rather the one which was built in 1899 and today is used as a museum. Although you will see photos of both during this investigation. 

The depot of 1899 was called the Central Of Georgia Railway Depot and was designed by Bruce & Morgan Of Atlanta.  Near by is an old confederate historic cemetery, an 1896 historical courthouse and over 40 structures listed on the National Historical Register. So the depot is basically surrounded by alot of history. Across the tracks is Tift College one of the oldest and first colleges for women. But during the civil war it served as a civil war hospital and those that were injured were transferred from the train straight across the tracks too here. 

When the station was at its peak 32 trains per day passed by 16 that were Southern Line and 16 Central Of Georgia. The little freight depot attached to it was built in 1917.  The first tracks that came threw Forsyth were built in 1838. I mean honestly lets face it this is a very old area and these tracks here are older then the ones in Florida. 

Today the 1899 train station is a local museum and genealogical society. There is a sweet older lady who gave me a tour even though they were closed so yes we did get a pretty good grip on the history to the area. Being that its the towns historical society you can read up on about the 1828 black cloud that hung over Forsyth when a 36 lb meteor crashed near the town. You can even seen old clothing the pioneers wore and Indian artifacts. There is even an old tombstone and many train artifacts like a steam engine blower.  The photos pretty much say it all.

Many of the artifacts here are from the local creek Indians of the 19th and 20th centuries. There is even Joel Chandler Harris typesetters desk from the 1860s when he was an apprentice for the Monroe Advertiser so many items maybe some are even haunted.

The old Depot was called the Conley Building  which was named after Thomas G. Conley a local dentist and benefactor of the Monroe Historical Society. It was Forsyth's first passenger and freight station.  When the new one was built this depot had closed and much of the old equipment, fire engines on the property etc were left behind. The 1899 depot was made out of red brick, had a tile roof, waiting room, ticket office, a freight office and a Victorian architecture. Both depots side by side are very historic and beautiful. 

Now as far as Haunting's go you will not see alot of ghost photos from our investigation but I felt it was a nice story to bring to my members. The ghost story is about a dog and a boy who joined the confederate army in 1863 to help his brother out in the war. He was so excited to be able to take a train all the way up to Virginia and fight the Union.  The boy had a dog named Sam which he could not take to the war. This dog was very smart always following the boy sadly the boy would have to sneak out so he would not follow.

When he was about to head out for the war he got about half way to the train station and the dog had followed him. He was nearing his train arrival and could not miss it so he did not take the dog back to his house. So he let the dog follow him into town where he met up with a friend who was getting mail at the depot to take to the post office. His friend offered to take the dog back home as a favor. 

As his friend took the dog back to his folks and dropped him off he was heading back to town and there was the dog again. The dog followed him so he made a companion out of him for about a year till the fall of 1864.  During that time the Battle of Atlanta took place and many wounded soldiers were pouring out of the trains being unloaded at the rock depot. The dog use to greet the soldiers coming off the trains and eventually he would hang at the local hospitals befriending various soldiers. He became an idol to the town a way to cheer up the young soldiers. 

When the war was off the boy a couple years older in 1865 came back to the town of Forsyth. He looked out the window to see his dog waiting by the tracks. He was actually surprised to see his dog waiting for him cause he thought that the dog would be with his folks. His friend greeted him and he asked where his dog was cause he said he thought he seen him. His friend said to the boy you must be mistaken cause the Union came into Forsyth to loot and ruin the town. When this occurred and they were evacuating people out of the stores the dog started barking and ran towards the train depot. 

A few locals explained to the union soldier that the reason why the dog is barking is cause he heard the train and has to greet every train that comes into town. The Union soldiers got wind of the information so they hopped on their horses and traveled towards the depot. The Union was interested in capturing a train perhaps for the freight on board who knows. When they arrived at the station the horses trampled the dog killing him and when the train arrived they Union soldiers found out the civil war was over. 

The friend said an older wounded man picked up the dead dog and buried him next to the stone depot which is the rock building with the old wood doors. His friend told the boy that the dog had puppies a few weeks prior to his death. The boy was given a puppy so there was some good news that came out of this story. This ghost dog story has been passed around since 1865. I do think the dog would not stop haunting the depot till he at least greeted his master. With some spirits they need closure even with animals too.

As far as other ghost stories I am sure they exist no doubt I mean this was a town at one time full of Indians then it became a civil war town and even a place of war. It has alot of history to it and some of those men that came off them trains were deceased haunting the train tracks, old hospital, train depots etc It was just a nice little stop on the way home and our first Investigation in the state of Georgia.

It was also the last investigation my ex-girlfriend and I did together. Its so ironic how so many friendships are brought together by the paranormal and so many end because of it. Sometimes I wonder if its wise to take the ones I love with me on investigations cause truthfully I have seen it change people for the worst and it breaks my heart. When we went on our road trip she acted very weird after we went to Sloss Furnaces which has alot of negative energy so perhaps I am one to blame because not everybody has my talents to absorb, block, and even subdue such powerful energies. 

Even a simple place such as this people can be affected by its energies if you are not aware of them. For some it drains them others become possessed partially detaching themselves from those they love while some just become negative and do not think clearly part of the reason I lost the woman I love is because part of my heart is dedicated towards the paranormal, the truth and to help others understand that life exist even after death which apparently has affected her to a point. 

Unfortunately in the end the life of a Ghostbuster and founder of PGS is a lonely one! :( and I have made so many sacrifices over the years all because of what I believe in. Sometimes I feel like the green goblin on spider man do not laugh but I feel like a villain all because my research means so much to me and yet I am the one who gets the short end of the deal and so please enjoy this investigation it truly is a wonderful train station!

© By

Rick-LordOfThyNight

 

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