Monday, March 2, 2015

"The Jolly Trolley Trip"





Follow the trials of Colyar, Libby, Laney, Jackson, and Michelle through the path of Macon's old trolley system on the 

                                                                                                    Jolly Trolley Tour!
In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, Macon along with countless other towns and cities alike, developed a system that mimicked the transcontinental railroad lines-- the street trolley. These trolleys represented the enormous economic change that the South, specifically, was facing in the years of The Gilded Age. Following that time of innovation was the explosion of development in both the economy as well as in the fight for moral and social representation. The era of “The New South” had begun. Economic development was indeed seen in the acts of industrialization and in the continuous amassing of wealth by the white southerners. Racial relations, however, strained southern society ranging from harsh lynchings under Jim Crow to subtle discrimination like the separation of railway cars for African Americans. But all of this is in hindsight. At the time, African Americans like Booker T. Washington and Dubois looked to this new age as opportunity for equality with whites and White Southerners like Grady saw it as a chance for economic betterment in comparison to the North.
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Macon Visitor's Center
So, as students and residents of Macon, GA, we dubbed ourselves the Jolly Trolley Team and decided to uncover whether or not the hopes and ambitions of “New South” were truly fulfilled. We started in downtown Macon desperately trying to follow the tracks of the streetcars. We thought that the best way to see how the two most prominent railway systems, the Macon Railway and Light Company and the Macon Consolidated Street Railroad Company, affected the economic development of Macon was by following its route.We believed that this way we could catch a glimpse into the major stopping points in the city as well as racial relations. From the internet, we found a trolley system that was offering tours on Saturday and decided to give it a shot.
With maps in hand, we set off happily only to be met with disaster. The trolley system had been closed down for at least four years. So much for that plan. But, the lady at the Visitor’s Center gave us the exact route that the trolley used to follow and so Plan B was initiated. Team “Jolly Trolley” was on the move.
Jolly Trolley On The Go
We drove by all the most well known sights that are found on the track such as the Terminal Station, Douglass Theatre, The Grand Opera House, and even ventured off towards the old railroad power station off of Riverside. In some way shape or form, each one of these places reflects the development of downtown Macon and uncovers the social situation between blacks and whites during the early 19th century.


First Stop: The Terminal Station


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Terminal Station
After driving around in loops, we arrived at the Terminal Station. Because traffic was a tad heavy that Saturday afternoon, we were only able to slowly glide past the station in the car. In the past, the Terminal Station was the main railroad station that connected all of Macon’s railways in one place. We decided to stop by here because the original railroad station is no longer functioning so a substitute was in order. 

These stations were primary sources of social inequality and proof of rocky racial relations. Stations were mainly centered in the white neighborhoods or areas of Macon because those were where the most development and prosperity occurred. Along this road the trolley system also followed dropping off and picking up travelers.


The railroads, much like the trolley systems, tended to neglect the black occupants of Macon through laws that supported segregation on the railroad and isolated African Americans to the smoking cars-- significant of not so subtle discrimination.


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Side View
Past Macon Telegraph articles also prove that inequality was a prominent issue on the railroads. One article told the story of an African American man, Tillman Morris, who worked on the railroad who was run over by a train when it wouldn't stop at the station close to his home. He was forced to jump off the cart and causing a fatal ending. Morris’s left leg was severed off and his left arm was badly crushed. He died before the could ambulance arrive to take him to the hospital. Morris had to jump off of the trolley cart because there were no stops where he wanted to go-- home (“Negro”). There were few stops in the trolley system for areas that were predominantly African American.
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Terminal Station 
But Morris wasn’t the only case of incidence due to insufficient trolley management. Another African American man, Hiram Denson, sued the railroad when a train intentionally hit him while he was crossing the tracks. He argued that the train had ample time to stop since it was coming down a long straightaway and should have noticed him before the collision. The white engineer, on the other hand, argued that the brakes weren’t functioning properly and that he had thought Denson would hop off of the tracks before an accident occurred (“Suing”). Whether or not a party was truly at fault cannot be discerned from ancient biased opinions, but one thing holds true, there was definitely something shady in the transaction. Either Denson darted in front of a moving trolley looking for his own pain or the trolley conductor saw Denson and thought nothing more of him as another troublemaker-- a thought based on racial stereotyping.


All of these occurrences support that relations between blacks and whites were not on good terms during this time period. Whites still felt that they had superiority over blacks even though they were formally granted political, economic, and social equality years before by the government. However, the Jim Crow laws that supported racial segregation and the saying “separate but equal” throughout the south undermined this equality.



Stop 2: Douglass Theatre
We drove away from the Terminal Station taking pictures from the sunroof (most likely breaking a few laws in the progress). The next stop, the Douglass Theatre, was down the street.
The Douglass Theatre was established in 1912, by African American, Charles Henry Douglass, as an exclusive place for African Americans to both watch theatre and to showcase their musical talents directly in response to white only theatres that were emerging at the time. In fact, some of the all time greats such as, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox, and even Ottis Redding originated with performing at the Douglass (Johnson). Blacks at this time were not allowed to perform at or to attend white venues, such as the Cox Capitol Theatre and the Grand Opera House. As a result, the Douglas Theatre was constructed.

The Douglass Theatre is a shining example of racial tension during the early 1900’s. Its relation to the streetcar system plays a major role in showing how African Americans were trying to ease these tensions and take part in the rapid industrial and technological advancement that was sweeping the south.  


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One of the primary reasons for the location of the theatre, (fourth street, present day Martin Luther King Blvd.), is because this street was at the epicenter of the streetcar line.  Charles Douglas made this decision so that blacks would have easy access to the theatre which would allow for greater racial equality.



 The establishment of this theatre on such a prominent streetcar line, was crucial in the field of social equality between whites and blacks. This was due to the fact that the theatre’s placement provided a reason for African Americans to more frequently ride the streetcar line, even though according to historic Macon Telegraph articles, blacks were still confined to the very back of the cars while whites got to sit in the front, a form of racial discrimination in itself (“Back”).
 

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The racial degradation of African Americans were deeply entrenched into southern society. An example of how embarrassing it was to be considered to be even partially African American rests with a case that Miss Rosa Leveson filed against the Macon Railway and Light Company for mistaking her as carrying African American blood and against the conductor for forcing her to sit in the special cars designated to people of color. 


In protest, Leveson stated that she had not a single drop of blood within her that was not from white descendancy. The conductor stopped the car when Leveson refused to sit in the segregated car and tried to forcibly remove her. Leveson charged the Company for suffering unjust humiliation and being forced to walk home from a distance that was deemed unsafe for a lady (“Woman”). This lawsuit represented the racial relations that society established between the white southerners and the African American southerners. Leveson sued the Company for treating her like a black woman which was a great humiliation. She refused to be abased to the class of a black woman. Furthermore, she was exposed to a certain degree of violence when the conductor believed that she was of African heritage. These actions details the feelings and reactions of the white southerners towards anyone to be remotely associated with African Americans.


Third Stop: The Grand Opera House
We decided that in order to appreciate the Douglass Theatre, we needed to also take a look at the Grand Opera House, which was one of the stops on the trolley tour.


The Grand Opera House was and still is one of Macon’s main performing arts center of Mercer University. Our group chose to stop by this theatre because of its iconic hold on Macon’s history during the 19th century.


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The Grand Opera House
Today, The Grand hosts off broadway shows and other Maconite traditions like the Civil Club Show. During the late 19th century, wealthy white men and their dates had the opportunity to have a night out on the town and to see performances at the theatre.


Like how the Douglass Theatre represented the racial inequality between the whites southerners and the African Americans, The Grand Opera House represented a dominant example of social and economic inequality between the upper and middle classes white southerners. Lower class individuals and blacks did not have adequate money to spend on a unnecessary experiences. Entertainment like this was reserved for those peoples who lived without fear of poverty or of debt.


Furthermore, places like the Grand Opera House were also important examples of economic development. In The Telegraph, a wealthy white man by the name of Major Winters was the first man in Macon to initiate the new electric car into modern society, and it was a fancy party car too. Major Winters invited his friends to his release party to help welcome the shiny, new toy that the Macon Consolidated Street Railroad Company supported. Those who attended the release party were either doctors, majors, masters, or missus. The car itself was furnished with 255 lights in every corner of the car, unstationary seats, and made of Georgia Pine. According to the article, this car was a display of Macon prosperity and lavishness (“Meteoric”).


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That's Us!
Economically speaking, to be able to develop and furnish a car specifically for the purpose of parties exemplifies the commercial success of the Street Railroad Company. It further illustrates the significance the ornate car had on the social structures of Macon. The attendees of the party trolley were from middle to higher class families which did not include African Americans displaying the social immobility situated in this description. Private functions were not open to African Americans during the New South period because they dictated that the hosts were wealthy enough to be able to rent the opulent car for a night. That in turn dictated a certain level of wealth that the residents of Macon had to have had in order to be able to build such a car and to expect the car to be maintained. This car represents the current economic prosperity and future expectations as well as inequality because of these expectations.


At the end of Major Winter’s party, the group took a spin in the new car, and stopped with a performance at a theatre (“Meteoric”).  The invention of the electric car helped the rapid popularity of theatres and late night activities because people now had the ability to travel farther distances at safer costs than if they had to walk a long way at night. Theatres like the Grand Opera House were just one of the many establishments that lit up downtown Macon.
Last Station: Power Station
The final stop on our Trolley tour was the Power Station of the Streetcar and Light Company. We were now outside of downtown Macon and had left the route of the trolley. Confused and scrambled (because the address did not exist on the Riverside), we passed by the station several times before finally realizing our location.


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Jackson Climbing the Fence
During the late 1800s until the early 1900s, economic development was booming in the South partially due to the invention of the trolley that changed and modernized the New South. Without the power station, there would have been no possible way to provide electricity and coal to power the trollies.  
In an issue of the Macon Telegraph, the writers discussed the economic effects of the street cars. The introduction of street cars allowed for easier transportation which subsequently gave people more opportunities to move around the city easier. Jobs, mobility, and housing opened up to people who had fewer option before. The price of trolley tickets went down with more people riding. People were no longer limited to a certain area due to expensive transportation which eventually lead to promoting economic growth (“Trolley”).
Another definition of the economic growth the trolley lines developed in this period lies in the “Notices” section of the Telegraph which appeared every few months. The President of the Macon Consolidated Street Railroad Company announced a stockholder’s meeting through his secretary. This specific notice for a meeting specifies the subject matter in which the stockholders would gather for-- the authorization of mortgage bonds. The fact that businesses like the Railroad company was large enough to be able to organize stock features the growth of the Southern economy from one of agriculture to one of industry. In future printings of The Telegraph, the same form of communication is also used by the Railroad Company indicating that the stockholders of the Company are literate and can afford to buy weekly copies of the newspaper (“Macon”).
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The Front View
But at the same time, these two requirements dramatically causes a diminution of the chances of an average African American being a stockholder in the company. During the Gilded Age as well as the period of the New South, African American literacy rates were indeed higher than the time before the Civil War. However, still a large majority of African Americans remained illiterate due to age, segregation, discrimination, and lack of schools, especially in the South. Furthermore, African Americans suffered the anger of white southerners when they showed being able to obtain economic prosperity. Because of this acrimony, many African Americans, wealthier in status, removed themselves from the South and all that generally remained worked low waged jobs at cotton mills or operating in boiling rooms or in any situation requiring minimal skill. Thus, the action of the Street Railroad Company placing a call for a meeting in The Telegraph displays the lack of African Americans as stockholders and the inequality within the southern economy.
Overall, the trolley system stimulated the New South economy and bolstered a degree of economic growth even if racial inequality remained relatively depressing. The establishment of the Power Station consolidated the idea that streetcars are influential and helpful in everyone’s lives.


After four crucial stops and the realization that the trolley did not exist, the team figured out how to go from text to history in our own hometown.
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Team Jolly Trolley








Works Cited
"Back Seats for the Blacks." Macon Telegraph [Macon] 27 July 1896: 8. Georgia


"The Bond Signed." The Macon Telegraph. Macon Historic Newspapers, 13 Mar. 1888. Web. 17
Johnson, Edward A. "Browse." The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930s: Selections from the Records of Macon's Douglass Theatre. N.p., 31 Aug. 2005. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
"Look Out For the Cars." The Weekly Telegraph [Macon] 16 Mar. 1892: 8. Georgia Historic
news/mwt1892/mwt1892-0088.xml&query=streetcarstrollies&query-join=or&brand=tele
graph-brand>.
“Macon Consolidated Street Railroad Company: Stockholder’s Meeting.” Macon Telegraph
[Macon] 27 Jul. 1896: 4. Georgia Historic Newspapers. Web. 14 Feb. 2015. <http://teleg
“Negro Killed by a Train at the Crossing.” Macon Telegraph [Macon] ND: 1. Georgia Historic
Newspapers. Web. 13 Feb. 2015.
“Suing for Damages.” Macon Telegraph [Macon] ND: 1. Georgia Historic Newspapers. Web. 13
Feb. 2015.
"The Meteoric Car." The Macon Telegraph [Macon] 25 July 1887: 18. Georgia Historic
"The Trolley and the Farmer." Macon Telegraph [Macon] 7 Feb. 1898: 4. Georgia Historic
cId=news /mdt1898/mdt1898-0348.xml&query=streetcars and trolley&query-joi n=or&brand= telegraph-br and>.
"Trolley Lines Can Help Macon." The Macon Telegraph. Georgia Historic Newspapers, 18 Aug.           1902. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.         


“Woman Sues on Novel Charges.” Macon Telegraph [Macon] 16 Nov. 1904: 3. Georgia
Historic Newspapers. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.<http://telegraph.galileo.usg.edu.telegraph/view
?docId=news/mdt1904/mdt1904-1279.xml&query=Macon%20Railway%20and%20Light
%20Company&brand=telegraph-bran>.

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