Goodrich-Usry Railroad
McDuffie Turns 150
Join us in celebrating the 150th birthday of McDuffie County! We will be sharing historic highlights from the county (like the one below) over the next year.
Usry House
Goodrich-Usry Railroad
The Goodrich-Usry Railroad was built in 1871 from Dearing to Brier Creek, a distance of 7 miles. It was used to haul logs and dressed lumber to and from the vanished sawmill town of Luther, down the panhandle of Warren County. In 1871, the tax digest for McDuffie County valued the Goody Railroad, as it was called, at ten thousand dollars. Some of the railroad beds are still visible where it started on the Printup property near the Goodrich house. The Goodrich-Usry railroad operated in the 1870s and 1880s. It’s said the idea for the railroad was conceived in the parlor of the Usry house, located on Milledge Street near downtown Thomson.
Goodrich Railroad Monument, Dearing, GA
This, and other stories about McDuffie County can be found in the book: McDuffie County, Celebrating 150 Years: Over 200 sketches and stories of the people and places of McDuffie County in celebration of its founding on October 18, 1870. Compiled by Lewis & Joann Smith.