Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham

A True Renaissance Man

Dr. Samuel B. Cunningham was the quintessential ‘Renaissance Man.’ He was a man of medicine and caring for other people. He was a businessman and entrepreneur that knew that a railroad would better the lives of East Tennesseans, both in transporting goods and people, but also in bringing commerce and a better quality of life. He served as the first President of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad (ET&V) and visionary for the effort to build a rail line from Bristol to Knoxville.

Cunningham had established himself a prominent physician in Jonesboro. He was born in Limestone TN in 1797, attended secondary school at Washington College Academy, and then did his medical study in Lexington KY.

Change in Career

It was the future potential of the railroad that became his driving force from 1847 to 1861. The initial charter for the East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad was granted in 1848, but the construction did not begin until the early 1850s. The charter had to be extended, and Dr. Cunningham and 30 other individuals had to mortgage their houses and financial security to make sure the railroad construction was funded. Their investment was nearly $500,000.

Dr. Cunningham put his medical practice on hold, to serve as the first President of the ET&V from approximately 1854 to 1861 (by his account 7 years and 45 days).

He turned the first shovel full of dirt, and also drove the last spike completing the railroad from Bristol to Knoxville TN in 1858.

Honoring Dr. Cunningham

The following is an excerpt from the ET&V honoring their leader: ‘In private life he was a man not only strictly pious, but of pure and noble sentiments and eminently kind to a fault; and as a physician and surgeon, stood at the head of the list in his profession; and as president of our road throughout the darkest period of its history, he not only satisfied the stockholders and their board of directors, in accounting for the sale of near two millions of state bonds, that he was strictly an honest man, one of God’s noblest works. But headed the list of individual endorsers to raise the additional means that enabled him, on the 14 of May, 1858, to drive the last spike, proclaiming to the world that after seven years and forty-five days of unceasing toil that he had triumphed, thus identifying his name with a monument that will go down to posterity.’

More Southern Railway information will be added to this page and others in the days ahead. Please let me know if you have any edits that should be made or any content you are willing to share by utilizing the comment form below. Would enjoy hearing from you if you have similar interests in the railroads, the region, or model railroading.

Additional Information on Cunningham, ET&V, and Southern Railway

http://www.oldplaces.org/etn/SBCunningham.htm

https://www.jstor.org/stable/42623799

www.stateoffranklin.net/johnsons/washrail.pdf

History

Southern-Railroads.org Sources and Resources

The following are excellent resources for those of you wanting to explore and learn more about the Southern Railway and its predecessors. These sources of information also serve as reference and historical materials for Southern-Railroads.org. Much of the content on the website is verified across multiple sources.

Association: Southern Railway Historical Association
Personal maps, timetables, track charts, and memorabilia
Book – Flanary, Lindsey & Oroszi: The Southern Railway
Book – Graybeal: The Railroads of Johnson City
Book – Harshaw: ‘Trains Trestles & Tunnels, Railroads of the Southern Appalachians’
Book – Lindsey: ‘Norfolk Southern 1995 Review’
Book – Poole: ‘A History of Railroading in Western North Carolina’
Book – Reisweber: ‘Southern Railway Power’
Book – Scales: Natural Tunnel, Nature’s Marvel in Stone’
Book – Stout: ‘Southern Railway: Through Passenger Service’
Book – Ward: ‘Southern Railway Varnish 1964-1979’
Book – Webb: ‘The Southern Railway System: An Illustrated History’
Book – Wiley & Wallace: ‘The Southern Railway Handbook’
Book – Withers & Sink: ‘Southern: A Motive Power Pictorial’
Book – Wolfe: Southern Railway Appalachia Division
Magazines – ‘Trains‘ , ‘Classic Trains‘
Website – Carolana.com – North Carolina Railroads, South Carolina Railroads
Website – Hawkinsrails.net
Website – Johnson’s Depot hosted by StateOfFranklin.net
Website – Multimodalways.org: Norfolk Southern Track Charts
Website – RailFanGuides.us for Johnson City
Website – SteamLocomotive.com
Website – TheDieselShop.us
Website – VirginiaPlaces.org – Railroad History of Virginia

Contact Us

Would enjoy hearing from you if you have questions, suggestions, edits, or content that you are willing to share. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have similar interests in the Southern or Model Railroads.

3Cs Websites

Appalachian-Railroads.org | Clinchfield.org | Southern-Railroads.org