A Homage To The Fallen Railroad Stations Of Atlanta

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This blog post was written by Robin Friedman

March 17, 2018, was the 100th anniversary of Peachtree Station, currently the only passenger railroad station serving Atlanta, Georgia. For many years, however, Atlanta was a hub for passenger rail service, just as it is now a hub for the airlines.  Beginning in 1853, Atlanta was served by six passenger stations and countless passenger trains.  Now only Peachtree Station and one passenger train survive.  Many people still love the passenger train and are nostalgic for its golden years. As part of the broad history of railroading and in their own right, Atlanta’s passenger stations and trains deserve to be remembered. 

The history of Atlanta’s passenger rail stations from pre-Civil War days to the present is told for the first time in a new book from Arcadia Publishing, When Atlanta Took the Train. Railroad historian David Steinberg wrote the book in collaboration with the staff of the Southeastern Railway Museum, which has been in operation for over 45 years and is the official transportation history museum of the State of Georgia. Join us now for a look back in time at Atlanta’s fallen railroad stations, with this book serving as our guide.

When Atlanta Took the Train By David H. Steinberg and The Southeastern Railway Museum
When Atlanta Took the Train

When Atlanta Took the Train beautifully preserves the romance of train travel and the history of Atlanta’s passenger trains. The book includes an informative text documenting the passenger trains, railroads, and stations that served Atlanta over the years. It also includes many images of trains, stations, tracks, railroad workers, and passengers. It also shows the changing city of Atlanta with its streets, buildings, industries, and people over the years.

Central of Georgia Train No. 7–8, the Nancy Hanks, waits beside Southern Railway’s office building in July 1970. Georgia’s bestknown train made its last run on April 30, 1971. The three-car, one-locomotive arrangement (a “consist” in railroad terms) was typical in the last year of operation. (Photograph by Lloyd Neal.)
Atlanta’s most beloved passenger train was the Nancy Hanks, shown here in a 1970 photo.

The Nancy Hanks was a local train which for years allowed students and residents from small Georgia towns easy transport to Atlanta or Savannah.  Service on the Nancy Hanks was discontinued on April 30, 1971.

Even before the Civil War, Atlanta was a railroad hub and was served by Union Station, built in 1853. This station is famous because it was destroyed by General Sherman when he captured Atlanta in 1864.

This is a fine image of the 1853 Union Passenger Depot taken before November 15, 1864, when the Union army began its famous “March to the Sea” that would spell the end for the Confederacy. To the left of the station is the two-story Georgia Railroad Bank, which stood at the tracks that then marked the southern end of Peachtree Street. (Courtesy of LOC.)
This early image shows the 1853 Union Station in its years of activity before its destruction during the Civil War.

After the Civil War, Atlanta slowly but surely recovered. In 1871, the city became the home of another Union Station, Union Depot. With Atlanta’s rapid increase in population, Union Depot had become outmoded and obsolete by the turn of the century.  However, it continued to offer passenger service until it was destroyed in 1930.

Vendors’ booths line the tracks in this 1893 view along Wall Street looking southeast toward the depot and, in the background, the State Capitol. The train blocks Pryor Street, a regular occurrence until 1929, when all of the streets in this area were raised on viaducts. The photograph was probably taken from the Kimball House. (Courtesy of Georgia Archives.)
This image captures the 1871 station, its trains, and a large, lively crowd on a day in 1893.

A small passenger station called the East Tennessee, Virginia, & Georgia Depot served Atlanta from 1884 to 1895 but no known images of it remain. Fortunately, this book preserves the memory of the station and some of its associated artifacts.

The ETV&G provided passage to Savannah through a connection at Jesup with the Savannah, Florida & Western Railway, owned by Henry B. Plant. In 1879, when he bought the railroad, there was only one line between Georgia and Florida. During the next decade, Plant added three more rail connections to the Sunshine State, making it much easier to get there and fueling Florida’s tourist industry. (Courtesy of SRM.)
A ticket sold on the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia Railway for round-trip travel to Savannah.

In 1905, Atlanta received a large, magnificent railroad station with the opening of Terminal Station, designed by a young, gifted architect P. Thornton Mayre.  Terminal Station served Atlanta until 1970 and was later destroyed in 1972.

Designed by architect Philip Thornton Marye, Terminal Station resembled a Spanish palace, evoking an often-romanticized colonial past during which Spain explored and established missions in the lower South. Besides the station, Marye also designed other Atlanta structures, including the city’s famous Fox Theatre, a treasured landmark on Peachtree Street. (Courtesy of Atlanta History Center.)
This image captures the grandeur and beauty of Terminal Station during its glory years.
The 65 trains listed here in 1948 are a far cry from the roughly 100 that frequented Terminal Station just 20 years before. By this late date, most local trains have been discontinued. The airplane, bus, and private automobile have all combined to spell disaster for the once-dominant railroad institution. (Courtesy of SRM.)
This schedule shows the 65 trains serving Terminal Station as of September 18, 1948. The station was busy, but service had already decreased substantially from its peak years. Passenger rail service would soon decrease even more dramatically.

In 1930, Atlanta welcomed its third Union Station. Located blocks away from Terminal Station, Union Station saw its last passenger train in 1971 and then was destroyed.

In this summer 1966 photograph, Union Station and the Austell Building behind it look much the same as they had for decades, and the most noticeable change is probably the styling of the automobiles in the parking lot. Meanwhile, 10 miles to the south, the nation’s largest airport terminal had opened only five years earlier but was already becoming too small. Expanded in 1968, the airport terminal was completely replaced with a much larger facility between 1977 and 1980, and it has expanded even more since then. (Courtesy of Marvin Clemons.)
This 1966 image captures the beauty of Atlanta’s third Union Station only five years before its destruction. 

The final station discussed in the book, and the only passenger station still operating in Atlanta is the Peachtree Station, which opened in 1918 in an Atlanta suburb which was fashionable at the time.  Peachtree Station is home to Atlanta’s only surviving passenger train, the Crescent, which stops in Atlanta en route from New York City and Washington, D.C. to New Orleans and back.  Peachtree Station has a place in my heart because I take the Crescent to Atlanta on trips to see my grandchildren. I know the platform, the long stairs leading to the terminal, the benches in the old waiting room, and the cabs awaiting the occasional passenger. With my lifelong love of trains I was glad to revisit Peachtree Station and its predecessors in this book.

Peachtree Station, Atlanta, GA
This 1974 photograph captures Peachtree Station much as it is today, although the years have taken their inevitable toll.

We hope you have enjoyed this brief journey through time to Atlanta and its passenger railroad stations. Readers with a passion for railroading or with an interest in Atlanta will enjoy “When Atlanta Took the Train”.

The Connection Between the Civil Rights Movement and Soul Food

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If you’re like many people, the phrase “soul food” can’t help but conjure up mental images of some truly glorious dishes. You picture crispy fried chicken, earthy greens seasoned with salt pork, golden cornbread, and other comforting dishes that nourish the spirit as well as the body.

Soul food stems from a cuisine with firm roots in African-American history. It came into being during the centuries of oppression African-Americans endure under slavery. It also played a uniquely iconic role in the Civil Rights Movement as well as explored in Southern Food and Civil Rights: Feeding the Revolution.

The Origins of Soul Food

During the days of American slavery, only slave owners enjoyed the privilege of consuming rich, meaty cuts like roasts and hams, leaving the leftover bits and less desirable cuts to the African slaves.

Even after slavery, most African-Americans remained incredibly poor, and they could only afford the least expensive cuts of meat. They supplemented their diet with vegetables they grew themselves and wild game from hunting and fishing. They also used their ingenuity to turn those humble ingredients into incredible dishes.

The art of taking such humble offerings and resourcefully transforming them into delicious dishes for the whole family is the heartbeat of soul food. It remains a meaningful tradition and a staple of African-American culture to this day.

A Cup of Coffee Makes History

The right to gather with friends or loved ones to enjoy a simple meal is something many of us take for granted. However, it’s important to realize that what you eat and where you eat it matters, not just on a personal level, but on a political one as well. 57 years ago, a group of African-American students sat down at the lunch counter of a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina to fight for that right.

They ordered coffee at a segregated restaurant, as an act of protest – one that would eventually result in lifting the ban on black patrons later on that same year.

History Fueled by Food

As the Civil Rights Movement continued to pick up speed, certain restaurants served as shelters for leaders and protesters. Soul food was already at the center of many meals in those households, so it was also the food that fed the people working so hard to change our nation. The following are just a couple of examples of how soul food and the Civil Rights Movement merged together to lead the way for positive social change.

Pork Chops at Paschal’s

Paschal’s restaurant offered more than just a great place to grab a delicious plate of smothered pork chops. One of the unofficial headquarters of the Atlanta Civil Rights Movement, it distinguished itself as one of the few black-owned restaurants in the area.

Brothers Robert and James Paschal not only provided a safe place for movement leaders of the time to gather but fed them for free as well. The likes of Hosea Williams, Joseph Lowery, John Lewis, and Martin Luther King Jr. all enjoyed many meals while planning their strategies.

Georgia Gilmore’s Table

Buttermilk biscuits had long been a soul food favorite for feeding the hungry because they’re hearty, inexpensive, and easy to make. Georgia Gilmore, a previous cafeteria cook from Montgomery, Alabama, lost her job after supporting the bus boycott of 1955. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself encouraged Georgia to open her own restaurant, so she turned her home into what was basically an underground supper club that often had lines out the door. Over the course of the Civil Rights Movement, she fed thousands of organizers right out of her own home kitchen.

Club from Nowhere

Eventually, Georgia Gilmore mobilized the women of Montgomery, Alabama, by organizing the Club from Nowhere. The Club specialized in selling baked goods at various local venues to help fund many aspects of the civil rights movement.

Their efforts supported the trucks and vans that helped people get around while the bus boycotts were in effect. In fact, those initiatives prospered thanks to the funds from Club to Nowhere.

As you can see, a meal is so much more than just a way to stay nourished. It also can be a cultural food way that brings people together and inspires large-scale political change. This has certainly been the case with soul food, and its imprint continues to reach across the country today.

A Brief History of Makeup in Hollywood

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This post was written by Erika Thomas, author of Max Factor and Hollywood: A Glamorous History

Anyone who has purchased or applied a beauty product to their face within the last 90 years, be it moisturizer, sun block, exfoliant, blush, lipstick and the like, chances are, you’ve got Max Factor to thank for it.

Although there had been companies that sold theater greasepaint and commercial cosmetics around the same time that Max Factor first introduced Society Cosmetics to the market during the 1920s, none were as groundbreaking or glamorous as Factor’s formulations. They were appealing because Max Factor employed the use of the most beautiful women on the planet (Hollywood stars such as Loretta Young, Joan Crawford, Hedy Lamar and others) to advertise his products in the wildly popular fan magazines of the era, such as Photoplay and Screenland. Knowing the female demographic of the movie going public would want to achieve the same flawless look for herself, Factor’s makeup ads were irresistible. What’s more, the products themselves were quality through and through. His greasepaint created a look that smoothed and perfected the complexion. His rouges highlighted cheekbones and provided contour for shapeless faces. The lipsticks were non-drying, longwearing and contained the finest ingredients, ultimately creating a complimentary look for every woman who wore them. 

Max Factor applies mascara onto an early Hollywood actor. Reprinted from Max Factor and Hollywood: A Glamorous History.

Max Factor was more than just someone who manufactured cosmetics. To the Polish immigrant and expert wigmaker, beauty was an exact science. It wasn’t something to be left to guesswork or chance, nor was it something that every woman was born with. In fact, to Max Factor, beauty was a thing that could be achieved with meticulous planning, mapping and studying. Factor created cosmetics that proved his science; he pioneered a special beauty apparatus—the famed Beauty Calibrator during the 1930s—a metal contraption containing hundreds of screws and points of adjustments designed to fit over the head and determine a woman’s most beautiful facial features.

What’s more, glamour was not something a woman was born with; but rather, glamour was created. The makeup guru himself—often called the “Father of Modern Makeup”—was known to have said, “You are not born glamorous. Glamour is created.” This was great news for Factor and the hoards of adoring women who clamored for his innovative color cosmetics. Not only was Max Factor the first to manufacture make-up for motion pictures; he was the first to make it available for every day use of the general public. 

Max Factor and Hollywood; A Glamorous History takes a detailed look at the many achievements of the legendary makeup artist and the countless cosmetics milestones he was responsible for. His glamour factory at the corner of Hollywood and Highland Avenue—aptly located in the heart of Tinsel Town—would be the place the most famous signature looks in the world would be created during Hollywood’s golden era—ones that are just as relevant today as they were then. With his scientific approach, Max Factor created timeless glamour and classic beauty that remains en vogue all of these years later. Women today still strive to achieve the looks of Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell and the many unforgettable faces first created by Max Factor. 

4 Suffrage Leaders Who Fought for the 19th Amendment

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Ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted American women the right to vote. Needless to say, it was a major victory for a movement that struggled to gain success for so long.

With the launch of the women’s national suffrage movement in 1848, suffrage leaders led the charge for equality. This Women’s History Month and beyond, be sure to honor the following women for their astonishing contributions to improving the quality of American lives across the country.

Susan B. Anthony

If you’re familiar with only one women’s suffrage pioneer in history, it’s probably Susan B. Anthony, and with good reason. Born into a Quaker family in 1820, her family raised her to speak her mind and value independence. Like many Quakers, the Anthony family believed that women and men should live, work, study, and fight for justice as equals.

Although she would die before seeing her vision realized, Susan B. Anthony felt it was critical that women be granted the right to vote in order to ensure that women’s issues were addressed by the government. She began her fight in 1853 by campaigning for the expansion of the property rights of married women. She joined the Anti-Slavery Society to help form the National American Woman Suffrage Association and continued to fight for the vote until her death in 1906.

Alice Paul

The women’s suffrage movement had many branches, and Alice Paul led one of the most militant ones. Like Susan Anthony, her family subscribed to the Quaker faith. She was also very well-educated, with both an undergraduate degree in biology and a Ph.D. in sociology to her credit.

Determined to do whatever it took to win the vote, she joined the highly confrontational Women’s Social and Political Union in graduate school and learned how to use civil disobedience to draw attention to the cause. She put those tactics into play in 1910 when she became the chair of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

Paul’s radical approach to the movement came to fruition when President Wilson declared his support for the new amendment in January 1918. When Tennessee eventually became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, the new law went into effect.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Stanton was one of the most notable women’s rights activists of the entire 19th century. Like many other activists, she grew up in an environment that supported reform movements of all kinds. She eventually married an abolitionist named Henry Brewster Stanton. In 1840, they travelled to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, but they were turned away since the event did not accept female delegates.

That experience inspired Stanton to join the fight for women’s suffrage in the summer of 1848. She also believed strongly in a vision of equality that transcended politics in many ways. In addition to suffrage, she fought for causes such as the reform of marital law, educational opportunities for women, and the adoption of new clothing styles that allowed women to be more active.

Lucy Stone

Although Stone was a passionate pioneering women’s rights activist and abolitionist, she earned a reputation when she refused to take her husband’s last name when she married Henry Blackwell in 1855. In 1847, she became a traveling speaker for the American Anti-Slavery Society, advocating not only for the rights of slaves but “humanity everywhere.” She continued her activism until retiring in 1857 to care for her newborn daughter.
Stone also distinguished herself as one of the founding members of the American Woman Suffrage Association. Along with Henry Blackwell, she began the publication of the weekly feminist newspaper known as the Woman’s Journal from 1871-1931.

11 Legendary Rivalries in College Basketball

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There’s no doubt that college basketball is exciting to watch. Whether it’s the pride that washes over you when your alma mater scores a point or the adrenaline rush during the final seconds of a particularly intense game, it’s all part of what keeps you coming back year after year.

The spirit of competition is also a huge deal when it comes to college basketball. Naturally, when every team is giving it 100% as they strive for greatness, friendly rivalries can’t help but pop up. Here we’ll take a closer look at one of the most fascinating aspects of college basketball – the rivalries themselves! The following are just a handful of the ones we’ve deemed the most enduring, fascinating, or legendary.

New Mexico vs. New Mexico State

This rivalry is best known to those who follow college basketball teams hailing from west of the Rockies. However, it’s every bit as heated as any rivalry that’s better known on a nationwide level. Each year, the New Mexico Lobos and the New Mexico State Aggies face off in what’s known as the Rio Grande Rivalry, a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1894. Anytime these two schools go head to head in any varsity sport, the winning team is awarded a certain number of points. Naturally, the school with the most points to its credit at the end of the year is the winner.

What’s noteworthy about this particular basketball rivalry is that the Lobos and the Aggies are in different conferences – Western Athletic Conference for the Aggies and Mountain West Conference for the Lobos. However, they still play two non-conference games against one another each year. They could choose to play just one game and use the other to go up against another opponent to help strengthen their records, but they don’t. They’re more interested in securing a victory over their rivalry.

Syracuse vs. Georgetown

The Big East isn’t just any college basketball conference. It’s one of the most competitive conferences in the entire sport. Syracuse and Georgetown are both from the Big East, so you can just about imagine how heated a rivalry between the two of them can get.

The rivalry began when the Georgetown Hoyas scored an amazing victory after a poorly played game 40 years ago at Syracuse’s own Manley Field House. Such a win would have been upsetting enough to Syracuse fans. However, a full-scale rivalry was born when Georgetown coach John Thompson II grabbed the mike and said: “The Manley Field House is officially closed!”

That quote is so famous that if you type Manley Field House into Google, the search engine will attempt to finish your search with “is officially closed.” If that’s not historically epic, we don’t know what is!

Georgetown vs. Villanova

The Syracuse Orange isn’t the only college basketball team that can claim a legendary rivalry with the Georgetown Hoyas. The Villanova Wildcats can certainly say the same, for good reason. These two schools were among the original members of the “Catholic Seven” in the Big East. They’ve also been engaged in a rivalry since 1979.

Most fans trace the crescendo of the rivalry back to the 1985 National Championship Game. That’s when the Wildcats became the most celebrated underdog champions in the entire history of the NCAA Tournament by miraculously beating the Hoyas when no one thought they had a chance. The rivalry between these two schools has continued with gusto to this day.

Indiana vs. Purdue

Indiana State and Purdue University are only about 100 miles apart from one another. They are also two of Indiana’s most noteworthy and celebrated flagship universities. Their basketball teams enjoy a healthy rivalry that’s been alive and well since the dawning of the 20th century.

India-vs-Purdue-basketball-infographic.png
Indiana and Purdue first went head to head well over a hundred years ago in 1901. Their rivalry is also widely considered to be one of the most intense in the entire history of college basketball. Newsweek listed it among the top twelve most intense while Huffington Post ranked it as the fifth most noteworthy of all time. One time, Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight even threw a chair across the court. That’s how heated the competition between the two teams is.

The rivalry is fueled by the students and their intense love for basketball. Both universities have been members of the famous Big Ten Conference for well over a century, which intensifies the drama surrounding these two teams.


Kentucky vs. Louisville

The rivalry between the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals isn’t as long-standing a rivalry as some other ones. However, it is largely considered to be one of the most intense and passionate by fans.

It starts with the fact that college basketball is a huge deal in Kentucky, especially because there are no professional state-affiliated teams. Plus, Kentucky and Louisville are two of the biggest basketball programs in that state. The teams are headed by two of the sport’s most legendary coaches, John Calipari and Rick Pitino. Both men are fiercely competitive against each other.

Every year, these two teams face off in the Battle for the Bluegrass, to the excitement and delight of college basketball fans everywhere. In fact, after Louisville’s amazing 80-68 win in the “Dream Game” of the 1983 NCAA Tournament, the governor of Kentucky passed a bill that made it mandatory for the two teams to play each other every year.

Kansas vs. Kansas State

The rivalry between Kansas and Kansas State is known as the Sunflower Showdown: a series of athletic face-offs that also includes college football. It’s also among the longer-standing rivalries in college basketball, dating all the way back to 1907. The men’s basketball series is the most-played series in the history of either college as well. 

Although this rivalry always provides many exciting moments, most fans agree that it hit its peak in the 1950s. That’s when Wilt Chamberlain’s 1957-58 KU team came in second to Kansas State. The rivalry is fueled by the fact that these two schools owned the Big XII from the 1940s all the way through the 1970s.

The Kansas Jayhawks proved that they were the more superior of the two teams during the 1990s. The intense rivalry cooled down a bit after that. However, things began to heat up again in 2006, when Kansas State brought in Coach Bob Huggins to replace Jim Woodridge. Huggins was very interested in reinvigorating the rivalry, much to the delight of college basketball fans everywhere.

Duke vs. North Carolina

If you’re only familiar with one legendary college basketball rivalry, it’s likely to be the one between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. That’s because it is one of the most heated, talked-about rivalries in the history of college basketball. It’s also considered to be one of the most intense duels in any sport!

So, what makes this particular rivalry so intense? North Carolina and Duke both offer historic basketball programs with explosive power. They shaped some of the greatest basketball legends like Grant Hill, Christian Laettner, and Michael Jordan. Plus, they’ve consistently brought in coaches that qualify as legendary in their own right, like Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.

Both of these schools rank in the top twenty every year, often with at least one team ranking in the top ten as well. As if that’s not enough competition, these schools are only eight miles apart and boast some of the most passionate fans in the country. We expect that this rivalry will endure for many years to come!

Kansas vs. Missouri

There are several legendary college basketball rivalries, but few of them can be traced back to an actual war. During the Civil War, multiple conflicts break out between pro-slavery and antislavery groups in the states of Missouri and Kansas. Those skirmishes gave rise to many animosities that have influenced university athletic competitions even after the war was over.

The rivalry between the two schools is known as the Border War, dating all the way back to 1907. That’s an astonishing 265 games, and it’s still going strong. The heated competitive spirit doesn’t start and stop with the basketball court. Missouri fans and Kansas fans are pretty rowdy, and the intensity in the air at the games is nothing short of electric.

Cincinnati vs. Xavier

Rivalries can have all sorts of different origin stories and colorful reasons why they endure. Some have been in place for 100 years or more. Others seem to explode almost out of nowhere, thanks to one particular game or incident. The rivalry between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Xavier Musketeers is definitely the latter.

Unless you lived in the greater Cincinnati area at the time or followed college basketball from the area, you most likely had never heard of the Crosstown Shootout before the rivalry began. That changed the year Xavier won that game in 2011, which was called off with 9.5 seconds still left on the clock. A bench-clearing brawl ensued, and the animosity between the two teams endures today.

Michigan vs. Michigan State

Michigan-basketball-player-and-referee-on-court.jpgLike many sports rivalries, the one between Michigan and Michigan State spans across more than one sport. In addition to a healthy basketball rivalry, the two schools also have a well-known football rivalry. Although it varies, the Michigan Wolverines usually come out on top in football while the Michigan State Spartans reign supreme on the court.

Both teams are members of the Big Ten conference. They also enjoy a rivalry that exists on and off the court. Among the off-court elements, the two teams frequently compete over up-and-coming talent with both schools trying to draft the exact same players. 

This is another example of a rivalry where there is definitely no love lost between the two sides. Consider the words of Michigan State’s own legendary coach, Tom Izzo:

“Do I respect John Beilein? Tremendously. Do I respect Michigan? Tremendously. Do I like them? Not one bit. I don’t like anything about Michigan and they don’t like anything about us, and that’s the way it should be.”

That pretty much tells you all you need to know about the relationship between these two noteworthy teams.

Notre Dame vs. UCLA

UCLA-bruins-player-dribbling-ball.jpgNormally, home-and-home meetings that continue for several seasons are unusual outside of conference play. However, UCLA and Notre Dame engaged in just that over the 1970s and 1980s. Starting in the late 1980s, the schools began to meet for only one game per season.

When the rivalry between the two schools began, Digger Phelps coached for Notre Dame while John Wooden was the coach for UCLA. Between 1966 and 1995, the two teams would play a total of 42 times. The rivalry would reach an apex when Notre Dame brought UCLA’s 88-game winning streak to a screeching halt in 1974. UCLA would, in turn, break a 60-game winning streak for Notre Dame in South Bend.

Of course, these rivalries are just the tips of the iceberg when it comes to the layered backstories that contribute to the appeal of college basketball. Learn even more about your favorite teams, universities, rivalries, triumphs, and memorable moments when you explore our collection of titles on regional basketball history in America. Start your journey today!

Harvey Girls: Much More Than a Pretty Face

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The author of three books from The History Press, Rosa Walston Latimer was inspired by the story of her Harvey Girl grandmother to preserve women’s history. The New Mexico Magazine described Latimer’s writing as “paying devoted attention to the vibrant inner lives and daily work life of Harvey Girls, transforming what could have been a prim volume into an intimate page-turner.”

When the railroad forged its way west, Fred Harvey established restaurants and hotels along the Santa Fe tracks. Certainly Mr. Harvey had a unique vision and was an astute businessman; however, it was the Harvey employees, led by waitresses dressed in starched black and white uniforms, known as Harvey Girls, who made the Fred Harvey company a success. Beginning with the first eating establishment in Topeka, Kansas in 1876 and lasting until the mid-1940s over 100,000 women followed the Santa Fe Tracks west to work as Harvey Girls. However, these adventurous women were much more than welcome faces for weary travelers.

Harvey Girls in Slaton.

As Harvey Houses were established in small railroad towns, it proved very difficult to find employees among the locals who could meet the high standards of service required by Fred Harvey. Using classified ads in popular women’s magazines and newspapers in the Midwest and Northeast, Mr. Harvey enticed qualified young women to apply for jobs as waitresses in the far-flung Harvey Houses.

The Castaneda Harvey House and Hotel, Las Vegas, New Mexico. Built in 1899 the building is currently being restored.

Following a personal interview in the Kansas City office, Fred Harvey handpicked young women, dressed them in proper, starched uniforms and sent them out to feed the traveling public. These Harvey Girls would change the course of women’s history. Many were the first to venture more than walking distance of their hometown. Most were the first women in their family to work—to take on a role other than wife and mother. Harvey Girls earned good wages – as much as twenty-five dollars a month plus room and board – for the first time allowing them to save for an even brighter future or send money home to help a family struggling through the Depression.

Harvey Girls in Dodge City, Kansas.

Harvey Girls brought their eastern and midwestern sensibilities to a job that previously had not been held in high esteem. Harvey’s strict rules about dressing modestly, wearing little or no makeup and conducting oneself in a respectable manner served the purpose of reassuring the young ladies they would be in good company, working and living with likeminded women. Their reputations would be protected even far from home, where they would be judged without benefit of a family’s good reputation.  

At the time early Harvey Girls were hired, workingwomen were often scorned unless they were teachers or nurses. Waitressing in particular was considered one of the lowest professions a woman could choose and was certainly not thought of as a proper profession for a white, middle-class young woman. In the unsettled West, many waitresses were also prostitutes, and even when this was not true, the perception prevailed. Usually tough, coarse women were the only ones who could make it alone in remote, rural areas. The sheltered living circumstances provided for Harvey Girls made it possible for more refined women to survive in uncivilized, developing railroad towns. Harvey Girls were expected to conduct themselves in a ladylike manner at all times. This conduct changed the public perception of working, single women, especially waitresses.  

Leafy Bond Bryant, Harvey Girl in Deming, New Mexico. “I never had trouble finding a job when employers found out I had been trained as a Harvey Girl.”

Fred Harvey’s story is a great success story. The story of Harvey Girls is an important, parallel success story and a vital part of women’s history in our country. The culture and sensitivity of the iconic Harvey Girls who “fed the trains” surely helped civilize the wild, unsettled West.

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