Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah

The Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah, which was generally known as the Savannah Line, was founded in 1872 to operate passenger and cargo steamships between Savannah, Georgia, and New York, New York. This company was a subsidiary of the Central of Georgia Railway and was integral in moving cotton from Georgia and Alabama to New York and Boston, Massachusetts over the next seventy years. In 1951, the company was liquidated due to the establishment of an effective national highway network.

The Central of Georgia Railway, formed from its predecessor, The Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia in 1895 was a dominant force in the economic life of Georgia and parts of Alabama through the mid-twentieth century. Through its many branch and subsidiary lines, land holding companies, and agricultural experimentation, it controlled much of the region's transportation and was a strong influence in the rural development of the area.

(Cont.) In 1872, the Central Railroad and Banking Company of Georgia purchased a line of six steamships, that ran from Savannah to New York, from W.R. Garrison and Company. Then on August 26, 1872, the Central formed the Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah.

(Cont.) The Ocean Steamship Company operated as a separate entity of the Central Railroad, although the Central controlled its stock. Its purpose was the "building, purchasing, equipping, out-fitting and owning ships of vessels which would be used to transport freight and passengers to and from Savannah, New York, and any other ports.

(Cont.) In November, 1878, the Company purchased the Gordon Press in Savannah, Ga., and in 1881, it took over the Philadelphia and Southern Mail Steamship Company. In 1887, Ocean Steamship acquired the Boston and Savannah Steamship Company and reorganized it into the New England and Savannah Steamship Company, a subsidiary of the Ocean Steamship Company. From 1914 to 1917, the Ocean Steamship Company was involved in international shipping.

(Cont.) The Company's coastal service operated until World War II when the danger of submarine attack curtailed passenger service. In 1943, seaworthy vessels of the Company were requisitioned by the government for wartime use, and by 1947, there were no longer any vessels operated by the Savannah line. Finally in 1958, the terminal property of the Company was sold to the State of Georgia as the Savannah Port Terminals.