The railroad transformed antebellum Georgia. It revolutionized the way that people and goods moved from place to place, reconfiguring Georgia’s economic and social landscape. The railroad made Atlanta a transportation hub and the target of Gen. William Sherman’s U.S. Army in 1864. As Georgia’s first railroad, the Central of Georgia (founded 1833) linked Savannah with upland cotton plantations. The C of G grew into one of the most significant rail and banking corporations in the American South, serving as a vital part of Georgia’s transportation and financial infrastructure for more than a century. By the 20th century, there was no more elegant means of travel between places like Birmingham and Augusta. This art deco style sugar bowl, created in 1915 by Wallace Silversmiths, Inc. and engraved with a Central of Georgia insignia, is symbolic of the company’s power and status and was used to serve the railroad’s president and his guests.