This Black Family Won't Back Down After Court Allows Railroad to Take Their Land
Blaine and Diane Smith were hurt but unsurprised when a Georgia superior court judge ruled last week that a railroad company could seize their land, despite their refusal to sell.
For nearly two years, they have been fighting to stop Sandersville Railroad Co., a 130-year-old, white-owned business, from building a 4.5-mile rail spur through a historically Black neighborhood in rural Sparta. The company initiated eminent domain, which is a process that allows the government to seize private property for public use.
The proposed spur would cut through parts of the property Blaine and his siblings inherited, which includes 600 acres acquired by his grandfather in the 1920s. Growing up, he farmed, fished, and hunted on the land. His family cultivated cotton, fruits, vegetables, and timber, and raised pigs, chickens, and cows. Not only has it been used to feed generations, but to pay for some family members' education as well.
Currently, his brother Mark Smith and his wife, Janet Paige Smith, live on the land. With a railroad just feet away from their home, it would disrupt their peace and run through the middle of the land where Blaine plants trees. He's also worried about the potential damage to the property from hazardous products being transported on the tracks and people trespassing.
'We've had to fight to keep this land. It's always somebody coming in trying to bamboozle you out of it,' Blaine told Capital B. 'There's people trying to come hunt on it and trespass on it. It's gonna be easier for them to do that if we put a railroad through the middle of it. … You asked me, 'What things bother me about it?' I mean, everything bothers me about it.'
Despite those concerns, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Craig L. Schwall Sr., in a ruling on Feb. 4, upheld a previous decision by the Georgia Public Service Commission that the rail spur is necessary for Sandersville Railroad to connect industries, and that it serves a public purpose because it opens a channel of trade through east middle Georgia.
However, the landowners say they won't be discouraged from the ruling. The Institute for Justice, which represents them, is appealing the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.
'We're going to fight 'til we can't fight anymore,' Diane said. 'I don't want to leave any stone unturned. My grandmother used to say, 'no stone unturned', so you keep unturning and unturning.'
Read More: Why This Rural Community Is at War With a 130-Year Railroad Company
In 2023, Benjamin Tarbutton II, president of Sandersville Railroad, made plans to construct the rail spur that would connect the Hanson Quarry, a rock mine owned by Heidelberg Materials, to a main train line along the nearby highway. But, the company needed portions of property from 18 owners along Shoals Road to make it happen.
He touted the project would create 20 temporary construction jobs, a dozen permanent jobs averaging $90,000 a year in salary and benefits, and bring in over $1.5 million annually to Hancock County, where the median household income is nearly $34,000, Tarbutton said in an email. And if the proposal moves forward, local officials hope this could attract future businesses and improve economic growth.
However, Black landowners have consistently expressed concerns that the railroad could damage their homes, cause noise pollution, and result in the loss of land that has been passed down through generations. Tarbutton moved forward and petitioned the state's public service commission to condemn the land from the property owners using eminent domain.
Last fall, the public service commission unanimously approved the proposed rail spur during an 11-minute meeting, falling in line with a hearing officer decision in April. The Institute for Justice appealed the decision, arguing the rail line does not constitute a 'legitimate public use.'
Read More: Rural Georgia Community Keeps Fighting Despite Railroad's Win to Take Their Land
Schwall, the superior court judge, concurred with the commission's order last week, but halted construction while appeals proceeded.
Bill Maurer, senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, said he's committed to proving the railroad's desire to build a new line 'entirely for the benefit of a handful of private companies is not a public use under the U.S. and Georgia constitutions and Georgia's eminent domain laws.'
'We look forward to the Georgia Supreme Court's review, and we are thankful that our clients will not have to deal with Sandersville building tracks on our clients' property until the higher court weighs in,' he said.
Diane Smith said she's hopeful the law will prevail.
'Is it against the law to protect what you have?' she questioned. 'We want to build generational wealth for our children, but not off the backs of someone else.'
For Blaine, the court's decision 'galvanized us to fight harder,' despite people demonizing them for protecting their property.
'Every time you hear an eminent domain case … it's them against us, and we're the bad guys, because we try to hold on to what we have. … Leave us alone,' he said. 'Let's make this clear: They are looking to get our land to make money for them. If we win and they don't … there's no compensation for us. There's nothing in it for us, other than our peace of mind, and that's what we want.'
The post This Black Family Won't Back Down After Court Allows Railroad to Take Their Land appeared first on Capital B News.
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