The Macon and Brunswick Railroad Company was chartered in 1856 and ran from Brunswick, Georgia to Macon, Georgia. Early construction of the rail line used enslaved labor, prior to emancipation in 1865. Construction on the line was completed in 1869. The company experienced financial difficulties and in 1873 the state of Georgia seized the company for failure to pay interest on its bonds. The Legislature passed an act in 1879 authorizing the lease or sale of the company, and authorizing an extension of the line from Brunswick to the Florida line, and an extension from Macon to Atlanta. In 1881 the company was bought by the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway. The line ultimately became part of Norfolk Southern Railway's Brunswick District.