The present depot at Calhoun, Georgia, originally called Oothcalooga Station, opened about 1853 and served passengers and commerce for over a century. In the 1840's, Irish immigrants constructed the Western & Atlantic Railroad linking Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. During the Civil War, the depot and railroad were vital in moving soldiers and supplies. Calhoun's depot became famous during Andrews Raid, or the Great Locomotive Chase, on April 12, 1862, when civilian James J. Andrews and 19 others, mostly Federal soldiers disguised as civilians, seized the locomotive General at Big Shanty, now Kennesaw, Georgia, and headed north to burn bridges from Resaca northward to block Confederate reinforcements from reaching Chattanooga before a planned Federal offensive. The train's conductor, William A. Fuller, and other Southern men pursued first on foot, then by handcar and other locomotives, and finally took control of the south-bound locomotive Texas. Delays caused by cut telegraph lines, other obstacles, and the southbound passenger train Catoosa at Calhoun Depot allowed Fuller and the Texas, running in reverse at full steam, to gain on the raiders. The Texas stopped at Calhoun Depot to pick up a teenage telegraph operator, Edward Henderson. North of town, the raiders cut another telegraph line, tried to loosen a rail, threw cross ties onto the track, and at Resaca attempted to burn a wooden trestle bridge with a burning boxcar, but rain stopped the effort and the Texas continued after coupling to the smoldering car. In Dalton, Georgia, the Texas left Henderson to telegraph a warning to Confederates in Chattanooga. After the General ran out of wood, it was abandoned north of Ringgold, Georgia, Andrews and all his raiders were captured, and the Federal attack on Chattanooga did not occur. In May 1864, Calhoun again became a center of activity as Confederate reinforcements moved north to oppose Federal armies under Major General William T. Sherman at Resaca. On May 14 and 15, about 155,000 soldiers fought the first major battle of the Atlanta Campaign there, and Calhoun Depot helped transport many wounded soldiers. On May 16, 1864, the corps of Confederate Lieutenant Generals Leonidas Polk and William J. Hardee marched south past the depot while the Federal 4th Corps and two divisions of the 14th Corps pursued. A correspondent traveling with Sherman's troops through Calhoun called it a "pretty little town...when they haven't run away," since most residents had fled.