(County railroad map - Detail from North Carolina.  By Joseph Hutchins Colton (highlights mine) New York:  J.H Colton & Co., 1854.  Courtesy of the Birmingham Public Library Cartography Collection.)

Charlotte's First Railroads

Charlotte's first railroad, The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad which linked the town with Columbia, South Carolina, was completed in 1852.  The North Carolina Railroad, running from Charlotte to Goldsboro, North Carolina, was completed in 1856.  These lines connected Charlotte with major markets in South Carolina and Virginia, stimulating growth and development in the small trading center of Charlotte.  Carrying on the momentum of success, town and business leaders sought additional lines to solidify Charlotte's growing position as a regional market.  By 1860, Charlotte had three rail lines, the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, the North Carolina Railroad, and the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad, a feeder line to Statesville in Iredell County.  The Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherfordton Railroad, which would link Charlotte directly to North Carolina's coastal port of Wilmington, was under construction but remained unfinished due to the start of the Civil War. 

 

The Railroad Comes to Charlotte Home Page

Return to Main Exhibits Page