The E. S. C. Quarterly
VOLUME 11, NO. 3-4 SUMMERSALU 1953
Vorth Carolina Was A Pioneer in Railroad Building; Is A
National Leader in Trucking; Excellent Bus and Air Lines
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—Most of photos by N. C. Dept. of Archives and History
Methods of travel and transportation of yesteryear in North Carolina
(Descriptive lines Page 66)
PUBLISHED BY
Employment Security Commission of North Carolina
RALEIGH. N. C.
PAGE 66 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 195;
Ther E. S* C. Quarterly
' ,
' '.Formerly The U.v\C\ Quarterly)
Volume -lLfN urr.be os 3'-4 Summer-Fall, 1953
.
' - ' Issued at Raleigh, N. C. by the
EMPLOYMENT SECURITY COMMISSION OF
NORTH CAROLINA
Commissioners: Mrs. Quentin Gregory, Halifax; Dr. Harry D.
Wolf, Chapel Hill; R. Dave Hall, Belmont; W. Benton Pipkin,
Reidsville; C. A. Fink, Spencer; Crayon C. Efird, Albemarle.
State Advisory Council: Public representatives: James A. Brid-ger,
Bladenboro; James A. Gray, Robersonville; W. B. Hor-ton,
Yanceyville; Mrs. R. C. Lewellyn, Dobson, and Dr. J.
W. Seabrook, Fayetteville; Employer representatives: A. L.
Tait, Lincolnton, and W. A. Egerton, Enka; Employee repre-sentatives:
Melvin Ward, Spencer, AFL, and H. D. Lisk,
Charlotte, CIO.
HENRY E. KENDALL Chairman
R. FULLER MARTIN Director
Unemployment Insurance Division
ERNEST C. McCRACKEN Director
North Carolina State Employment Service Division
M. R. DUNNAGAN Editor
Public Information Officer
Sent free upon request to responsible individuals, agencies,
organizations and libraries. Address: E. S. C. Informational
Service, P. 0. Box 589, Raleigh, N. C.
CONTENTS Page
North Carolina Transportation 66
Kendall Again Chairman ; Gregory, Wolf Renamed ; Efird New 67
'Tweetsie', in Song and Story, at Boone, Now in Virginia 68
Transport Workers Double in Decade ; Bulk in Ten Counties 69
By Mrs. Grace Z. Moen
Early Trails, Trading Baths; State Breaks Traffic Limits 70
Blank Roads Hailed as 'Farmer Railroads'; Lasted a Decade 72
N. C. Early Leader in Railroad Building ; Many Short Lines 73
State Develops Modern 67,000 Mile Toll-Free Road System 75
By Margaret Burk
Intracoastal Waterway Pleasure Craft, Freight Boat Artery 78
Blue Ridge Parkway, One of World's Remarkable Scenicways 80
By R. Getty Browning
Wilmington, Morehead Ports Improved to Increase Shipping 81
Public Transportation Systems Regulated by State 62 Years 83
By Fred C. Hunter
Motor Carriers Develop Rapidly Into Vital State Industry 84
By Jeff B. Wilson
Officers and Directors, N. C. Motor Carriers Association 85
McLean Becomes Largest Trucking Firm in Southeast States 87
By George E. Spaulding
Akers Motor Lines Becomes State's Second Largest Carrier 89
Associated Transport Absorbed N. C. Units, Nation's Largest 90
Trucking Firms: Central Motor Lines, Pilot Freight Carriers, Great South-ern,
Overnite Transportation, Miller Motor Express, Thurston Motor
Lines, Johnson Motor Lines, Fredrickson Motor Express, Hennis Freight
Lines, Turner Transfer, Youngblood Truck Lines, Kilgo Motor Freight,
Lewis & Holmes Motor Freight, Harris Express, S. & W. Motor Lines,
New Dixie Lines, W. R. Candler Transfer, Jocie Motor Lines, Colonial
Motor Freight, Dickson Transfer, C. S. Henry Transfer, Neal Hawkins
Transfer, Blue Ridge Trucking, D. & L. Motor Lines, Edmae Trucking;
Associated Petroleum Carriers, Rojster Transport, Maybelle Transport,
Quality Oil Transport, Petroleum Transportation, Waccamaw Oil
Transport, H. W. Miller Trucking, Barnes Truck Line, North State
Motor Lines 92-109
Newspapers, Picture Films, Dated Items Need Quick Delivery 109
Observer Transportation Co., Citizens Express, Carolina Delivery Service
Utilities Commission Regulates 455 Truck Common Carriers Ill
Piedmont, Only N. C. Airline, 'Best Little Carrier' in Nation 112
N. C, Base of First Flight, Becoming Air-Minded ...113
Luxury Busses Carry Passengers Locally and Nation-Wide 115
Carolina Coach, Atlantic Greyhound, Queen City Coach, Smoky Moun-tain
Stages, Seashore Transportation, Southern Coach, Smoky Moun-tain
Tours—City Busses
State Licenses, Regulates 130 Bassenger Motor Bus Lines 123
Plantation Pipe Line Brings Petroleum Products to State ....124
Transcontinental Pipes Natural Gas Distributed in State ..126
Public Service Co. of N. C.
Several 'Firsts' and Little Known Facts About Railroads 128
By James M. White (N. C. Railroad Association)
Four N. C. Counties Never Had Rail Lines 129
Southern Largest Railroad Operating in North Carolina 130
(Carolina & Northwestern)
Col. A. B. Andrews—N. C. Railroad Classifications 133
Atlantic Coast Line Operates Large Rail System from N. C 134
President Davis, Old Bell, Rockingham Railroad, Va. and Carolina
Southern, East Carolina Railroad, Black Mountain Bailroad. Clinch-field
Railroad
Seaboard Air Line's System Started with Short N. C. Lines 138
By C. E. Bell
Norfolk Southern Has 90% of Operations in North Carolina 140
Norfolk and Western Operates Three Lines into N. Carolina ... ...142
Winston -Salem Southbound
Many Independent Short Line Railroads in North Carolina 144
Atlantic & East Carolina, Piedmont & Northern, Durham & Southern,
High Point, Thomasville & Denton, Aberdeen & Rocklish, Alexander
NORTH CAROLINA TRANSPORTATION
Transportation in North Carolina was difficulj
during the settlement and colonization period an!
on up past the turn of the century- Banks along th{
coast interfered with shipping and shallow sound
hindered any but small boats. Rivers and othe
streams had to be forded, ferried or bridged. Moun
tains in the west could be scaled only at gaps.
North Carolina passed through the trail and trad
ing path periods and the period of poorly improve)
and maintained roads, noted for their ruts and roots)
Plank roads were hailed as the "farmers' railroads'"
but their span of existence was brief. This Stat
went into the lead in construction of railroads dur
ing the quarter of a century before the War Betweei
the States, and again marched forward during th
last quarter of the last century. During the past 3i
years the State has again forged forward in the con
struction of a State-wide, county-wide system of all
weather highways.
In the past 25 years North Carolina has developet
bus and truck systems which are second to none ii
the country, extending to every county in the Stat
and reaching areas not formerly reached and servec
by railroads. Shipping by water is being expande(
through development of modern port facilities at tw<
coastal cities. One important air transportatioi
company has been expanding its services from thi;
to other states, in addition to numbers of other com
panies that have established routes in North Caro
lina. Two large pipe lines, one for petroleum prod
ucts, the other for natural gas, have been built int<
or through the State.
North Carolina has an estimated 46,000 individ
uals engaged in transportation industries, 20,00(!
of them covered by the Employment Security
Law, approximately 18,000 subject to the Railroad
Retirement Board, with probably 8,000 not covereq
by either agency. Salaries and wages of these workj
ers probably reach $135,000,000 a year. The 20,00(
workers covered by the Employment Security Lav
drew wages and salaries of $65,826,000 and consti
tuted 2.8 percent of the covered workers in the Stat<
in 1952. Transportation is the life line of Nortl
Carolina industry and an important and growing in
dustry within itself.
FRONT PAGE PICTURES
First row, I. to r.—The Ad-Vance, blockade runner during the War Betweei
the States, named for Governor Vance's wife; The Raleigh, one of the firs
locomotives to operate on the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, completed in 1840
Second row, I. to r.—Covered wagons on wagon lot around turn of century
on what is now Pack Square, looking down Patton Avenue, Asheville; Th
first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright at controls and Wilbu
Wright alongside; Rubber-tired buggy of some 50 years ago, occupant late
became Mrs. R. Getty Browning, wife of chief locating engineer, N. C. High
way Department.
Third row, I. to r.—"Tobacco Road", yoke of oxen pulling tobacco hogs
head, provided by H. W. Miller Trucking Co. for American Tobacco Co., usei
in Durham Centennial parade; Solid rubber tired 1920 Auto-Car, two-toi
truck, owned by A. H. Candler Transfer Co., Asheville.
Fourth row, I. to r.—Coach of 50-150 years ago with two white horses
used in Raleigh parade in 1940; A ferry boat, typical of hundreds used ove
streams, the current providing the power; Car of government agent stuck ii
mud some 40 years ago in Johnston County.
(Airplane, locomotive, ship, wagon lot, ferry, coach and stuck car photo
N. C. Dept. of Archives and History).
Railroad, Laurinbirrg & Southern, Atlantic <fc Western, Carolina South-ern,
Clirt'side Railroad, Cape Fear Railways, Warrenton Rail Road,
Tallrrlah Falls Railway, Beaufort & Morehead, Graham County Railroad
Many N. C. Railroads Abandoned in Past Half Centrrry 15:
First 'Diesel', Lawndale-Shelby, Carthage, Locomotive Left
Highlights of Winston-Salem's Industry and Employment 1511
By Mrs. E. DeKay Johnson
N. C. Licensed Over 11-3 Million Motor Vehicles in 1953 15<|
Raleigh-Norfolk Rail Traffic Opened in 1853 15;
Railroad Notes and Folks
Summer-fall, 1 953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 67
Kendall Again Chairman; Gregory, Wolf Renamed; Efird New
Henry E. Kendall was reappointed to another
four-year term as chairman of the Employment Se-curity
Commission by Governor William B. Umstead
last July after serving seven years in this position,
the longest period of any chairman since the Com-mission
was formed near the end of 1936. At the
same time Crayon C. Efird, Albemarle, was appoint-ed
a member of the Commission, succeeding Bruce
E. Davis, Charlotte, and Mrs. Quentin Gregory, Hali-fax,
and Dr. Harry D. Wolf, Chapel Hill, were re-appointed
to four-year terms.
Chairman Kendall, Mrs. Gregory, Dr. Wolf and
Mr. Efird were administered the oath of office by
Associate Justice Jeff D. Johnson in the Governor's
Office July 14.
Since Governor Umstead could not attend this
swearing-in ceremony, the members of the Commis-sion
met with him in his office during their meeting
in Raleigh September 10, 1953. He extended greet-ings
and talked with them briefly. R. Dave Hall,
Belmont; Charles A. Fink, Spencer, and W. Benton
Pipkin, Reidsville, are holdover members with two
more years to serve.
Chairman Kendall, at the 17th annual convention
held September 28-October 1, 1953, at Wentworth-by-
the-Sea, New Castle, New Hampshire, was elected
president of the Interstate Conference of Employ-ment
Security Agencies for the ensuing year. This
is an organization of the Employment Security Agen-cies
of the 48 states and four other units. During
the previous year he had served as chairman of the
Legislative Committee and two years before that he
had been Regional Vice-President of Region IV, em-bracing
North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia,
Maryland and the District of Columbia.
At its annual meeting in Wilmington in August
the State Federation of Labor elected Mr. Fink to
his 17th term as president of the organization.
In July Mrs. Gregory was selected as
1953 "North Carolina Mother of the
Year" by the National Golden Rule
Foundation.
Biographical sketches of Chairman
Kendall, Mrs. Gregory, Mr. Hali, Mr.
Fink and Mr. Pipkin have been carried
in this publication in recent years.
Sketches are now presented on Mr.
Efird, the new member, and Dr. Wolf,
reappointed, about whom a sketch ap-peared
twelve years ago.
ciate professor of Economics in 1928, continuing as
such until 1936 when he became a full professor of
Economics, the position he still holds. Since 1946
he has been director of the Institute of Industrial
Relations in Chapel Hill. In 1935 he was regional
labor advisor of WPA and in 1943 he was associate
member of the National War Labor Board, serving
as public member of the Fouth Regional War Labor
Board, 1943-45. During World War I, Dr. Wolf saw
overseas service as private in the United States Ma-rines,
1917-1919.
When a special Unemployment Compensation com-mittee
was provided by legislative action and ap-pointed
by Governor Ehringhaus in 1934, Dr. Wolf,
a member, was made executive secretary of this com-mittee,
made the study and drafted the report made
to the governor as the result of extensive studies
conducted. In 1941 he was appointed a member of
the Employment Security Commission by Governor
Broughton and has been reappointed by each suc-ce
i m> g< vernor to 4-year terms on the Commission.
Dr. Wolf is a member of the American Economics
Association, the American Academy of Arbitrators,
the Industrial Relations Research Association and
the American Association of University Professors.
He is also a member of three professional and schol-astic
societies, Pi Kappa Delta, Kappa Delta Pi and
Delta Sigma Pi. In addition to serving as associate
editor of the Southern Economics Journal since 1939,
Dr. Wolf has written several important treatises on
economics and labor conditions, including the Rail-road
Labor Board, 1927, and Collective Bargaining
on the Railroads in How Collective Bargaining
Members of Employment Security Commission of North Caro-lina.
Front row, left to right. Crayon C. Efird. Albemarle, new
member; Mrs. Quentin Gregory, Halifax; Colonel Henry E.
Kendall, Raleigh, Chairman; Second row, I. to r., W. Benton
Pipkin, Reidsville; Dr. Harry D. Wolf, Chapel Hill; C. A. Fink,
Spencer; R. Dave Hall, Belmont.
DR. HARRY D. WOLF
Dr. Harry D. Wolf, Chapel Hill, was
born in Sheldon, Illinois, March 14,
1895. He received his B.S. degree at
Kansas City State Teachers' College in
1922 ; his M.A. degree at the University
of Chicago in 1923, and his Ph.D. degres
from the University -of Chicago in 1926.
He was associate professor of Social
Science at Illinois College, Jacksonville,
111., in 1923-24, and professor of Sac al
Science at the same institution in 1926-
28.
Dr. Wolf joined the faculty of the
University of North Carolina as asso-
PAGE 68 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 195;
Works, Twentieth Century Fund, 1942.
In 1926 Dr. Wolf married Miss Edna Gilmore.
They have two sons, William Thomas and Charles
Parker Wolf. He is a Presbyterian.
CRAYON C. EFIRD
Crayon C. Efird, Albemarle, was born in Stanly
County, September 28, 1904, the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry P. Efird. He graduated from the Albemarle
High School and attended the University of North
Carolina for two years. He then joined his father
in the firm of H. P. Efird Co., Inc., dealer in Inter-national
Harvester farm equipment. He is now
treasurer of this organization.
In 1933 Mr. Efird represented the 19th Senatorial
District in the N. C. General Assembly and repre-sented
Stanly County in the House of Representa-tives
in 1939. For several years Mr. Efird was
chairman of the Stanly County Democratic Execu-tive
Committee. He served as a member of the N. C.
National Guard in 1926-27. During Governor
Broughton's administration he served as assistant
director of the North Carolina Division of Purchase
and Contract, his term extending from September
1, 1941, to February 1, 1946.
Mr. Efird is a member of the First Presbvterian
Church in Albemarle and is president of the Jim
Harris Bible Class of this church. He is a Scottish
Rite Mason and a former president of the Stanly
County Shrine Club. In addition to being treasurer
of H. P. Efird Co., he has extensive farm interests
and is president of the Albemarle Oil Co., president
of the Power City Bus Line and president of Lake
View, Inc., real estate holding company.
In 1940 Mr. Efird married Miss Annabel Vester
of Soring Hope. They have two children, Crayon
C. Efird, Jr., 11, and Sally Efird, 6.
TWEETSIE', HERALDED !N SONG AND_
STORY AT BOONE, NOW IN VIRGINIA
"Tweetsie" is the pet name applied to several small wood-burning
engines, with or without the trains they pulled ope-rating
for many years on the East Tennesee and Western
North Carolina Railroad, a narrow gaua;e railroad 6G miles
long between Boone, N. C, and Johnson City, Tenn. "Tweetsie"
has been applied to several of these locomotives running in
numbers from one to fourteen (but minus 13), but number
eleven is probably the most famous in the group since this
"Tweetsie" is now pulling passengers on a one mile scenic
and fun railroad near Harrisonburg, Va., week ends and holi-days.
The first unit of the East Tennessee and Western North
Carolina Railroad was built from Johnson City. Tennessee, to
Cranberry in Avery County, two or three miles across the
North Carolina line, a distance of 34 miles, around 1884. Iron
mines were being developed at Cranberry and a smelter was
established there to extract the iron and produce pig iron.
Later the smelter was moved to Johnson City and the ore
hauled there from the mine. Later the road was extended to
Pineola, a distance of 12 miles, where the Whiting Lumber
Co. operated a sawmill. Still later, around 1918, a branch
road, 19 miles long, was built to Shull's Mill, also a lumber
plant. In 1921 Watauga County issued $27,000 in bonds to
extend the road five miles further northward to Boone. In
the early days the road from Cranberry to Boone was operated
as the Linville River Railway Co.
Floods in 1940 damaged the roadbed and caused abandon-ment
of the line from Boone to Cranberry, a distance of 34
miles. Around that time passenger service was abandoned
on the remainder of the line from Cranberry to Johnson City.
During World War I iron ore again became important and
the Cranberry Mills were again in operation. About three
years ago the few miles in North Carolina and part of the main
line in Tennessee were abandoned.
Several years ago "Tweetsie" No. 14 was sold to an Alaskan
lumber firm and later reports were that it had been destroyed
in a forest fire. "Tweetsie" number 11 was sold to a Vir-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many sources have been tapped for information for thi
issue on transportation. Oral, written and printed mate
rials have been assembled in an effort to present a fairl;
complete picture of the development of transportation
methods in North Carolina. Thanks are extended to all wh<
contributed to the information herein enclosed. Specia
thanks are extended to some of these sources.
Clarence H. Noah, Parks M. Low, railroads; M. Broadu
Glover, trucks; Eugene A. Hughes, Jr., busses, and V. L
Choate, accounting, of the N. C. Utilities Commission.
John H. Andrews, former traffic schedule expert of tin
Southern Railway and son of Col. A. B. Andrews.
L. Polk Denmark, N. C. Highway Dept., railroad map.
Articles on railroads and plank roads in a special issue o
the Sanford Herald, 1953.
Article on plank roads by Robert B. Starling in N. C. His
torical Review, Vol. XVI.
Chester S. Davis, special articles in Winston-Salem Jour
nal and Sentinel.
Annual reports of N. C. Utilities (Corporation, Railroad]
Commission.
"The Story of Durham," by Dr. W. K. Boyd. Duke Uni
versity Press, 1925.
"A State Movement in Railroad Development" by Dri
Cecil Kenneth BroAvn, UNO Press, 1928.
"Ante-Bellum North Carolina" bv Guion Griffis Johnson
UNC Press, 1937.
"N. C. Roads and Their Builders" by Capus Waynick, pub
lished by Superior Stone Co., Raleigh; Edwards and Brough
ton, printers. 1952.
ginian who secured the mile of track and laid it about five
miles east of Harrisonburg, Va., at Penn Laird. This locomo
tive is now pulling three or four coaches on a scenic and fur
run a mile long. The round trip is 50<? and reports are thai
the railroad with the imposing name, The Shenandoah Centra
Railroad, is earning money and furnishing fun in the Shenan
doah Valley. A ticket on the road is almost as long as the
line (actually 17 inches long) and contains a dozen notices
such as "Confederate veterans ride free"; "Carpetbaggers paj
double fare"; "Political arguments not permitted in cars;
Bryan and McKinley are both good men" and "No elephants
checked as baggage; this is no trunk line". The track is three
feet wide and the "Tweetsie" has ten wheels, the driver's about
three feet high.
"Tweetsie" is possibly the best advertised locomotive in the
country. In the January issue of "Trains—A Popular Maga-zine
of Railroading", "Tweetsie's" picture appears on the front
and inside is a feature story on "Tweetsie's Last Trip", filling
three pages and with six pictures of "Tweetsie" coming from
a tunnel, crossing a trestle, puffing at Elk Park and in other
poses. Thousands of visitors have made excursion trips
through the mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina on
trains pulled by "Tweetsie" and many columns have been writ-ten
about the operation of this railroad.
James E. Miller, Boone, was an engineer on this road for 25
or 30 years.
"Tweetsie", famous nation-wide on the mountain railroad in
Avery and Watauga counties, and her longtime fireman-engi-neer,
James E. Miller, Boone. This locomotive now serves
the scenic railway in Virginia.
UMMER-FALL, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 69
[Yansport Workers Double in Decade; Bulk in Ten Counties
By Grace Z. Moen, Research Analyst, Bureau of Research and Statistics, ESC
Transportation industries covered by the Employ-lent
Security Law in North Carolina include enter-rises
engaged in passenger and freight transporta-on
by highway, water, or air, and those which fur-ish
services related to transportation. Many of
lese industries are semipublic in nature in that, to
certain degree, they are regulated by some form
f public authority as to rates or prices they may
large and the services they may render. Employ-lent
in railway transportation is not considered
ere, because it is exempt from coverage by this par-cular
law. However, based on the 1950 census,
lere are approximately 18,000 workers in railroad
rid railway express service.
During 1952 an average of about 20,000 workers
rere employed in covered transportation industries
l the State, constituting 2.8 percent of the 708,496
)tal covered employment in that year. These work-rs
received around $65,826,000 or about 3.4 percent
f total earnings paid to eovered workers in North
arolina. In addition to these, other transportation
rorkers were covered in the utilities group. A fair
stimate of all transportation workers in the State
rould be around 46,000, including covered and non-
Dvered employment.
Both covered employment and wages in the trans-ortation
industry have made rapid strides over the
ast eleven-year period. Specifically, in January
942 covered employment of the group was just un-er
10,000 in approximately 350 employer units. By
lovember 1952, however, employment in covered
ransportation establishments had more than dou-led,
having reached a peak of 21,100 workers in
bout 500 firms. Earnings of transportation work-rs
advanced by even a greater proportion, for by
952 the payroll had more than trebled that of 1942.
t is true that hourly wage scales have advanced
onsiderably over the past decade, but the volume of
ransportation, passenger and freight, has been re-ponsible
for longer workweek schedules as well as
icreased employment.
This general upward trend of covered employment
i the transportation group of industries over the
leven-year period (1942-1952) may be seen in the
ccompanying chart. From an irregular trend in
942, employment went through its seasonal changes
nth slight variation until 1946, when it began to
limb ; and with reasonably uniform pattern, contin-ously
pushed upward to higher levels.
The greater portion of the industry is concerned
/ith the handling of heavy and bulky merchandise,
ousehold furniture, farm produce, and other com-mercial
goods. The employment trend in the truck-ing
and warehousing group therefore, largely de-termines
the employment trend of the total covered
transportation group (railroad workers excluded),
because it constitutes more than 70 percent of the
industry's total covered employment, which amount-ed
to 13 to 15 thousand workers in 1952.
At the beginning of each year, employment in
trucking and warehousing usually experiences a re-duction
after the holiday traffic; then it levels off
until May or June when fruit, vegetables, and other
farm produce are ready to be transported. The trend
then rises sharply through the remainder of the year
to meet increased trucking operations. For example,
furniture manufacturers ship more than 60 percent
of the year's production in the five-month period
after the July furniture markets. Likewise, a heav-ier
volume of other merchandise is hauled for fall
and winter delivery to trade establishments. Also
hauling and storage of leaf tobacco begins in early
August; then cotton, grain, vegetables, livestock,
and other products in September and October.
Closely allied to the trucking industry is freight
forwarding and furnishing services to water trans-portation
companies such as dock operations, steve-doring,
and operating waterfront terminals. Cover-ed
employment in this industry group fluctuates ac-cording
to the schedule of loading and unloading at
the waterfront. Normally operations move along
slowly until enough volume is accumulated to make
a load, or a ship comes in with a load. Fortunately
the ups and downs are not simultaneous in all of the
divisions of this particular industry group. Thus
employment often shifts from one to the other with
a balancing tendency, resulting in only two or three
months out of the year with greatly lowered employ-ment
in the group of industry services allied to trans-portation.
(Employment in 25 firms ranged from
875 to 1400 during 1952.)
Employment in passenger transportation has had
varied trends depending upon the nature of the activ-ity.
For instance, there has been little change in the
employment trend in local bus line transportation
since 1946. The average number of covered workers
in 31 reporting local bus establishments was 790 in
1946 and 793 in 1952. Covered employment in taxi
transportation declined about 6 percent; and em-ployment
in highway bus passenger service dropped
around 36 percent. These industries were at their
peak in 1946 and 1947. Since then the employment
trend has been downward. The growth of these
phases of transportation, no doubt, has been stifled
by the ever increasing use of privately owned auto-mobiles.
On the other hand, covered employment in
air transportation has lunged forward since 1946.
There are now six commercial airlines with 14 major
airports serving North Carolina. One of these is a
North Carolina corporation enjoying rapid expan-sion.
Employment in its home offices contributes
strongly to total employment in air transportation
industries in the State.
An idea of the employment spread among various
phases of transportation activities may be gained
PAGE 70 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1953
from the table below which shows the percentage
distribution of monthly average covered employment
in 1952 and the range in each group.
Avg. Mo. Covered Em-ployment
in Transportation Employment Rarge
Activity Incl. 1952 1952
Percent to Total Number High Low
All Covered Transportation 100.0 20,176 21,109 19.173
Local Bus Lines 3.9 790 820 766
Trucking and Warehousing for Hire 69.7 14,056 15.022 13,077
Other Transportation Except Water* 20.5 4,144 4.333 4,062
Water Transportation .4 82 105 60
Services Allied to Transports, ion N. E. C- 5.5 1,104 1,429 878
"Includes non-local bus lines, taxicabs, common carrier air lines, and pipe-line rai spor a icn
(except natural gas).
As evidenced, transportation industries have made
great progress since 1942, with phenomenal employ-ment
gains in the past four years (1949-1952)—
recording an increase of nearly 35 percent. This is
significant when compared with only a 16 percent
increase in total covered employment in all indus-tries,
14 percent in manufacturing, and 14 percent
in trade in the State.
An employment increase such as that experienced
by the transportation industry in North Carolina is
understandable, because segments of the industry
such as air-freight and passenger service, o,
freight, and waterfront activities are still in their
infancy. It is believed that these phases of the trans-portation
industry really have just begun to scratch
the surface. With enlarged landing fields, improved
highways and seaport terminals, and continued in-dustrial
development in North Carolina, the trans-portation
industry should continue to expand its
employment in the State.
STATEWIDE
North Carolina has come into its share of the de-velopment
of freight and passenger transportation
services. The transportation industries have ex-panded
their systems in the State to provide East-
West and North-South transportation. These facili-ties
have enabled North Carolina industries to com-pete
in markets near and distant. The demand for
truck service has promoted its rapid growth. It has
been said that virtually all commodities, whether
eaten, worn, or used in home or industry, sometime
between the raw material state and the finished prod-uct,
are moved and handled by motor truck services.
The favorable highway and road system in North
Carolina has given impetus to advancement of high-way
transportation, not only to the motor freight
business, but also to passenger service. Likewise the
development of seaports, with ample rail and high-way
connections, has provided increased facilities
for export trade, especially tobacco. The North-
South inland waterway along the Atlantic Coast has}
benefited large commercial users and many small
craft owners as well.
Although still in an early developmental stage,
commercial airlines within North Carolina have
crossed the mountain barrier in the Western section
of the State, thus connecting a convenient network
of airlines within the state of North Carolina with
the Ohio river valley. Today there are six scheduled
air carriers offering convenient connections to Northj.
Carolinians to all sections of the nation.
Every county in North Carolina is now being serv-ed
by some means of public transportation. Not all
counties, however, have transportation establish-ments
of sufficient size to be covered by the Employ-ment
Security Law. About one-third of the 100
counties in the State have no covered workers in the
transportation industry, not even on a voluntary
basis extended to establishments employing fewer
than eight workers. On the other hand, nearly two-thirds
of the 20.000 covered workers in transporta-tion
establishments are concentrated in ten counties.
Examination of the occompanying table will further
reveal that more than half of the covered workers
in the industry are reported from only five counties
viz., Mecklenburg, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, and
Wake counties.
Covered Workers and Earnings in Ten Counties Having
Heaviest Transportation Employment 1952
Covered Employrrert Earnings
County Monthly Avg. 1952 Year 1952
Mecklenburg—
Forsyth
Gaston
Guilford
Wake
New Hanover-
Cabarrus
Buncombe
Wilson
Alamance
3.285
2,923
1,618
1 , 480
1,089
727
611
540
455
358
11,087.553
10,936.773
6.256,868
4.538.615
3.279,409
1.945,737
2,145,696
1.483.624
1 207.068
1.123,719
Total of Ten High Counties
All Covered Transportation
% High Counties to All Covered Transpor a ion.
13,059
20.176
64.7%
44,005.062
65.826,246
66.8%
All Covered Industries
% Covered Transportation to all Covered Inf.
708,496
2.8%
.911,675,821
3.4%
Earnings of the 20,000 covered transportation
workers amounted to more than $65,826,000 in 1952
or 3.4 percent of earnings of covered workers in all
industries in North Carolina.
Early Trails, Trading Paths; State Breaks Traffic Limits
Transportation, the movement of people and things
between places, was for many years a deterrent to
colonizing and developing the area now known as
North Carolina. The sand banks along the coast,
the marshy lands further in, numerous streams in
the center and Piedmont areas and the mountains in
the west all proved effective barriers in preventing
normal traffic into and within this area. Most of the
settlement of the State came from Virginia and
South Carolina.
Early settlers in the northeastern or Albemarle
area came from Virginia and settled along sounds
and rivers with ready access to water transportation.
These water courses were their main highways for
about 50 years. Around 1700 settlers began pushing
westward and others came from northern areas.
Their only routes were trails, most of them estab-lished
by Indians and little road work was done for
many years.
Trading paths, mere trails, had been established,
most of them in the Albemarle area. By 1733 only
one trail went into the western section of the State,
passing from Virginia by the Weldon area on Roan-oke
River through Hillsboro and on into the moun-tain
country. Seven trails were marked on the maps
of that day from Virginia into the Albemarle area.
Four of these became short toward the Eclenton
area and another went to the Elizabeth City area.
Summer-fall, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 71
Current propelled ferry over the Yadkin River in Davie County
some 30-odd years ago. H. K. Witherspoon photo.
From the Edenton and Plymouth area one trail
went westward to the Roanoke River in the Weldon
area, on northwestward with the river to the North-ampton
County area. Another started from the Ply-mouth
area and went southward toward the Wash-ington
area. Another one extended from the Pamlico
River, also in the Plymouth area, to Washington and
New Bern and on southward, one prong north of the
Trent River area and the other south of the river.
This trail extended on to Wilmington and into South
Carolina.
Intercourse between small scattered communities
was tedious and rare. When some form of govern-ment
was established in a community the magistrate
named overseers and required all males within cer-tain
ages, usually about 15 to 60, to spend so many
days a year, usually six, in helping to improve com-munity
roads. Usually a man could send a substi-tute
or a horse and plow to take his place. This
method of improving highways, very inadequate,
continued until people now living can remember
making their contribution thus to road betterment.
By 1790, the first census, North Carolina had a popu-lation
of 392,000, fourth in size in the United States.
Yet many of them seldom got outside their own com-munities.
Several post roads had been established in North
Carolina by 1796, roads over which the United States
mails were carried. Four principal roads came into
this State from Virginia and two of them continued
into South Carolina. One of these came from Suf-folk
to Edenton by way of Plymouth, Washington
and New Bern to Wilmington. Another came into
Northampton County to Tarboro. A third branching
from this road above the Virginia line touched War-renton,
Louisburg, the Raleigh area, Fayetteville,
Lumberton and to Cheraw, S. C. The fourth came
from Martinsville to Salem. Numbers of other post
roads branched off, crossed and wound around to
various centers of population.
One from the Suffolk-Edenton road went westward
by the Weldon area to Warrenton, Oxford, Hillsboro,
the Greensboro area, Salem, Wilkesboro and to Mor-ganton.
From there the road headed backward to
Lincolnton and then south to York, S. C, another
branch going to Charlotte and into South Carolina.
From Charlotte a road went northward to the States-ville
area and to Salisbury, while another road went
from Charlotte via Concord to Salisbury. From
Salisbury two roads led to Fayetteville, one via Mont-gomery
and Rockingham counties and the other ap-parently
by Asheboro and the Sanford area, while
another short line went from Salisbury to the Lex-ington
area.
A post road led from the Hillsboro road north to
the Roxboro area and westward to Yanceyville and
Rockingham County to the Martnsville-Salem road.
One road went from Plymouth to Windsor, while
another went from Plymouth via Washington and
from Halifax to Warrenton. A post road extended
from Washington via Tarboro to Louisburg. An-other
road went from New Bern via Kinston, Smith-field,
Raleigh area, Chapel Hill to Hillsboro. Two
Wilmington roads led to Fayetteville, one via the
Duplin County and Clinton area, the other via Eliza-bethtown
on the south side of the Cape Fear River.
Internal improvements, particularly turnpikes,
canals and other arteries, along with improved water
transportation, were stressed for many years with
only limited results. During the 1800-50 period
many movements were made to build canals, water-ways,
turnpikes and to make other tyDes of trans-portation
improvements as is shown by the numerous
charters granted by the general assembly. Only a
few of these projects were ever completed. In the
last 15 years of this period scores of railroads were
chartered but only a few were built. Even so, in
the 1837-61 period North Carolina forged ahead and
led the nation in railroad building.
During the decade, 1850-60, charters were granted
to 84 companies for building plank roads in the State,
resulting in about 15 roads with total length of about
500 miles. Plank roads and railroads are treated
more fully elsewhere.
Turnpikes continued as the Drinfipal artevies of
travel for a number of years although they were not
too satisfactory and the number was limited. One
famous road was the Asheville Turnpike which came
across South Carolina from Charleston. One of its
important contributions was handling the movement
of wealthy Charlestonians to the Henderson County
area where many summer homes were established.
This road later extended via Hot (Warm) Springs,
through Tennessee and into Kentucky. Droves of
hogs, cattle, sheep and other animals moved over this
turnpike from Kentucky and Tennessee to the
Charleston market.
Streams, especially larger rivers, offered obstacles
to free movement of wagons, buggies, coaches. Fords
were established when waters were not too deep.
Hundreds of ferries were chartered and established
throughout the State. Many of these ferry boats,
carrying wagons, buggies and other vehicles, were
propelled by the use of poles when streams were not
too swift. Others were pulled across streams with
heavy ropes attached to the ends and connected with
windlasses on the bank. The more popular ferries
utilized the force of the stream to propel the ferry
boats across. This was accomplished by stretching
heavy wires across the stream attached to trees or
heavy posts. On these wires were two pulley frames
with ropes connecting one to each end of the ferry
boat. The front rope would be shortened and the
rear rope lengthened so the front of the boat would
be headed at an angle upstream. The force of the cur-rent
against the side of the boat would push it across.
In making the return trip the process would be re-versed—
the front ropes shortened and the rear rope
lengthened. This process was slow but sure. Prac-tically
all of these ferries have disappeared—bridges
PAGE 72 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1953
taking their places.
Before the turn of the century rural free delivery
mail roads were established in North Carolina, as
elsewhere. These roads, traveled daily, had to be
improved to allow the mail to go by. Still there was
no surfacing in the rural areas and most roads con-sisted
of throwing earth to the center with ditches
along the sides for drainage. Around this time the
Macadam type of road made its appearance in this
State. This provided a surface of rock with gravel
filler. Mecklenburg County pioneered in this type
of construction, building several roads toward near-by
towns. Guilford County followed with several
Macadam highways.
The automobile began to make its appearance in
North Carolina around the turn of the century. As
the number of automobiles increased so did the de-mand
for highways over which to operate them.
North Carolina still had the community road system
with inadequate inter-community roads. But the
desire for improved traffic conditions began to take
form. A distinct impetus was given in 1916 by the
provision for Federal Aid to strategic roads within
the State. Several good road movements had been
started and their activities continued.
The general assembly of 1921, as a result of a pop-ular
demand, authorized $50,000,000 in bonds for
the allowed purpose of connecting every county seat
and principal town in the State with dependable all-weather
highways. In the years that followed North
Carolina again took the lead in building highways
resulting in the splendid system of today. This ii
described elsewhere in this issue.
The improved highways resulted in increased
traffic and travel. Individually owned automobiles
increased rapidly and public busses and trucks made
their appearance.
Schedules were established and travel promoted.
A natural step was handling freight. By 1920 one
and two-ton trucks had begun operation, first with
solid rubber tires. Later pneumatic tires were sub-stituted
and as roads were made more substantial
truck sizes increased. And North Carolina again
took the lead in truck transportation. This State
now has two of the largest trucking firms in the na-tion.
They and many others have developed to the
extent that North Carolina is probably the leading
trucking State in the nation. Details of truck and
bus operations appear elsewhere in this issue.
Just 50 years ago the Wright brothers constructed
and flew the first heavier-than-air plane from Kill
Devil Hill in Dare County. In the 50-year period
since that day, December 17, 1903, airplanes have de-veloped
into important and speedy methods of travel
and traffic. Numbers of airplane routes serve North
Carolina with many schedules daily. Moreover, this
State has developed one of the important and grow-ing
airplane companies now serving the nation. This
also is given in more detail elsewhere in this issue.
The people of North Carolina have thus overcome
a very heavy handicap and have established remark-ably
safe, speedy and economical systems, supple-menting
the boats on the coast and in inland water-ways,
the railroads with their network of lines, the
trucks and busses operating over the State's splen-did
highway systems and pipe lines which bring into
the State petroleum products and natural gases. The
transportation handicap has thus been surmounted.
Plank Roads Hailed as 'Farmer Railroads'; Lasted a Decade
Plank roads in the decade prior to the War Be-tween
the States were looked upon by many North
Carolinians as the method, of solving the State's
serious transportation problem. Railroads had start-ed
in the State more than a decade earlier, but the
high cost of construction and limited lines added
impetus to building plank roads, known as the "farm-er
railroads". During the period from 1849 to 1860,
the General Asspmblv granted 84 charters for p]an v
roads, two in 1849 and one in 1860. But only a small
percentage of these roads were finally constructed.
Approximately 500 miles of plank roads were built
in this period at a cost of nearly $1,000,000. These
included 13 stretches of road completed and four
roads partially built. Fayetteville was the most
plank road conscious, located at the end of naviga-tion
on Cape Fear River and with poor prospect of
railroad connection. The people of that communitv
built plank roads radiating in five different direc-tions.
The longest, the Fayetteville and Western
road, went through Salem to Bethania, headed to-ward
Mount Airv and the Virginia coal fields. This
road, 120 miles loner, was chartered on the same dav
as the North Carolina Railroad, but was being com-pleted
while the road was being started. Among the
last records of plank road operation in the 1864
period, stretches of road were taken over for mili-tary
purposes.
Most of the plank roads followed a general pat-tern
with local subscriptions frequently supplement-ed
by State aid. Toll houses, costing around $300,
were erected on right-of-way sites each 10 or 12
miles and toll collectors were paid around $150 a
year. Many travelers devised methods of free travel
by constructing cutoffs around the toll houses. Most
of the roads paid well in the earlier years, some of
them declaring dividends up to 10 or 12 percent.
Occasional repairs and rebuilding stretches of road
were undertaken but many of the roads were allowed
to wear out with little thought of repairs. Usually
when roads were abandoned in the early 1860's, the
General Assembly would provide that they be taken
over by county commissioners and made free of tolls.
As noted, the Fayetteville and Western road was
the most important built. More details are given
below.
Two interstate roads were constructed, one from
Yanceyville to the Virginia line to meet the road
from Danville; th^ other from Rocky River, near
Center, via Wadesboro to the South Carolina line
where it joined the Cheraw road. Another interstate
road, from Asheville to Greenville, S. C, was par-tially
constructed and became a military road in
1864.
Other plank roads constructed in the State were
as follows: The Greenville and Raleigh road, com-pleted
to Wilson in 1853 but not extended to Raleigh
the Wilmington and Topsail road, 20 miles, from
Wilmington northeastward to near the New Han-over-
Onslow County line; the Western Plank road
SUMMER-FALL, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 73
rom Charlotte to Lincolnton, completed in 1853 ; the
ayetteville and Southern road, 15^2 miles, to Lum-
>er Bridge, open to traffic in 1852, entering Fayette-ille
on two streets, Gillespie and WhHow; Fnvette-r
ille and Center road, from Fayetteville to the Pee
Dee River (Yadkin), completed around 1853; Fay-etteville
and Northern road, intended to reach Ral-igh,
built about 10 miles to Kingbury and not
Extended to Raleigh; Charlotte and Taylorsville
i'oad, opened in 1853-54 to a point a little beyond
Davidson, not completed; Salisbury to Statesville
•oad, built eight or ten miles in 1852 and not com-peted
; Clinton to Warsaw road, opened in 1862.
The Washington and Tarboro and the Haywood
md Pittsboro roads, chartered in 1852, were built
!or only a few miles.—Data largely from article by
lobert B. Starling in North Carolina Historical Re-new,
Vol. XVI, No. 1 and 2.
FAYETTEVILLE & WESTERN
The Fayetteville & Western plank road, built between 1844
,nd 1854, extended to Bethania, a few miles west of Salem, to
lecome what was regarded as the longest plank road in the
i-orld—129 miles long. This plank road became briefly a very
mportant artery of transportation to the western part of the
!tate. Its dominance and prosperity were short-lived.
A three-day public meeting began in Fayetteville April 11,
849, for the purpose of providing transportation into the
torthwestern section of the State. The organization decided
o build a plank road by way of Murchison's Factory (Man-hester)
to Deep River, Carthage, Asheboro and on into west-rn
North Carolina. Later the decision was reached to build
he road to Salem, with Mount Airy as a future point. The
.ope was entertained to extend it on into Virginia and the
oal fields. By legislative act the State was to subscribe to
120,000 of stock. Private subscriptions soon reached $80,000.
The first section was built largely by contract and slaves
rere frequently used by contract. Major Dougald MacDougald
ad the contract to build the road through the Cameron com-lunity
and used his neighbors' slaves. Incidentally, an epi-emic
of typhoid fever struck and many slaves died, resulting
n heavy financial loss. Duncan Murchison's crew of 15 laid
,000 feet a day near Spout Springs in Harnett County. Start-tig
at the Market House in Fayetteville in 1849, the plank
oad was finished to Little River early in 1850 and was put
n operation in April of that year. Duncan Murchison built
lie next six miles and Col. Alexander Murchison built 22.5
pies to Carthage. Five steam sawmills were built by the
ompany and operated day and night by the contractors in
reparing timber for the road.
In the process the bed was prepared and graded with an
levated center and ditches were dug along the side for
rainage. Four sills were laid, five or six by eight inches,
hewed from small pines. Planks, eight feet long and three
or four by eight inches wide, were laid at right angles to these
sills. Oak sills were used as the road progressed. No nails
were needed to hold the planks in place. Toll houses and
gates were erected about 11 miles apart. The first one was
about lVc miles from Fayetteville. Charges were y2 tf a mile
for rider and horse; 1^ for horse and wagon; 2$ for a two-horse
team and 4^ for a six-horse team. Joy riding was de-lightful
and frequent over this mudless plank road.
A report in 1854 showed that 20,000 wagons passed over this
plank road in a year. The trip from one end to the other
took about two weeks and extra horses were carried along for
spelling purposes and trading. Other stock was transported
over the road. Products hauled included hay from Forsyth
County; tobacco, apples and other farm products, such as
cotton, cabbages and flour. Tobacco was transported in hogs-heads
with large hoops as runners and poles through the
center to which gear was attached for hitching the horses.
This, too, was "Tobacco Road". Stage coaches used this plank
road for carrying passengers, packages and mail. Their ap-proach
was announced by tallyho buglers and was the occasion
tor the gathering of large crowds at the stopping points.
The plank road was finished to a point near Salem in Jan-uary,
1852, and was extended seven miles beyond to Bethania
and toward Mount Airy in 1854. In January, 1853, prepara-tions
were made for a branch road from a point near Cameron
to Gulf and from Gulf a spur to Evans Mills, now Carbonton.
At Gulf the road connected later with a separate plank road
from Graham to Gulf. These lines were built with the expecta-tion
of hauling coal from the mines in the vicinity.
This plank road was prosperous and paid dividends during
the two years 1854-55. Because of their success much more
was expected as a result of its operation. Great public interest
was aroused. New homes and business places were built along
the line and property values increased extensively. In 1854
income amounted to $27,420 and in 1855 the amount was about
$26,820. From that period revenues began to decline. Poor
crop years and the panic of 1857 played havoc with the road.
The North Carolina Railroad was completed about this time,
offering quicker transportation and cheaper rates to commun-ities
in the western section. It was not necessary then to make
the trips to Fayetteville for supplies. Receipts decreased grad-ually
until they were exceeded by upkeep and repairs. The
road began to lose money and repairs were not kept up.
Approach of the War Between the States caused further loss of
interest in this type of transportation. In 1862 the charter
was amended to allow the counties through which the plank
road passed to abandon any part or parts to public use, pro-vided
no tolls were charged.
The last act of the General Assembly relating to the Fayette-ville-
Salem plank road came in April, 1869, by which the
county commisisoners of the counties of Forsyth, Davidson
and Guilford were to take charge of the road in their respective
counties, to appoint overseers and to keep it repaired for toll-free
use. Only in isolated places today is there evidence that
such a road ever operated.—Data from the Progress Edition of
"The Sanford Herald", Sanford, N. C, 1953.
f. C. Early Leader in Railroad Building; Many Short Lines
North Carolina did not wait long after the first 13 miles
f railroad was built in the United States in 1828 to start the
evelopment of railroad transportation in the State. With a
lodest beginning in 1833 North Carolina carried out a road
uilding program in the 25-year period from 1835 to 1860
rhich was not equaled anywhere in the country. Before the
Var Between the States started, North Carolina had built close
o 700 miles of railroad line, of which 352 miles were included
a the east-west line from Morehead City to a point near Mor-anton
and 236 miles in the Wilmington and Weldon and
Sleigh and Gaston Railroad. The longest railroad built up
EXPERIMENTAL RAILROAD
North Carolina's first railroad, actually, was what has become known as
ie "Experimental Railroad", a l'/4 mile line from the State Capitol to what
(known as the "Rock Quarry" on the edge of Raleigh, a line constructed in
831-32 for the purpose of hauling ?t-ne to rebuild the burned Capitol. This
pad cost $2,700 to build. It had wooden rails covered with iron strips one-ixth
of an inch thick. Horses were used to draw the cars.
This road was not supposed to make profits, but it did. In the first nine
lonths, a 10% dividend was earned and in the next six months the road
arned 25%. In addition to hauling stone, the road was used to haul outing
arties on Sundays and holidays. It developed into a social attraction. At
ie time, this was the only railroad in North Carolina.
to 1840 was the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, 161 miles
with 48 miles of straight track, now part of the Atlantic Coast
Line system.
North Carolina leaders were extremely sensitive in the early
days of railroad building over the dominance of Virginia and
South Carolina in trade and traffic and sought to construct
east-west lines which would divert trade to North Carolina
ports to be handled through the State and on into the west.
It was particularly irritating that the first line of railroad
came into the State from Virginia and that practically all rail-roads
built in the early days were turned into feeders for both
Virginia and South Carolina.
The first mile of railroad built in this State was constructed
by the Petersburg Railroad Co. from Petersburg, Va., to Blake-ly,
a point on the north bank of the Roanoke River, opposite
Weldon, and near Garysburg. About seven miles of this line,
built in 1831-33, were in this State. The Petersburg road was
built to take into Virginia farm and forest products produced
in the Roanoke River area and to divert this trade which
would pass down the Roanoke River, much of it finding its
way to Norfolk by water.
PAGE 74 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1952
The Petersburg Railroad gave the proper impetus to road
building in North Carolina. The "Wilmington and Raleigh
Railroad, chartered in 1833, was built in sections from Wil-mington.
As construction progressed, Raleigh people were not
sufficiently interested to subscribe to stock to complete the
road to the Capital City and from Faison the line swerved to
a more northerly course and continued to Weldon where a
ferry connection was made in 1840 with the Petersburg Rail-road
and also with the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad from
Portsmouth to the northern bank of the Roanoke River.
In 1835, two years after the Wilmington and Raleigh Rail-road,
later the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, had been
chartered, a charter was secured for the Raleigh and Gaston
Railroad. In 1844 this line was opened to Gaston and eight
years later the line was extended a few miles from Gaston to
Weldon where it connected with the other three railroads
already built to Weldon. By 1843 a bridge had been construct-ed
across the Roanoke River to Weldon which was used jointly
by the Petersburg Railroad and the Seaboard and Roanoke
Railroad to Portsmouth. Thus, Weldon became the first and
for a number of years the most important railroad center in
North Carolina.
Meanwhile the sentiment for east-west transportation con-tinued
and movements were started to build a railroad from
Beaufort Harbor across the State and to extend into Tennessee.
The North Carolina Railroad was chartered in 1849 and by
1856 the road had been completed from Goldsboro via Selma,
Raleigh, Durham, Hillsboro, Burlington, Greensboro, High
Point, Lexington, Salisbury, Kannapolis and Concord to Char-lotte,
a distance of 223 miles, three-fourths of which was owned
by the State. The Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, char-tered
in 1S52, was completed and opened in 1858 from Morehead
Citv through New Bern and Kinston to Goldsboro. Also in
1852, the Western North Carolina Railroad was chartered to
extend from Salisbury westward to the Tennessee line at Paint
Rock and to Murphy. This line was completed to within 13
miles of Morganton by 1861 when the war halted activities.
During the war about 10 miles more were constructed.
The Carolina Central Railroad, succeeding the Wilmington.
Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad, chartered in 1855, started
construction westward from two points along this line from
Navassa, near Wilmington. The construction was completed
for 112 miles to Rockingham and from Charlotte 31 miles were
completed to Lincolnton early in 1861.
The Chatham Railroad constructed a line about 30 miles
long from Raleigh to Haw River, near Moncure, into the
Chatham-Moore coal field area.
Before the war several other short stretches of road were
constructed. This included the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio
railroad, chartered in 1855, which completed a line from
Charlotte to Statesville in 1860. During the War the rails used
on this line were taken up and used in 1863 in building the
Piedmont Railroad from Greensboro to Danville as a war
measure.
The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad, chartered in 1847,
had built only about 15 miles of road near Wilmington by 1851
and probably did not extend the line into South Carolina until
after the war. The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad.
chartered in 1846, opened a line into South Carolina in 1852,
11 miles of which were in North Carolina. Apparently, too,
the Kings Mountain Railroad, chartered in 1849, had built a
line from Chester to Kings Mountain, completed in 1852.
The Cape Fear, Yadkin and Pee Dee Railroad, chartered in
1833, broke ground for building this road but work was aban-doned.
The Western Railroad Co., chartered in 1852, built a
43 mile stretch of road from Fayetteville to Egypt in 1860.
This later became a section of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Val-ley
Railroad, built after the war from Wilmington to Mount
Airy.
As noted, the Piedmont Railroad, chartered in 1862, was
built in 1862-63 from Greensboro via Reidsville to Danville,
Va. Otherwise, the war halted railroad building and it was
several years before construction was started again.
During the war the railroads already constructed were al-lowed
to deteriorate for lack of attention and numbers of
bridges, stations, warehouses and other properties were de-stroyed
by the armed forces. Very little improvement and
new railroad building was done during the decade following
the close of the war. The State's economy continued at a low
ebb and money was not available for improving and extending
the railroad system. Finally construction was resumed grad-ually
and the 25-year period, 1875 to 1900, proved to be a heavy
railroad construction era.
The North-Western North Carolina Railroad, chartered in
1868, completed a line from near Greensboro on the Nortt
Carolina Railroad to Salem in 1873 and reached North Wilkes
boro in 1890. The Yadkin Railroad, chartered in 1871, was
completed in 1891 from Salisbury to Norwood with a brand
extending later from Hall's Ferry Junction to Whitney anc
later on to Badin. The State University Railroad, charterec
in 1873, was built from University Station to Chapel Hill
(Carrboro), 10 miles, in 1881.
The Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad, 248 miles long
from Wilmington to Mount Airy with about 90 miles of branch
roads included the 43 miles from Fayetteville to Egypt, buill
before the war. In 1S79 the road was extended for four milfj
from Egypt to Gulf. By 1884 it had reached Greensboro, and
by 1888 it had been built to Mount Airy a d graded for m
further with a plan to connect with the Norfolk and Western
Railroad. A branch was extended from Factory Junction tc
Millsboro and another to Madison. Also in 1884 a line was
built from Fayetteville to Maxton, about 40 miles. Then in 1
1890 the road was built between Fayetteville and Wilmington.
82 miles. The Cheraw and Salisbury Railroad, chartered in
1857, opened a line from Cheraw to Wadesboro, 15 miles in
North Carolina, in 1880.
The Western North Carolina Railroad which had reached a
point near Morganton before the war met many difficulties.
It had reached Old Fort in 1S69, Swannanoa in 1879 and
Asheville in 1880. In that year this line, starting in Salisbury,
was sold to W. J. Best and associates and soon taken over by
the Richmond and Danville Railroad (Southern) which as-sumed
the indebtedness and agreed to complete the lines ac-cordingly.
The road from Asheville to Paint Rock on the Ten-i
nessee line, 185 miles from Salisbury, was completed in 1882.
In 1891 the line was completed from Murphy Junction neari
Asheville to Murphy, a distance of 124 miles.
The Chatham Railroad, with a line from Raleigh to Moncure,
became the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line in 1871 and by 1877
the line had been extended to Gibson, total length 107.27 miles.
The Pittsboro Railroad in 1886 built a 12-mile connecting line
from Moncure to Pittsboro.
The Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad took over
the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad which had built a
line into Charlotte in 1852. This road leased the lines built
by the Chester and Lenoir Railroad and the Atlantic, Tennessee
and Ohio Railroad. The Chester and Lenoir Railroad, char-tered
in 1873, a narrow gauge road, consolidated with the Kings
Mountain Railroad and built an extension of the Kings Moun-tain
Railroad to Lincolnton, 63 miles, in 1880. In 1884, the
Chester and Lenoir Railroad opened up a line from Chester to
Newton and from Hickory to Warrior, a few miles northwest
of Lenoir. From Newton to Hickory this narrow gauge road
used the Western North Carolina Railroad's standard gauge
road for this 10 mile link. On the track in this link a third
rail was laid to accommodate the narrower Chester and Lenoir
equipment. This 62 miles of road (with the 10 mile link)
became a subsidiary of the Southern Railway.
The Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Railroad completed in
1860 from Charlotte to Statesville, 45 miles, whose rails were
removed in 1863 for use on the Piedmont Railroad, was relaid
in 1871. The lease to the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta
Railroad was assigned to the Richmond and Danville Rail-road
(Southern).
The Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad, formerly the Green-ville
and French Broad Railroad, combined with a South Caro-lina
railroad in 1874 and in 1879 opened the road from Spar-tanburg
to Hendersonville. This line was completed to Ashe-ville
in 1886 by the Richmond and Danville Railroad ( South-ern).
Carolina Central Railroad, chartered in 1873, which had
taken over the Wilmington, Charlotte and Rutherford Railroad,
completed the line built from Meare's Bluff, near Wilmington,
via Lumberton, Maxton, Laurinburg, Hamlet and Rockingham,
extending it via Wadesboro and Monroe to Charlotte and ex-tended
the road already built from Charlotte to Lincolnton via
Shelby and Bostic to Rutherfordton. This road also became
half owner of the Wilmington Railroad Bridge Co. which con-structed
2.4 miles of line, largely on bridges, to connect Meare's
Bluff with Wilmington. This line, 265 miles long, later became
a part of the Seaboard.
The Norfolk Southern Railway Co., started as the Elizabeth
City and Norfolk Railroad, chartered in 1870, built the line
from Norfolk to Elizabeth City and on to Edenton in 1881. It
became the Norfolk and Southern in 1883 and was reorganized
in 1891 under its present name and consolidated with the Albe-marle
and Pantego Railroad from Mackie's Ferry to Pantego
(Belhaven). This road expanded to 641 miles to become one
UMMER-FALL, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 75
f the "Big Four" in North Carolina.
The Roanoke and Southern Railroad, organized by Winston-ialem
and Martinsville and Roanoke, Va., leaders, chartered
n 1887, built the line from Martinsville through Mayodan,
ladison and Walnut Cove to Winston-Salem, completed and
pened in 1881. This line, 60 miles long, 46 miles in North
larolina, became part of the Norfolk a^d Western.
The Lynchburg and Durham Railroad, chartered ii 1887 and
iromoted largely by Durham tobacco interests, 43 miles in
forth Carolina. Later the road, 29 miles long, was built from
izen Creek Junction in the edge of Virginia to West Jefferson,
"hese three lines are owned or leased and operated by the
forfolk and Western Railway.
The High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern Rail-oad,
chartered in 1887, 27 miles, built this road and opened
t in 1889. It is operated by the Southern.
Among the other lines constructed during the period prior
o 1900 are the following:
Aberdeen and Rockfish, the "Blue Road", started at Aber-
.een in 1892 as a lumber road, extended finally to Payetteville.
Aberdeen and West End Railroad, the "Page Road", was
pened in 1890 from Aberdeen to West End, later extended to
Candor, Star, Biscoe and Asheboro. Norfolk Southern.
Atlantic and Danville Railroad, 26% miles, in Person, Cas-rell
and Granville counties, along the North Carolina-Virginia
ine. Part of Southern.
Carthage Railroad, built in 1888, from Carthage to Cameron,
perated by W. C. Petty, later hotel operator. Seabr^rd.
Danville and Western Railroad, opened in 1882 from Cas-ade
Junction, Va., to Leaksville, eight miles in North Caro-ina.
Durham and Northern, 42 miles, opened in 1889 from Dur-lam
to Henderson. Seaboard.
East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, built
rom Johnson City, Tennessee, to Cranberry, three miles in
forth Carolina, in 1891. Extended to Boone later. Abandoned.
Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway, 15 miles in North
Carolina, Monroe to Lawrenceville, Ga. Seaboard.
Palmetto Railroad, opened in 1887, Cheraw to Hamlet, seven
niles in North Carolina. Seaboard.
Statesviile and Western Railroad, chartered and opened in
887, Statesviile to Taylorsville, 20 miles, now Alexander Rail-oad.
Warrenton Railroad, three miles, Warrenton to Warren
5lains, organized 1876.
Wilmington, Chadbourn and Conway, organized 1883, 28
niles in North Carolina, operating to Hub, N. C, and Conway,
5. C. ACL.
Wilmington, Onslow and East Carolina, chartered in 1885,
Vilmington to Jacksonville and extended to New Bern, 76
niles. ACL.
Wilmington Sea Coast, organized and completed 1888, Wil-mington
to Ocean.
Jamesville and Washington Railroad Co., chartered in 1869,
opened 1877, Jamesville to Washington, 22.57 miles.
Although more miles of railroad line have been abandoned
than have been built since 1900, several important lines have
been constructed.
Probably the longest and one of the most important of these
was the Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad, operated
as the Clinchfield Railroad by the ACL. This road passes
through the State from Charleston, S. C, via Forest City,
Marion, Little Switzerland, Spruce Pine and Kona to Erwin,
Tennessee, with 64% miles in North Carolina, completed in
1910.
Graham County Railroad Co., Robbinsville, organized in 1924,
built railroad from Topton to Robbinsville.
Beaufort and Morehead Railway Co., Beaufort, organized in
1935 to take over 3.17 miles of road between Beaufort and More-head
City, built by Norfolk Southern Railway.
Piedmont and Northern Railway, Charlotte, opened in 1912
between Charlotte and Gastonia.
Durham and Southern Railway, organized in 1904, extended
a former road giving line from Durham to Dunn and Erwin.
Tallulah Falls Railway Co., Cornelia, Ga., then owned by
Southern Railway, extended line from Georgia to Franklin in
1907, 16 miles in North Carolina.
Cliffside Railroad Co., Cliffside, built road from Cliffside to
the Seaboard, three miles, in 1905 and a branch to Avondale, .7
miles, in 1916.
The Norfolk Southern built several links, among them in
1911-12, Varina to Colon, 23 miles, and Mount Gilead to Char-lotte,
51 miles.
The Winston-Salem Southbound, 95 miles, from Winston-
Salem to Wadesboro, was built in 1911, owned jointly by ACL
and Norfolk and Western.
The High Point, Thomasville and Denton Railroad is another
important local line. The company was organized in 1923 to
take over and operate an old line and has been successfully
operated.
The Virginia and Carolina Southern, Lumberton to Hope
Mills, organized in 1903 is owned by the ACL.
The Rockingham Railroad, Rockingham to Gibson, was com-pleted
in 1911 and is owned by the ACL.
Laurinburg and Southern, organized in 1909 the "McNair
Road", operates from Raeford to Johns, via Wagram and Laur-inburg.
Cape Fear Railways, organized in 1926, operates lines con-necting
with other roads from the Fort Bragg Reservation.
Several other short lines have been built in the last 50 years
but some of them have also been abandoned.
State Develops Modern 67,000 Mile Toll-Free Road System
By Margaret Burk, Public Relations, N. C. State Highway and Public Works Commission
From a meagre beginning, North Car-ina
has built, or become custodian of a
57,000 - mile toll - free road system,
stretching from the mountains to the
;ea.
As recently as 35 years ago, North
Carolina was still "languishing in mud
md despair" ; her roads were alternately
lust and mud beds. The story of Tar
Heel roads shows the workings of many
lands and the reality of many dreams.
In the late 19th century, the road system compris-ed
a few earth and plank roads, as well as part-earth
and part-topsoil roads. The establishing of Rural
Free Mail Delivery by the Federal Government at
the turn of the century gave impetus to a Good
Roads Association in North Carolina. In 1901„> na-tional
promoters took a Good Roads Train on a tour
3f the nation; it made stops in Winston, Asheville
and Raleigh, building strips of road and propagan-dizing
as it made its journey.
—Photos supplied by N. C. Highway Dept. and State News Bureau.
N. C. Highway Commission 7)iembers. Front row, left to right,
J. F. Snipes, Marion; Harry Buchanan, Hendersonville ; Chair-man
A. H. Graham, Hillsboro; H. Maynard Hicks, Snow Hill;
M. E. Robinson, Goldsboro; J. Emmett Winsloio, Hertford.
Second row, I. to r., James A. Gray, Winston-Salem; James A.
Hardison, Wadesboro ; Forrest Lockey, Aberdeen; John (Jack)
Van Lindley, Greensboro ; Ralph W. Winkler, Boone; June F.
Scarborough, Statesviile ; C. A. Hasty, Maxton; Dennie A.
Sorrell, Durham; C. Heide Trask, Wilmington.
By 1915, the counties participated in roadbuilding
to a limited degree. That year, the General Assem-
PAGE 76 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY
bly authorized an appropriation of $10,000 and the
appointment of a six-member State Highway Com-mission.
Most of the appropriation went for educa-tional
and promotional activities.
In 1917, the General Assembly gave the Commis-sion
the proceeds from motor vehicle registrations.
Meanwhile, Congress passed the first Federal Aid
highway law. Two years later, the General Assem-bly
enacted the State's first highway act. It created
a Highway Commission composed of a fulltime chair-man
and three commissioners and provided that all
motor vehicle registration fees collected in the State
be used for the construction and maintenance of
roads.
Passage of the Doughton-Connor-Bowie Act in
1921 created a nine-member Highway Commission
headed by a full-time chairman and served by a full-time
state highway engineer to supervise all road-building
work by the State. It gave the new Com-mission
direct jurisdiction over 5,500 miles of roads
and provided for a serial bond issue of $50,000,000,
the proceeds to be applied to road construction. The
Legislature also levied a tax of one cent per gallon
on gasoline and gave the Commission broad powers
of determining which roads should comprise the
highway system. It also instructed the Commission
to build a system of roads connecting all the county
seats and principal towns in the State. Roadbuild-ing
was stimulated; the new Commission employed
more than 3,000 men and bought one million dollars
worth of equipment.
The 1923 Legislature voted to float an additional
bond issue of $15,000,000 and upped the gas tax from
one to three cents a gallon. In 1925, the General As-sembly
floated a third serial bond issue of $20,000,-
000 and added another cent to the gas tax. In 1927,
it issued $30,000,000 more bonds, raising the total
outstanding to $115,000,000.
By the end of the Twenties, under the inspired
and courageous leadership of Highway Chairman
Frank Page, the new construction had spread across
primary arteries of traffic so swiftly (using bond
and gas tax money) that North Carolina's roads be-came
nationally known. Governors of five states
plus 200 highway engineers and administrative offi-cials
from 55 nations toured North Carolina to see
her roads. Tar Heels dubbed the travelcade con-
Handsome new Morehead City-Atlantic Beach bridge over
Bogue Bound and Intracoastal Waterivay, opened last
September, cost $1,500,000.
Modern underpass on Lexington bypass and 7(
ducted for the visitors, "Frank Page's Traveling
Road Show."
After 1927, the State reverted to a "pay-as-you-go'
policy for highway financing. No more bond issue;
were passed until Tar Heel voters in 1949 in a specia
election approved a $200,000,000 secondary roa(
bond issue designed to help hard-surface 12,001
miles and improve by stabilization another 35,00(
miles of rural roads.
The 1929 Legislature raised the gas tax from fou:
to five cents per gallon and set aside the extra reve
nue from the additional one cent tax as a county roa(
fund.
During the depression crisis, the State stepped ou
ahead of the nation by placing the entire county roa(
system—45,000 miles—under the exclusive jurisdic
tion of the Highway Commission. Financial inabil
ity of the counties to fulfill road obligations anc
general sentiment favoring more centralized contro
of county roadbuilding influenced the change. Ii
1931, the Legislature authorized the use of count?
prisoners on the road system and raised the gasolim
tax from five to six cents. The fifth cent tax whicl
had been allocated to county government reverted t<
the Highway Commission.
In 1933, the Legislature placed the State Prisoi
System under control of the Highway Commissioi
and gave it authority to use the labor of the prisonerij
on the roads. Thus, North Carolina became one o:
the very few states in which the prison system i:
directly linked with the road system.
Economic conditions limited activities of the Com
mission from 1931 to 1935. During the years 1934
1937, the Legislature diverted $4,000,000 from the!
Highway Fund to the General Fund to help the stati
,-..
I . mmmiS^m
New bridge over Northeast Cape Fear River and straightenei
highway, Routes Jt2t and 111 to Wilmington.
Summer-fall, i 953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 77
through an economic crisis. In 1947, the Legislature
banned any further diversions of that nature.
The decade from 1931 through the beginning of
World War II saw the State's highway system stead-ily
expanding as increased use of roads brought more
gasoline tax income. The war years slowed highway
construction to a virtual standstill with shortages
of manpower and steel for bridges. Highway main-tenance
was meager, weather took no holiday, and
truck weights were increased.
An ambitious farm-to-market road program was
launched just after the war ended. With the guid-ance
of Highway Chairman Sandy Graham and the
late Vance Baise, then chief engineer, more than
5,000 miles of secondary roads were paved from 1945
to 1949. Although highway revenue continued to
rise as motor vehicle use increased, costs of road-building
soared even higher.
The 1949 General Assembly passed a bill author-izing
the $200,000,000 secondary road bond issue if
the people approved, and also raised ihe State's six-cent
gas tax to seven cents in January, 1950, and di-rected
that proceeds from the extra cent pay interest
on the money borrowed.
By approving the secondary road bond issue, Tar
Heel voters charged Dr. Henry Jordan as Highway
Chairman and W. H. Rogers, Jr., as chief engineer
with a vast responsibility. Under their direction
the State Highway Commission from January 1,
1949, to June 30, 1953, had hardsurfaced 14,550 miles
of secondary roads and stabilized another 19,600
miles of roads for all-weather use. Of the $200,-
000,000, only $1,777,787 now remains for allocation
to rural road projects.
With the conclusion of the current secondary road
bond program, North Carolina will have issued some
$316,000,000 in highway construction bonds over a
35 year period and spent untold millions in current
revenue on roads.
During the 1953 session, the Legislature empow-ered
the Governor to appoint a five-member study
group to decide if and how the organization of the
State Highway Commission should be revised. As a
result, the committee and the Governor recommended
that the State's 100 counties be regrouped from ten
geographic divisions into fourteen divisions. Since
the middle thirties, the State had been divided into
ten highway divisions.
When Governor Umstead created the 14-member
State Highway Commission in May, 1953, he ap-pointed
A. H. (Sandy) Graham, chairman. The Gov-ernor
appointed a prominent group of businessmen
Modern uouuie-iatie mgnwuy on nouie 04 eusi uj n-aizign.
to serve as Highway Commissioners for the next four
years.
W. H. Rogers, Jr., is State Highway Engineer, a
post he has held since 1949. Many of the State's
top engineers—department heads and division engi-neers—
have more than 25 years experience in road-building
and are therefore well qualified to direct
their phase of highway activity.
Graham returns to his highway post after the
busiest four years in rural roadbuilding in the State's
history. He and his Commission have the task of
keeping these lately improved secondary roads in
good condition, maintaining all other portions of the
State's 67,000-mile systems, and at the same time,
vigorously pushing ahead the expanded primary
highway improvement program.
A recent survey showTed that over $365,000,000
was needed to modernize the State's rural primary
highways and make them adequate for present traf-fic
needs. There has been a phenomenal increase in
total traffic volumes and weights that call for wider
highways and thicker pavements.
However, during the last decade the State has built
by-passes for through car and truck traffic around
West Asheville, Lexington, Thomasville, the north
side of Durham, Siler City, Hickory, Wendell, Ply-mouth,
Shelby, Pembroke, Waynesville, Concord,
Asheboro, Chapel Hill, Henderson, Fayetteville, Wil-son,
Weldon, Clinton, Burgaw, Golclsboro and Lenoir.
By-passes are now under construction on US 29
and 70 around High Point, Greensboro, Burlington,
Graham and Mebane ; on US 64 around Statesville
and Asheboro ; on US 74 and 601 around Monroe
;
and on US 15 and NC 158 around Oxford. Recently
the relocation of US 1 by-passing Wake Forest,
Franklinton and Youngsville was completed.
The cost of primary highways now ranges from
$35,000 to $60,000 a mile for a two-lane road. This
figure does not include the costs of right-of-way,
Grading on the new four-lane super highway between Old Fort
and Ridgecrest. Relocation of 6.15 miles on U. 8.
10 will cost about $3,225,000.
'The Governor Umstead", a converted Navy landing craft, now
a 22-car ferryboat, operating around Oregon Inlet.
PAGE 78 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY SUMMER-FALL, 1953
grading, bridges or any items other than paving.
The cost of paving varies according to types, terrain,
and other factors. In mountainous areas, roadbuild-ing
is necessarily slower and costlier while long
bridges and swamps add to the cost of coastal road-building.
Of necessity, major improvements on the primary
system must be made in short sections for three rea-sons:
traffic need, availability of funds, and avoid-ance
of serious traffic disruption.
Spurred on by a road-conscious Governor and an
experienced chairman, the State Highway Commis-sion
is striving to modernize its primary highway
system. Much more planning and effort must yet
be made to bring today's highways—many tnat were
built in the Twenties for lighter and slower-moving
vehicles—up to the standards required. As funds
become available, the Commission plans to rebuild
more miles of the State's overburdened, and in many
cases, outmoded primary routes.
Intracoastal Waterway Pleasure Craft, Freight Boat Artery
North Carolina contains within her eastern bor-ders
308 miles of the Atlantic Intracoastal Walk-way,
an important sea level artery of water traffic
extending from a point 23 miles northeast of Boston,
a few miles inland from the ocean along the Atlantic
Coast, to the beginning of the Florida Peninsula and
thence southward to Key West, Florida.
A connection link across Florida beginning with
the St. Johns River and reaching to Brownsville,
Texas, was authorized by Congress in 1942. Both
routes are portions of some 28,000 miles of navigable
inland waterways in the Continental United States.
The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, formerly
known as the Inland Waterway, has become a valua-ble
channel of trade, especially vital during the war
periods while submarines infested the water along
the Seaboard. In addition to carrying a large and
increasing amount of freight traffic it is also ideal
for the thousands of small pleasure craft which use
its facilities each year. Its channel has been devel-oped
by the U. S. Army's Corps of Engineers over
a long period of years and is available without coll
charges for commerce and pleasure to any individual
or firm in the U. S. desiring to make use of its ad-vantages.
Sections of the inland waterway have been devel-oped
almost since the beginning of the republic and
the entire project, as such, is still not complete. It
is recalled that George Washington made a survey
for a Dismal Swamp canal in Virginia in 1755.
Opened in 1820, this canal branches off southeast-ward
from the Elizabeth River through Deep Creek
to the Dismal Swamp Canal then into the Pasquotank
River by Elizabeth City into Albemarle Sound. The
two routes intersect at a point 70 miles south of Nor-folk
and just west of the highway bridge across Cur-rituck
Sound.
The first work done by the Federal Government
—All photos by Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army
Pleasure craft and charter boats anchored on the Intracoastal
Waterway at Morehead City.
~+Y N[W *V-
/ V^ovW' Map showing principal routes of Intracoastal
f~ \ # Waterway through sounds, rivers and land
cuts along eastern North Carolina Seaboard.
was in 1828 and in 1837 a survey was authorized
between the southern end of the Dismal Swamp canal
in North Carolina and Winyah Bay in South Caro-lina.
The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal, con-necting
those sounds from the vicinity of Norfolk
southward, cutting through Elizabeth River, Deep
Creek, the Virginia Cut and into Currituck Sound
and through North River to Albemarle Sound, was
begun in 1856 as a private enterprise.
Then in 1873 the Federal Government began a
consistent movement toward a comprehensive and
connected waterway. In the years which followed,
the Federal Government began the adoption of
waterway improvement projects which continue
through the years. Many of these were at first local
and not related. Records show that in the decade
1880-89 a dozen projects were adopted. In later
decades additional projects were adopted as follows:
13 in 1890-99 ; 7 in 1900-09 ; 16 in 1910-19 ; 6 in 1920-
29 ; 23 in 1930-39 ; 31 in 1940-49. Additional projects
have been approved since this last report.
Although inland waterways were developed from
the Boston vicinity through to New York and other
points south, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
actually starts at Trenton, N. J., running the Dela-ware
River to Philadelphia, Wilmington and Salem,
crosses by canal at Chesapeake Bay, runs through
'iUMMER-FALL, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 79
ihis bay to Hampton Roads ; then as stated by way
If Norfolk into Currituck and later Albemarle
jjound.
[ This is the principal route, but the old Dismal
JSwamp Canal route may also be used from Norfolk
nto the Pasquotank River by way of Elizabeth City,
md thence into Albemarle Sound. Continuing in
^orth Carolina it enters Alligator River, then
hrough the Alligator-Pungo Canal, 22 miles long,
nto Pungo River, across Pamlico River and by way
>f natural streams and land cuts to Beaufort Harbor.
?rom there it goes by sounds, marshes and cuts
hrough Bogue Sound, Topsail Sound, by way of
Wrightsville and through a land cut, 13 miles below
Wilmington, into the Cape Fear River. A branch
ingles off to Wilmington while the main channel
:ontinues to Southport and westwardly to Little Riv-
;r at the South Carolina line, ending as stated at Key
West, Florida.
From the Intracoastal Waterway in North Caro-ina
several branches and water connections are
ivailable and maintained to various points along the
Seaboard. Points connected by waterway include
^denton, Plymouth, Elizabeth City, Winton, Mur-xeesboro,
Windsor, Hamilton, Columbia, Washing-on
and on to a point near Greenville; New Bern,
Mental, Jacksonville, Swansboro and from Wil-nington
to Fayetteville, up the Cape Fear River in
vhich three locks are used. Numbers of other points
ilso have access to the Intracoastal Waterway.
The Intracoastal Waterway has been constructed
md is maintained by the Corps of Engineers. The
otal cost of new construction in North Carolina, as
ihown in a recent report, is $9,401,800 and the esti-nated
annual maintenance is some less than $400,000
i year. Width of the canal is 90 feet in land cuts and
ip to 300 feet in open water. A twelve-foot channel
s maintained normally but only a ten-foot depth
las been maintained, because of economy reasons,
imce the Korean war began.
Reports indicate that probably more than 50 miles
)f the channel in North Carolina has been cut
hrough land. Principal among these are the cut
)etween the Virginia line and the North River Bar,
;ix miles; Alligator-Pungo land cut, 22.5 miles;
joose Creek-Bay River land cut, 3.8 miles, and
\dams Creek-Core Creek land cut, 6.3 miles; Core
>eek land cut, 2.2 miles. Several short land cuts
ire not listed. In addition, the Corps of Engineers
nust dredge many miles in sound, rivers and marshes
;o provide controlling depth. In other places dams
Mr vieiv of bridge over Intracoastal Waterway at Coinjock,
Currituck County. Bulkheads anchored to shore
to protect structure.
Tug pushing barge over Intracoastal Waterway near Coinjock.
Wheel house jutting upward allows pilot to
see above deck of barge.
are built to retain water at the required level. Some
parts of the waterway in North Carolina are affected
by lunar tides which cause a variation in depth as
high as 6 to 7 feet in some portions passing through
open water.
Historically, the portion of the waterway between
the Virginia line and Beaufort was commenced in
August, 1923, and completed in February, 1930 ; the
channel between Beaufort and the Cape Fear River
was commenced in March, 1927, and completed in
December, 1932 ; an eight by 75-foot channel from
Cape Fear to Little River, S. C., was dredged between
1932 and 1939 and enlarged to 12 feet by 90 feet
between 1939 and 1940. Feeder channels were pro-vided
during this period to several points near the
waterway. As provided, under local cooperation,
North Carolina was required to acquire right-of-way,
including land for the land cuts, and turn it over to
the Federal Government without cost. The lone ex-ception
was Snow's cut between Wilmington and
Carolina Beach. Land for this cut was acquired by
the State and deeded to the Federal Government.
Other conditions, such as building and operating
draw bridges of the waterway after it was establish-ed,
must be met.
Fourteen bridges cross the waterway in North
Carolina. Five of these were in operation before
the waterway was established, all of them north of
Beaufort. The Federal Government built and main-tains
five of the bridges, including the bridges at
Coinjock; Fairfield: the Wilkerson Creek Bridge
near Belhaven ; the Hobucken Bridge and Core Creek
Bridges north of Beaufort. The Beaufort and More-head
City Railway Co., owns, operates and maintains
the railroad bridge on its line. Bridges built since
the waterway was established and operated by North
Carolina are the Morehead City Bridge, the Atlantic
Beach Bridge, the Sears Landing Bridge near Holly
Ridge, the Wrightsville Beach Bridge, the Carolina
Beach Bridge (built by the Federal Government and
given to the State) , the Long Beach Bridge near
Southport and the Holden Beach Bridge, the latter
now being constructed. Another bridge, the Hurst
Beach Bridge, now under construction, is owned and
operated by the Marine Corps for Camp Lejeune.
Freight and passenger traffic over the waterway
have shown large and consistent increases in recent
years. The average annual commerce handled over
the North Carolina section, designated the Wilming-ton
District, was 1,201,080 short tons. Partially
PAGE 80 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1953
broken down this commerce amounted to 873,063 tons
in 1947; 1,073,718 tons in 1948, and 1,325,029 tons
in 1949. The 1951 figures show commerce of 1.478,-
500 tons, the last figures readily available. Figures
for 1952 and 1953 are expected to show continued
increases. Passenger traffic reached 2,200 in 1947,
dropped to 2,000 in 1948, and in 1949 increased to
2,500. Later years are expected to show even great-er
increases.
Figures for 1949 show that 73 steamers, 7,744
motor vessels, 1,801 barges, and 771 other types of
craft, making a total of 10,389 vessels, made trips
through the waterway. Approximately 4,600 of
these were pleasure craft drawing less than four feet
of water. The balance, approximately 5,800 vessels,
drawing from five to twelve feet of water, were pre-sumed
to be freight carriers. These figures give some
indication of the importance of this waterway not
only within the boundaries of North Carolina but for
its entire length along the Atlantic Coast.—Revised
by H. E. Hicks, Chief Technical Liaison Branch,
Corps of Engineers U.S. Army, Wilmington District
/ \JPm7 L
Blue Ridge Parkway, One of World's Remarkable Scenicways
By R. Getty Browning, Chief Locating Engineer, N. C. Highway Department
The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most re-markable
highways in the United States or in the
world for that matter.
The plan to build this Parkway originated from a
consideration of the best means that could be pro-vided
to drive from the Shenandoah National Park
in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park in North Carolina and Tennessee. The con-clusion
was finally reached that a Parkway from
which commercial traffic could be excluded would
offer a far better means of visiting these parts of
the country than would the ordinary highways which
carry such a heavy volume of mixed vehicles that
they cannot be considered recreational highways in
any sense.
In projecting the highway through Virginia and
North Carolina, the Interior Department requested
that the Highway Departments in these states sug-gest
a route which they thought would be suitable
for such a Parkway and that they donate the desired
right-of-way width to the Government without cost.
f V
1 GHAHAW /
J—-£r_jh. L<—•*
Note: Blue Ridge Parkway is really Mr. Browning's "baby". In 1934
Mr. Browning mapped the route for the Secretary of the Interior, based on
information obtained by actually walking over it. Even though this was done
before any surveys were begun, the finished parkway follows the route almost
exactly. The committee, appointed by Secretary lo'ies to recommend to him
the most suitable route for the parkway, approved a route extending from
Blowing Rock, N. C, to Gatlinburg, Tenn. This decision appeared so unfair
to North Carolina because of the great superiority of the scenery and the
much higher elevations on the North Carolina route that Mr. Browning made
a personal appeal to Secretary Ickes, which, with the detailed information
offered, proved so effective that the North Carolina route was adopted.
Map shows course of Blue Ridge Parkway through Norih Caro-lina.
Solid lines shoto completed highiuays; dotted lines show
incomplete but passable on other roads, and parallel lines unim-proved
stretches not yet opened. Dotted oval outlines Great
Smoky Mountains National Park.
North Carolina met this request by plotting a map
through the most outstanding mountainous scenery
in the State, and agreed to furnish at least 125 acres
of land per mile for the right-of-way and also to make
all the necessary surveys and to carry out all negotia-tions
for the right-of-way without charge. Since
there is more than 250 miles of the Parkway in North
Carolina, it is readily seen that the State was assum-ing
quite an obligation and in so doing officials dem-onstrated
their belief that the immense value of the
Parkway to the State as a whole would be justified.
It was felt that by the construction of this beautiful
drive between the parks many visitors would be at-tracted
to the State from all parts of the country.
I
artWF-
5,::-:;.
—Photos by State News Bureau.
Skimming mountain crests near Grandfather Mountain on the
Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
Mount Mitchell, highest peak, in Eastern America, is seen above
the clouds from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
SUMMER-FALL, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 81
The total length of the Parkway is 477 miles. It
ias a twenty-foot pavement with five-foot shoulders
hi each side, guard rails where necessary, and it is
andscaped by utilizing the indigenous shrubs and
lowers to the best advantage.
The boundaries of the right-of-way are so flexible
;hat they were expanded where desired to take in
some beautiful area or to protect a crossroad from
;he possibility of unsightly buildings, and in some
nstances it was reduced in width to a minimum of
200 feet to reduce the right-of-way damages which
)therwise would have been excessive.
Along the route of the Parkway there are consid-
'vabiy more than 100 varieties of trees and over 100')
iifferent kinds of shrubs and wild flowers. The ele-ction
ranges from about 2700 feet to over 6000 feet
ibove sealevel, and since it passes through the most
nagnificent scenery to be found anywhere in the
country, it has become a most popular automobile
;our.
In the spring when the flowers are coming in bloom
it different times on different levels, and in the fall
when the foliage is changing in the same fashion,
sooner in the low ground, and then moving upward
n the higher mountains, the traveler is amazed and
LuUimn view of Blue Ridge Parkway near Doughton Park in
Wilkes County.
Tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville.
delighted to view the vast areas of beautiful coloring
which is to be seen on every side.
Frequent overlooks are provided where one may
park and view the scenery, take pictures, or enjoy
a picnic lunch without being hurried or disturbed
in any way. There is probably no similar Parkway
in existence where one may enjoy so much freedom,
security and entertainment as on this one. In sum-mer
the climate is delightfully cool, frequently being
fifteen or twenty degrees cooler than in the nearby
valleys, and since one may drive as slowly as he de-sires
and stop as frequently as he wishes, it makes a
very delightful place to spend a vacation.
During last year more than five million people en-joyed
the Parkway and since there are at least one
hundred million persons living within less than one
thousand miles of it, which is only a three-day drive,
it is obvious that as the Parkway becomes better
known, it will attract more and more visitors each
year.
4,000,000 VISITORS IN 1953
Almost 4,000,000 visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway had been recorded
by the end of October, an increase of 16.4 percent over the number at the
same date last year, and Parkway officials estimated that between 300,000
and 500,000 more people would visit the scenic drive before the year closed.
Records show that visitors came from almost every state and from nearly
two dozen foreign countries in 1953. North Carolina led all states, with one-third
of the total, while North Carolina and Virginia furnished considerably
more than half of the visitors. States along the eastern Seaboard sent most
of the visitors, as usual, but Ohio and Illinois were not far behind.
Wilmington, Morehead Ports Improved to Increase Shippin;
N. C. State Ports Authority, created in 1945 to
develop shipping facilities at Wilmington and More-head
City primarily, made preparations during the
four years until 1949 when the General Assembly
authorized the issuance of $7,500,000 in bonds. Since
that time port facilities second to none on the Atlan-tic
Coast, have been constructed and have made ex-tensive
progress in handling outgoing and incoming
products produced by and needed by North Caro-lina's
important industrial firms.
North Carolina had long been handicapped by lack
of adequate port facilities and many steps have been
taken seeking to improve the few ports along the
Eastern Seaboard which were available for develop-ment.
Sandbars along the coast served as a barrier
to prevent development of shipping facilities. Two
major exceptions are found at Wilmington and More-head
City but these ports needed extensive develop-ment
before they could be brought into profitable
use.
Governor Morrison, during his administration
(1921-24) , sought to improve the ports by a proposed
bond is?ue but the proposal failed. In 1933 the Caoe
Fear River Association was formed and in 1935 the
Wilmington Ports Commission was created by the
General Assembly. Ten years later that body au-thorized
the State Ports Authority, but it was four
years later before the $7,500,000 bond issue provided
funds for port development. Many other movements
had proven inadequate and unsuccessful.
Development of the Port of Wilmington started
January 1, 1948, when the State Ports Authority se-
PAGE 82 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY
cured a fifty-year lease from the United States Ma-rine
Corps for about 50 acres of waterfront on the
northern end of the shipyard at Wilmington. Since
that time approximately 29 acres costing around
$30,000, have been secured, adjoining the leased site.
This area is located at Wilmington, 30 miles up the
Cape Fear River from the Atlantic Ocean. The chan-nel
is wide and the depth is 32 feet at mean low wa-ter.
Built on 3,000 concrete piles, 43 feet deep, is a
wharf 1,510 feet long and 200 feet wide, with space
for three ships at a time.
Two railroad tracks and gantry cranes are located
on shipside and two transit sheds, each containing
79,000 square feet are adjacent to the berths. Behind
these sheds is a storage warehouse containing 98,000
square feet. All of these are of fireproof construc-tion,
all brick, steel and concrete. A fumigating
plant was added recently with four vacuum chambers
6x9 feet for fumigating tobacco, cotton or other
products requiring this treatment. A scale house,
fitted with motor tread scales, and railway track
scales, was constructed. An existing building was
remodeled to provide office space and maintenance
shops. A water system, for fire protection, ships'
water and other uses, includes a 200,000 gallon ele-vated
tank. Most of the $5,000,000 earmarked for
this development has been expended.
Ocean Terminal at Morehead City was allotted $2,-
500,000 of the bond proceeds. Here some port facili-ties
had already been developed and the State Ports
Authority purchased the site and buildings from the
Morehead City Port Commission for $201,800. The
general contract for construction of new facilities
amounted to $2,002,555. Construction included a
steel sheet pile bulkhead and timber relieving plat-form
or dock 1,200 feet long. A large fireproof tran-sit
shed, containing 60,000 square feet and two stor-age
warehouses of 35,640 and 51,840 square feet.
Work also included dredging in front of the docks,
paving, landscaping and other development. More-head
City already had a dock 1,350 feet long and one
transit shed. This wharf has been reconstructed
and the transit shed repaired. Two Morehead ware-houses
are leased to the U. S. Navy and three other
firms rent space, bringing in satisfactory revenues.
The revenues from operation of the two ports bv
the end of May, 1953, reached $151,180. The first
ship to dock at Wilmington was the steamship South-port
in May, 1952. Within one year, to May 22, 1953,
25 additional ships had docked with varying cargoes.
Two ships had gone out of the port loaded with 3,867
hogsheads of tobacco, destined for foreign ports.
More recent figures show that 225 ships had docked
Wilmington terminal of State Ports Authority showing ship-side
storage and rail and truck approaches to warehouses.
and about 150 ships including military vessels, had
sailed up to Nov. 1.
The State Ports Authority is seeking to establish
as many regular sailings from the Wilmington and
Morehead City ports as possible, and by so doing, use
the splendid terminal facilities to greater advantage.
Heavy exports of tobacco, cotton and other products
of farms and factories are expected to develop.
Among the exports the ports hope to develop are long
staple cotton, mahogany logs and veneers, foodstuffs,
bauxite, fertilizer, chemicals and numerous other
products. The ports are expected to develop into
important feeders for inland ports, particularly those
available to the Intracoastal Waterway, such as Fay-etteville,
Edenton, Greenville and others.
In accordance with legislative act of 1945 Govern-or
Cherry appointed a seven-member board (the
board elects its officers) including R. B. Page, Wil-mington
(chairman) ; A. G. Myers, Gastonia (vice-chairman)
; W. O. Huske, Fayetteville (secretary-treasurer)
; J. H. White, Winston-Salem; H. S.
Gibbs, Morehead City; S. B. Frink, Southport; T.
Henry Wilson, Morganton. A nine-member board
was provided in 1949 and Governor Scott named to
this board Mr. Myers (chairman) ; Nello L. Teer,
Durham (vice-chairman) ; Mr. Huske (secretary-treasurer—
replaced soon afterward by Staley Cooke,
Burlington) ; George Ross Pou, state auditor, ex offi-cio
; Mr. White ; David Q. Holton, Edenton ; W. Avery
Thompson, Hallsboro ; Henry Vann, Clinton, and W.
J. Bason, North Wilkesboro.
Again in 1953 the General Assembly reduced the
number of members from nine to seven and Governor
N. C. State Ports Authority terminal at Morehead City can
accommodate five ships at berth.
The S.S. August Bolten, Hamburg, unloads bulk fertilizer ma-terials
at Morehead City State Ports terminal.
Summer-fall, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 83
Umstead named to four-year terms A. G. Myers, Gas-tonia
(chairman) ; Edwin Pate, Laurinburg (vice-chairman)
; W. Avery Thompson, Hallsboro (secre-tary-
treasurer) ; Harvey W. Moore, Charlotte; J.
Harvey White, Winston-Salem, and Raymond Bryan,
Goldsboro.
Mr. Myers, leading Gastonia banker and textile
executive for many years, resigned as chairman and
member of the board due to his health after 71/2
years as a member and 4^ years as chairman. Ed-win
Pate, vice-chairman, was appointed chairman to
succeed him at a meeting on October 20, and Ray-mond
Brown, Goldsboro, was named vice-chairman.
Col. George W. Gillette, native of Onslow County
and for many years a colonel in the Army of Engi-neers,
located much of the time in the Wilmington
area, was elected executive director of the Ports
Authority and set up his office in the Trust Building,
Wilmington, January 1, 1948. During the first half
of the five years he has been executive director, Col-onel
Gillette devoted much of his attention to sur-veys
and plans and publicizing the value of using
this State's ports. Much of the last half of the period
has been devoted to construction of facilities at the
two ports and in beginning operations in handling
incoming and outgoing cargoes. Colonel Gillette re-
NJ
/ i / .... . .
Large Argentine Transport -freighter recently loaded with
$15,000,000 worth of tobaeco from Wilmington docks
for an English tobacco company.
signed as executive director at the October 20 meet-ing,
his resignation becoming effective December 31.
Note—Col. Richard Searl Marr, 52, recently retired after
30 years in the U.S. Army, Infantry, was named director of
the State Ports Authority to succeed Col. Gillette at a meet-ing
of the board Dec. 31, 1953.
Public Transportation Systems Regulated by State 62 Years
By Fred C. Hunter, Commissioner, N. C. Utilities Commission
The transportation of property and people has been a matter
of public concern and of some degree of governmental regu-lation
for centuries. Law-making bodies were trying to find
ways and means of assuring the public of adequate transpor-tation
long before the coming of airplanes, motor vehicles, or
railroads. Regulation of transportation was the subject of
legislation in England long before we became a nation. It
was a matter of such public concern as to require legislation
and regulation in the days of the Roman Empire, and it is a
matter of deepest public concern now in this country and in
every country. Without it great cities could never have been
built in any age, and without an adequate system of trans-portation
they certainly could not survive under conditions
existing today. Factories could not produce goods; markets
could not be maintained; and commerce and trade as we know
it now could not exist. Without an adequate working system
of transportation we would soon be in want and in distress.
Through preference and discrimination transportation has
the power to make or destroy individuals and communities.
It has made millionaires and it has made paupers. It has
made cities grow and prosper, and has consigned them to
decay. It has the power to fix the status of one area of the
nation as a producer of raw materials and to make cities in
other areas great manufacturing centers. By a difference in
service and in rates all these things have been done.
The public cannot exercise its choice in selecting its trans-portation
service as it may do in selecting its lawyer, its doc-tor,
or its merchant. If the merchant on the corner does not
conduct his business as you think he should, you may refuse
to trade with him. If his services are not satisfactory, or his
prices are too high, you may walk across the street and trade
with another. But, if you want to ride a train to a certain
point, or ship goods to a certain point, your public transporta-tion
service is limited. Perhaps only one railroad or one motor
carrier service is available. Schedules are fixed, charges are
fixed, and your only choice is to take the service as offered or
provide your own means of transportation.
Because of the vast potentialities of transportation, its effect
upon individuals and communities, and its power to make or
destroy other business enterprises, it has been classed as a
business "affected with the public interest" and has been
placed under some governmental supervision and control. Pub-lic
carriers operate under franchise rights which give them
certain privileges not given to the public in general. They
N. C. UTILITIES COMMISSION
The five members of the N. C. Utilities Commission, regula-tors
of utilities, including public transportation, are: Stanley
Winborne, chairman; Fred C. Hunter, Edward H. McMahan,
Harry T. Wescott and Sam O. Worthington. John Hill Paylor,
Assistant Attorney General, is assigned to the Commission,
and Mrs. Mary Laurens Richardson is chief clerk.
Other key officials are Dorothy Austell, budget and personnel
officer; Vern W. Chase, telephone engineer; Virl L. Choate,
director of accounts; M. Broadus Glover, director, Motor
Freight Transportation; Eugene A. Hughes, Jr., director, Motor
Passenger Transportation; LeRoy M. Keever, electrical engi-neer;
C. H. Noah, director, Traffic; Edgar Womble, consultant,
Water, Gas and Telegraph Service.
have the right of eminent domain and to some extent are pro-tected
from competition by other carriers seeking to enter the
field.
A merchant, a farmer, or a manufacturer will not be heard
to complain about competition, but rail carriers and motor
carriers have a legal basis for objecting to competition. They
have a legal right to require others seeking to enter the trans-portation
field to show that a public demand and need exists
for the proposed service in addition to like services presently
being rendered. An ordinary private enterprise would have
no standing in any court on a plea that another like business is
not needed in the community and would be injurious to existing
business of the same kind, but a common carrier will be heard
on such a plea and his business protected from destructive
competition.
These special privileges carry with them corresponding obli-gations
and duties to the public. Railroads and motor car-riers
that operate under franchise rights must continue to
operate. They are not at liberty to discontinue business and
wait for better times, and they are not at liberty to choose
their patrons. They are required to provide reasonably ade-quate
transportation service at reasonable rates for all who
come, and they are required to serve all alike without favor,
preference, or discrimination. Their rates and charges must
be approved before they are placed into effect, and these rates
and charges cannot be increased nor their services curtailed
without the consent of the governmental agency by which they
PAGE 84 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1953
are regulated and controlled.
Transportation has been described as the blood streams of
the nation. Those who enter this field as common carriers are
clothed with a part of the sovereign power of the State, in
order that these blood streams may continue to flow. They are
entrusted with the duty of moving the products of the soil, of
the mines, and of the factories, and if they fail in this duty
the battles on all the fronts will have been lost.
The development of transportation is one of the very inter-esting
chapters in the history of the progress of mankind. It
is interesting to us because it is predominantly one of Amer-ica's
contributions to the world. Within about one hundred
years America has developed transportation from where it was
when the Pyramids were built to where it is today. Through
all the centuries, from Jehu to Paul Revere, man never trav-eled
over the earth any faster than a horse can run. Railroads
are only a little more than a hundred years old, and they have
developed to their greatest efficiency in this country and
within the memory of people now living. Trains are now being
operated approximately 900,000,000 miles per year in this
country; carrying about 600,000,000 passengers and about 3,000,-
000,000 tons of freight.
The gross revenue of the railroads of the United States from
freight traffic in 1950, the latest complete figures available,
was $7,933,764,000. If North Carolina paid freight bills in the
ratio of its population to the population of the United States,
it paid $213,814,000 in 1950 for railroad freight service. During
the same year the citizens of this State paid $91,476,700 for
electric power and light service and $43,540,300 for telephone
service. Freight transportation charges begin with the trans-portation
of the raw products of the fields, the forests, and
the mines, and include every movement from the producer and
manufacturer to the consumer.
A freight charge is included in every electric light bill and
in every telephone bill, and in the price of every box of matches
and in the price of every tube of dental cream. Every business
and every individual make a contribution to the payment of
railroad freight charges. That contribution in 1950 amounted
to $52.63 for every man, woman, and child in North Carolina.
To this we may add that approximately 54,000,000 motor vehi-cles
are now in use in the United States, and they are operating
more than a billion miles over the streets and highways of this
country every day. Of this total, more than 1,300,000 motor
vehicles are now licensed in North Carolina and they operate
approximately 30,000,000 miles in this State every day.
The airplane adds yet another chapter to America's con-tribution
to transportation. Since the airplane made its first
flight in North Carolina fifty years ago, travel by air has be-come
commonplace and at an increasing speed that approaches
the speed of sound. The railroad, the motor vehicle, and the
airplane are all largely American contributions to transporta-tion.
They are the products of the inventive genius and or-ganization
of the American people and have made this country
the wonder of wonderlands and the envied people of the earth.
America has made another significant contribution to trans-portation
in the field of regulation. Regulation of transporta-tion
by a commission created by statute for this purpose had
its inception in this country, and it is peculiarly an American
system of regulating carrier and other public service agencies.
North Carolina is one of the pioneers in providing for regula-tion
of carriers of property and passengers by a commission.
Sixty-two years ago the North Carolina Farmers Alliance
gained control of the General Assembly in this State to the
extent that the General Assembly of 1891 is known to this day
as the "Farmers Legislature." It created the Board of Railroad
Commisisoners now designated as the North Carolina Utilities
Commission, and gave it full power and authority (1) to pre-scribe
just and reasonable rates and charges to be observed by
all railroads operating in this State, ( 2 ) to make rules and
regulations necessary to prevent injurious discrimination in
the transportation of freight nad passengers, and (3) to make
rules and regulations to "prevent the giving, paying, or receiv-j
ing of any rebate or bonus, directly or indirectly, and from]
misleading or deceiving the public in any manner as to the
real rates charged for freight and passengers."
This "Farmers Legislature" of 1891 also provided by a later
Act at the same session "that the railroad commissioners
elected at this session of the General Assembly and (their)
successors in office be and they are hereby created and consti-tuted
a court of record inferior to the Supreme Court . . . and,
as such, shall have all the powers and jurisdiction of the court
of general jurisdiction as to all subjects embraced in the Act
creating such railroad commission heretofore passed." Under
this Act and subsequent acts of the Legislature, the North
Carolina Utilities Commission now has under its jurisdiction,1
and subject to its regulations with respect to service and rates,
34 railroads which operate a total of 4,554 miles within the:
State, 454 motor carriers of property, and 139 motor carriers
of passengers.
This commission system of regulation has been established
in every State in the United States and is a system of regu-lation
of carriers and public utilities that has no parallel in
any other country. Under this system billions have been in-vested
in transportation facilities, and we have the finest
service and the soundest investment in freight transportation
to be found anywhere in the world. While this great success
story in the development of transportation was being written
in North Carolina and throughout the nation, the railroads
have been nationalized or taken over by the government in
nearly every other country in the world. As vital to the pub-lic
as transportation is, we still hold to the idea in this
country that transportation under our system of regulation
provides better service to more people than is possible under
any system of government ownership.
Motor Carriers Develop Rapidly Into Vital State Industry
By Jeff B. Wilson, AT. C. Motor Carriers Association
The North Carolina trucking
industry has banished the "eco-nomic
isolation" of many smaller
places. In fact more than 1800
Tar Heel cities, towns and com-munities
depend entirely on
truck transportation for every-thing
they eat, wear and use.
North Carolina is a state of
small farms and small cities and
towns. It ranks 10th in the
United States in population, but
has only one city of more than 100,000 population-
Charlotte. Yet the Tar Heel factories are within
over-night truck delivery distance of great Eastern
and Southern markets. And, built arond this flexi-ble
door-to-door truck service, Charlotte itself has
become a great metropolis, supplying the many needs
of the South.
Immediately following World War I, with the ad-
New officers of N. C. Motor Carriers Association, Inc., 1. to r.,
./. T. Outlaw, executive vice-president, Raleigh; J. K. Glenn,
second vice-president, Winston-Salem ; W. W. Miller, Jr., first
vice-president, Charlotte; C. Grier Beam, president, Cherryville,
being congratulated by M. Webster Henry, Rocky Mount, re-tiring
president.
vent of more and better highways, a type of trans-portation
was born which could and did give to the
American public a quicker and better freight service
Summer-fall, 1953 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY PAGE 85
is well as passenger service at less cost ; this was
mown as the truck and bus industry. North Carolina
:ame in very definitely for its share of the develop-nent
of this new industry to its fullest extent.
The first World War, with all its tragedy and
leartaches, gave to this nation the internal combus-
;ion engine and rubber tires. Automobiles, though
;carce to a great degree prior to the War, became a
node of transportation for most of the American
public.
Immediately on its heels, through further use of
:he internal combustion engine and rubber tires, was
30m the trucking industry. Its first development
iame through the changing from the horse and wag-
>n days to small capacity motor trucks, confined vir-
;ually to intra-city use. In the early 20's the rubber
ndustry developed pneumatic tires that could carry
i fairly heavy load with no damage to the highways,
md with this development, through the manufacture
)f trucks, came an engine capable of maintaining a
.airly high speed—approximately thirty miles per
lour—and the Hotchkiss Drive to replace the old
nodel chain drive. These two developments in the
:ire and motor industries opened up new avenues
for the movement of freight over great distances.
With this change our present Motor Carrier indus-
;ry first came into its own.
Every development in this country that has given
;o the public a better service for less money has had
ts ups and downs and the Motor Transportation
industry is no exception to this rule.
Starting with a very humble beginning it had ob-stacle
after obstacle to surmount. In the late 20's
motor truck people banded together into an associa-
;ion for their own interests. This Association was
formed in 1928 with H. D. (Buddy) Horton, Char-otte,
as its first president.
About 1926, the textile industry in our state was
NEW OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS OF
N. C. MOTOR CARRIERS ASSOCIATION
C. Grier Beam, president, Carolina Freight Carriers Corp.,
Dherryville, was elected president of the North Carolina Motor
Harriers Association, Inc., at the Association's 22nd annual
convention at the Carolina Hotel, Pinehurst, October 6. He
succeeds M. Webster Henry who is secretary and treasurer of
3. S. Henry Transfer, Inc., Rocky Mount. Edwin Gill, State
Treasurer, installed the new officers. About 400 delegates at-tended.
Other officers include W. W. Miller, Jr., president, Miller
Motor Express, Inc., Charlotte, first vice-president; J. K. Glenn,
Quality Oil Transport, Winston-Salem, second vice-president;
I. T. Outlaw, Raleigh, executive vice-president, and John M.
.\kers, executive vice-president of Akers Motor Lines, Inc.,
Grastonia, State vice-president of the American Trucking Asso-ciation;
H. L. Netly, chairman, accounting council; E. W.
Fredrickson, chairman, council safety supervisors; R. H. Booe,
Ir., chairman, customer relation council, all of Charlotte.
Directors elected for the ensuing year include W. C. Honey-
Jutt, Black Mountain; John M. Akers and W. W. Akers, Jr.,
Grastonia; J. A. Barnwell, Burlington; R. L. Brinson, Jr., David
Piske and W. D. Lewis, High Point; R. L. Burns, Sanford;
A D. Burton, Albemarle; C. S. Burton, Reidsville; Harwood
Cochrane, Richmond, Va.; G. W. Dehart, Hickory; B. J. Forbes
and D. J. Thurston, Jr., Wilson; George H. Hall, III, and W. E.
Sisson, Wilmington; M. W. Henry, Rocky Mount; J. W. Jones,
Fairmont; E. W. McLeod, Jr., Henderson; G. D. Thompson.
Greensboro; J. F. Boone, A. E. Clontz, H. R. Dowd, Pat Haral-son,
L. Worth Harris, H. D. Horton, P. H. Johansen, J. D.
Kluttz, Leo J. Molloy, Emory Morris, W. E. Wilkinson, Tom
Peacock and Fred Mayer, all of Charlotte; William R. Davis,
E. G. Lackey, S. H. Mitchell, J. P. McLean, M. P. McLean, R. Y.
Sharpe and George Lentz, all of Winston-Salem.
N. C. WINS TROPHY FOURTH TIME
Around 100 officials and members of the N. C. Motor Car-riers
A scciaaon, Inc., and prominent guests gathered for a
dinner in the Robert E. Lee Hotel in Winston-Salem on Thurs-
,, day evening, November 19, for the presenta-tion
to this organization of the National Truck-ing
Safety Trophy for the fourth time since
it was inaugurated in 1946.
The first trophy was to be awarded perma-nently
to the State Association winning it for
the third time. North Cai-olina won that tro-phy
three different years and has it in perma-nent
possession. This year, the eighth year of
presentation, North Carolina won the new
trophy for the first year, starting on the road
to permanent possession.
The presentation was made by James F.
Pinkney, general counsel, American Trucking
Association, Inc., Washington, D. C, and the
award was received by C. Grier Beam, Cherry-ville,
president of the North Carolina group,
who presided as toastmaster. Mr. Pinkney
was introduced by James K. McLean, Winston-
Scheidt, Commissioner of Department of Motor
Vehicles, Raleigh, spoke on the State Safety Program, com-mending
the Motor Carriers Association for the splendid record
achieved. He was presented by M. Webster Henry, Rocky
Mount, immediate past president, NCMCA.
baiem.
fast coming into its own, as well as tobacco produc-tion
and cigarette manufacture. To these industries,
the Motor Transportation industry began to give out-lets
to the eastern markets for the raw materials pro-duced
and grown in North Carolina, such as they had
never had before. Prior to this time, East-West
transportation in North Carolina was a matter of
five to ten days' duration.
The amount of money, being required by the man-ufacturers
and the producers to carry inventories
sufficient to justify a five to ten day transportation
loss, was so great that during the early 30's, when
our country was going through an economic chaos,
it was necessary that some type of transportation
be afforded them to cut down this tremendous outlay
of money.
The trucking industry proved its worth in its store-door
delivery and overnight transportation to almost
any point in the state. Great industries, such as
chain groceries, chain cotton mill manufacturers,
lumber and tobacco manufacturers, immediately saw
the possibilities in the trucking industry and gobbled
up their services. The little businesses took on new
life, and life was made more modern for each indi-vidual.
It could almost be said that the Motor Car-rier
industry was cradled in the lap of the depression
and its worth was proved during a period of eco-nomic
chaos.
It grew further and faster from 1930 to 1935,
probably, than any other industry in America. In
fact the growth was sufficiently great that in 1935
the industry saw that its services could be better
given to the public through the supervision of the
Federal Government and in 1935 the Motor Carrier
Act of the Interstate Commerce Commission became
a reality.
This Act, which was patterned after its predeces-so,
the Rail Act, has served to police the industry in
the same way. Certificates were issued on the basis of
convenience and necessity and allowed certain terri-tories
and certain commodities to be handled by the
carrier as stipulated in his certificate. The first of
these certificates was issued to Mr. John L. Wilker-son
of Carolina Transfer and Storage Co., Charlotte,
PAGE 86 THE E. S. C. QUARTERLY Summer-fall, 1953
and from this beginning, has spread to a net-work
of inter- and intra-state operations covering virtually
every nook and corner of the state.
With the development of the Motor Carrier indus-try,
the North Carolina highway fund tax collections
mounted. With each four to ten miles traveled by
each vehicle, six cents tax on another gallon of gaso-line
went into the State Treasury. License fees for
motor carriers were increased. A six per cent gross
receipts tax on revenue earned by common carriers
soon followed. In 1935 the commercial motor vehi-cle
carriers paid license and gross receipts tax of
$2,156,828.00, exclusive of gasoline tax. For the
year 1948, the commercial vehicles' license and gross
receipts tax had increased to $9,726,891.00, still ex-clusive
of gasoline tax.
Three special taxes paid by the motor carrier in-dustry
for the year 1948, including gasoline tax (bas-ed
on a low estimate) , license tax and gross receipts
tax was $21,820,284.00. This amount was enough to
pay for all maintenance of state primary highways
for 1948 (not including country roads) and in addi-tion
enough to pay for more than one-half of new
road construction on state highways for the year,
notwithstanding the fact that hundreds of miles are
restricted and prohibited from use by the heavier
motor vehicles. The counties were similarly bene-fitted.
An investigation of taxes paid to the counties
by the railroads and by the owners of commercial
vehicles indicate that the amounts are comparable.
During the entire year of 1952, North Carolina's
227,669 trucks were owned by businessmen of all
kinds. Farmers owned more t