North Carolina Railroad : charter and construction

              NewS Observer {VI tNy .30, 192()
~-------------------------------- .N ORTH CAROLINA RAILROAD; .. CHARTER AND CONSTRUCTION
,
~hapter From State History When "Internal Improvements"
Was Slogan of Leaders-Beginning of the State's Three
Principal Railroad Systems-Routes Not Fixed By Politi­cal
Considerations As Has Been Sometimes Claimed.
By W. A. GRAHAM. At this session (1836) of the Lcgisla·
The "ork on "intern&l Improvemenb" lUTe, W. A. Graham introduced IJ; bill
to charter the Raieillh and Columbia
engaged the attention ot the State be· (S. C.) R. R. Co. Ho hnd introduced
fore the formation ot th Federal the- bilh to cbarter the UnJeigh &; Gas ..
:Union. The plan :first considered was ton CI>., and was chairman of a com-natnIally
improvement ot waterwaYB by 1nit:~: ~~i~~'i~~t!~C i~~j~~fC~~PO;~:
cutting (annIs, removing obstructions Charlotte & Columbia road had not then
from streams nnd providing loek~ for be!'n charterCII; it would have been a
the panage of boats over the shoals, part of tho. Raleigh & Columbia road.
. . h Awaiting COMtrlletion.
then eonncetmg the back country WIt t Th d h' b h t d 't
the ",'ater "turnpikc6." . e rOil ~ avmg .cen e. ar cre , 1
~as ·ncees8ary to awut theIr eonstruc­After
the discovery of steam 11, a tion to see the value of the investments
motive power, the eonstrllction of rail- lind for 8everal leSBians there is not
ways in !ieu of usin!t the. streams ,!as l1Iuch railway legislation. ~ In 1840 tIle
the quesh0J?- for consldcl!l.tiOn. Th~ m- State had become sccurity for $.){I,OOO
vestmenh In the w~tcr "\\"ay~ proJects I annually for aix yean (1842-47), total
neAfly all resu.tted In finanCIal loss. e:;OO,OOO, for the Wilmington & Raleigh
~he. firs~ raIlway charter tb,at ma-. Co. The stock of this company was
terul.hzed In a road \~as that of the ,.1,350,000, cost of constructioD $2,000,­~
elgh and Gaston Company, enacted 000. It paid from inCel)tion and settled
)~ 1835. The ro~d exte.nded from Ral· . Illl the obligations against it, principal
elgh to Gaston! In Rahfax connty, on and interest. The Btook of the Raleigh
the Roanoke river, and thenee a few &, Gaston road ,,·as $65QOOO its cost of
miles to conncet with the Petersburg eonstruction $1,500000 a.'defteit of $900-
and ~el~on R.!l.ihoad at the "~Veldon pOO. $800,000 of' thi~ was bonds ed­tu~
c~.lOn. ThIS was c~anR:ed In the ~orsed by the S.tate. The road had
50 I to go to. Weldon I? hen of Gas- i:1efaulted on the mterest, the company
ton, and rem81ns to thIS day Il! an 'Was deemed insoh"cnt and "bid in" by
iinportant part of the S?aboard !lyste.m. 'the Governor for the State at i363,OOO.
The State Dlade no duect Ilppropna- 'l'he road was afterwards Ie-chartered
tion to.the.compauy, bllt endorsed bouds t.he State endorsing for it to the amount
for "hlch It was secured by the deben- of $500 ()()() which was paid the State
tUfes endorsed by the individual !toek. ;in its ~ud's.
holders. l'he liabilities on aecouut ot these
State Bnys RaIlroad Stocl<. ,-oads Ila\'ing heen settled, the matter of
In 1836 the State aUb!cribed to two- extension of interiml improvements was
fifths of tho stock of the Wilmington re,;i\"cd for discussion. Heretofore the
&; Raleigh (now Wilmington &; Weldon) roads had not been ot very extensive
Railw~y Co. to be paid whcn the In- length and the iudi\'iduals were ro­(
Ji\"idunl storkholdcu hall ~ccure(l the quired to furnish the greater portion of
other Ihrcr-tlflhs, the individuals In.: 'ng the expense. Now roads of louger
$900,O\lO :111<1 the State $600,()()() at tho length and requiting greater upendi­.
tock, The State paid its ~ubscriptjon $aQ bl the State were necessary. The
with $000,000 of the mcmey reaeived Governor in his message to the Legis­from
the National Government and gen- bture in 1848 recommends a road from
erally known a~ "depo~its." The Na- Raleigh via Salisbury to Charlotte, to
tional Government had in its treasllry be extended to Goldsboro, Fayetteville,
much marl! money than it had need for; ete. He earnestly urgea the importance
this was deposited ,,"ith the respective bf this eonneetion, not only as useful
states to be return~d when eallcd for. to the dtizens ot the State but as a
This stock wns 0. part of the Literary valuable investment in the link of
or Public School fund, and in recon- Pthrough" travel and commerce-"it is
IItruetion times was sold by the parties as Important as if Raleigh aud Charlotte
in. conlrol of the Stato go,'ernmcnt for were depots on natural waterl/,ays"
less than forty cents on tho dollar and leading to the markets of the nation.
invested in worthless special I:Ix bonds. Lel"t~ tature Cstla For Stslemf'nt.
'l'OdDY it is wOfth at least thirty doliars The Legislature cHIIs for a Bt:tt'ment
to one at that time. .ot eonidtion of the two eompanics in