Experimental Railroad - Raleigh, North Carolina [Warning: Shortest post thus far! Hah!]

West side of North Wilmington between East Edenton and New Bern Place in Downtown Raleigh

Ok, so this may be my shortest post ever. My bad guys.

The Experimental Railroad! It was a horse-drawn railroad created in 1833 mainly to move stone from a quarry to where the Capitol building now stands. The quarry was located 1.25 miles southeast of the sign, and according to a quick view of Google Maps, was located next to what is now the state's Correctional Institute for Women (makes sense, I think). It's considered one of the first railroads in operation in the state. it was not the first experimental one created; that honor goes to an experimental railroad that the NCGA chartered in 1830 across many railroads including the Fayetteville Rail Road Company. That railroad went from Fayetteville to Campbellton further up the Cape Fear River, and was also horse-drawn. Campbellton had joined with Crossed Creek to create Fayetteville in 1783, so I don't know what Campbellton this is, unless the railroad went to where Campbellton used to be (Campbellton has its own marker, so more on that later!). Regardless, while this Fayetteville Experimental Railroad was chartered first, it didn't open until 1834 for use, after the Raleigh Experimental Railroad started operating. While these two were the first in the state, they were only experimental railroads, and many official, longer railroads were built across the state chartered under various companies until the industry consolidated due to market forces (i.e., the rise of the car as main form of transport).

And that's all I know! If you or others know more, let me know! This is a bit of a stub, but it's related to a couple of other road markers, so I'll be cross-linking this over time.

Comments

Action at Tye River - Arrington, Virginia

Across from Geddes Mountain Road along US-29 (Amherst Highway) northbound (Photo credit: Steven Akiyama) So apparently there was action at the Tye River. First question: where is the Tye River? The Tye River runs through western Virginia, and feeds into the James River around Norwood, Virginia. Officially known as a tributary, it's among the many streams/rivers/tributaries in Virginia. So then what happened at the Tye River? A Civil War skirmish! That's what happened! Throughout this story, I'll be referring to these books, in addition to my web sources: Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006. Bowery, Charles R., Jr. The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, 1864-65 . Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2014. Walker, Gary C. Hunter's Fiery Raid Through Virginia Valleys . Roanoke, VA: A&W Enterprise, 1989 . This sign is near what was a ...

North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association - Raleigh, North Carolina

Just north of the northwest corner at South Wilmington and East Morgan in downtown Raleigh Y'all. Get ready for another really short post! The North Carolina Pharmaceutical Association. It's a professional organization for pharmacists in North Carolina, and now known as the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. But way back when, it was established as the NCPA in 1880, as response to the NC Medical Society. See, what happened was that State Medical Board, as the Legislature was working on pharmaceutical regulation (page 14), decided to be like "Let the State Legislature handle qualifications". Context: the North Carolina Medical Board was established about 20 years ago to regulate and license qualified doctors, but no such body existed for pharmacists at this point. So what the Medical Board (i.e., doctors) was basically doing was like "Eh, it'll be fine, let the Legislature handle it. We don't know much about the pharmacists/pharmacy indust...

Billy Strayhorn - Hillsborough, North Carolina

Near the southeastern corner at the intersection of Churton Street and Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC Billy Strayhorn! The cool this about this blog is that I discover things I never knew, even about the area I grew up in for years. This post is definitely one of those. It was enjoyable to write, because I got to listen to good jazz music while doing it😀 Billy Strayhorn ( Source ) Billy Strayhorn was born in Dayton, Ohio, on November 29, 1915, and he and his family moved to Pittsburgh shortly thereafter. So why did I find a sign on him here in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and not in Dayton, Ohio? Granted, I don't know whether a sign on him exists at all in Dayton, but I believe if I searched for one, I would find one. But we do know that his mother would send him to Hillsborough for extended visits with his grandmother here, as a way to protect him from his abusive father. It was while he would be with his grandmother, who encouraged him to play on the keyboar...

A Road to the Past

Search This Blog