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 *1869 merger of this railroad and the Columbia & Augusta Railroad to form the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad. Was the Charlotte & Columbia Railroad. The road was chartered in 1846 and completed in 1852. It linked Charlotte, and its growing web of railroads, with Columbia, SC and the South Carolina Railroad. It was a vital link in supplying Lee at Richmond when the Piedmont Railroad was completed. The gauge change between this road and the North Carolina Railroad caused a major bottleneck throughout the war. By October 1852, the Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad was carrying freight, although the road was not quite complete into town. The first passenger train arrived at Charlotte on October 21, 1852 and was greeted by a tremendous celebration. Crowds came from Columbia, Winnsboro, Chester, and other points, and newspapers estimated there were 20,000 people present. The Columbia band furnished music and there were a number of speeches followed by a barbecue on the lawn of the Female Academy, and at night a dance and fireworks display. Henceforth there was daily passenger service between Charlotte and Columbia. The town of Ridgeway, SC takes its name from the ridge which bisects this lower area of Fairfield County between the Broad and Wateree Rivers. When the Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad, of which Mr. Edward G. Palmer of Ridgeway was the first president, was completed in 1852, the new railroad followed the ridge north of Columbia toward Winnsboro. Ridgeway drains east of the railroad into the Wateree River, and west of the railroad into the waters of the Broad River. Ridgeway, at an elevation of six hundred and twenty-five (625) feet above sea level, is the highest point on the Southern Railway between Augusta, GA, and Charlotte, NC. In 1852, the Charlotte & South Carolina Railroad first traveled through York County, SC, with a station at Fort Mill. The trestle over the Catawba River, built in 1851, burned down during an 1865 Civil War skirmish and was rebuilt a year later. |
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Towns on Route (in SC): Fort Mill Catawba River Ebenezerville Rock Hill Smiths Turnout > Smiths (1951) Chestnut Grove (aka Lewis Station) > Lewis Turnout (1887) Chester C.H. > Chester (1886) Springwell > Cornwell Turnout (1853) > Cornwell (1881) Black Stocks > Blackstock (1892) Younguesville > Woodward (1879) White Oak Adgers Station (1850s) Albion Winnsboro Simpsons (1850s) Ridgeway Campbells (1850s) Level > Doko (1856) > Blythewood (1877) Elkins (1850s) Columbia |
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© 2007 - J.D. Lewis - PO Box 1188 - Little River, SC 29566 - All Rights Reserved