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I: The Running of the Railroads and Their Impact on Society

Page history last edited by Lee Adcock 12 years, 10 months ago

The Running of the Railroads and Their Impact on Society

 

Economic and Social Impacts

 

     Throughout the years of the Antebellum Period, railroads were continuously built in North Carolina and brought prosperity, economic advancement, and enhanced communication along with them. North Carolina was interacting with other areas on a statewide, national, and global level. The “Rip Van Winkle” state from the early 1800s was finally beginning to awaken.

 

 

     The two maps below show the different railroads in North Carolina in two different years, 1860 and 1896. What can you tell about the growth of railroads over that almost 40 year time span? How do you think railroads helped to shape the industry and economy of the 19th century after the Antebellum Period?

 

 

Courtesy of Learn NC

 

 

 

Now, take a look at a later map of North Carolina and the eastern United States from the early 20th century...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtesy of Wilmington Railroad

Museum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     These photos show a map of railroads along the eastern coast of the United States, and particularly in North Carolina, toward the beginning of the 20th century. The routes highlighted in red represent the Atlantic Coastline Railroad (ACL), which was formed at the turn of the 20th century. This railroad was formed as the combination of multiple different railways, one of which was the Wilmington Weldon Railroad.

 

 

Discussion questions about early 20th century railroad map:

  1. From the map photos above, what can you tell about the growth of railroads from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s?
  2. Why do you think there was such rapid growth in railroads during this time period?
  3.  In the picture on the left, you can see that numerous railroads had also formed outside of North Carolina at this time. How do you think the growth of railroads across the United States affected life in North Carolina?

     

 

     The railroads of North Carolina during the Antebellum Period were initially intended to provide a reliable and durable path for the transportation of goods. Agricultural goods went to market where they would be sold for manufactured goods which would go back the other way to support local landowners and farmers. More simply, this provided a way in which to get goods that were grown in North Carolina to places where they could be sold, and in return, get products that were made and manufactured in other areas back into North Carolina. Railroads increased the transportation time of goods across the state and the country and also lowered the cost of those transported goods. Before the Civil War, railroads originally kept trade within state lines because the North Carolina railroads were funded and supported by the state. However, railroads increasingly sprang up across the eastern coast and eventually across the country, with the world’s first transcontinental railroads appearing between 1863 and 1869.1

 

 

     During this time, the economy of North Carolina also shifted from an agricultural-based to a more industrial economy. This was because the railroads provided a way to transport goods across large distances and new technology, such as steam power, helped increase the production capacity of manufactured goods.1 North Carolina emerged into the Industrial Revolution taking place throughout other parts of the country and in Europe, and more and more of the population began to move to more urbanized areas and work industrial jobs in manufacturing factories.

 

 

     The picture below shows a timetable for the Wilmington Weldon Railroad. A timetable was a schedule of arrivals and departures of the railroad from different cities and towns, and also listed the time expected for each transport between cities. By looking at this timetable from 1859, you can see the numerous railroad stations where the Wilmington Weldon Railroad stopped, and also learn about the length of time it took to travel from one city to another. Nineteenth century timetables were the equivalent to bus, plane, and railroad schedules we see today posted on computer screens and on-line.

 

 

Courtesy of DocSouth and LearnNC

 

 

     Along with the transportation of goods, North Carolina railroads added passenger coaches for the fast and reliable transportation of people. People could now travel to previously unreachable and long distance areas faster and more efficiently. Travelling time was cut in half, along with the transportation of goods across the state.2 With the construction of railroads in North Carolina, people were amazed at the new speed of travel and boost in the economy.

 

 

“Whose heart would not beat with quickened vibration,’ declared a resident of Asheville,

‘at the idea of meeting his brethren from all parts of the State at Raleigh in 12, in 14 hours!

What poor man could not then visit his friends and relatives, and make life more social and endurable?”

– Asheville resident

Courtesy of the Hillsborough Recorder, 9 June 1855

 

 

     At the time that railroads were being invented, about 90% of the population in the United States lived within 100 miles of the coast! In North Carolina in particular, there was a ton of wilderness and no way to get to or through it. Railroads provided a way to reach distant areas and capitalize on the resources available to people.

 

     Also, railroad locomotives had to be refreshed with water and fuel frequently, and so every 15-20 miles a small area had to be built with a building and employees to run it which would provide the locomotive with water and cut wood.3 The need for such places along railroad lines caused towns and villages to develop there, which had not existed before the construction of railroads in North Carolina. The railroads brought businesses to these small towns, which in turn attracted people to the area to fill the new job positions. Therefore, the railroads were responsible for developing the small towns and villages along railroad routes, moving the population of North Carolina into more rural and underdeveloped areas, which were previously unsettled and uninhabited.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Wilmington Railroad Museum

 

 

     The above maps illustrate the growth of towns along the railroad routes. In this particular map, you can see the towns that emerged along the Wilmington Weldon Railroad (line which starts at Wilmington and moves left across the map). As discussed earlier, you can see the consistent distance, about 15-20 miles, at which each town is placed from the others. Do you recognize any of the towns along this particular railroad route?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Western North Carolina Railroad (W.N.C.R.R.), completed in 1880, went through the town of Asheville, NC, and connected western North Carolina to the rest of the state. It provided a way to move people and goods across the state and also helped to boost the state’s local economy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                             Courtesy of Carolina Railroad History

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               The Transcontinental Railroad was constructed in response to all of the “internal improvement” projects brought about during the Antebellum Period. The next big step after state and east coast railroads was to create a railroad that would cross the entire country. The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 authorized two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct a transcontinental railroad. Construction began in 1863, and using the labor of more than 8,000 Irish, German, and Italian immigrants and 10,000 Chinese laborers, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed on May 10, 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad linked the eastern and western parts of the United States and expanded trade, commerce, and social mobility of people across the country.4

 

 

 

 

 

             Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

 

 

All of these impacts of the railroads in North Carolina together helped to “awaken” the state and turn North Carolina into a more urbanized and industrial region.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

G: The Emergence of Railroads in North Carolina

H: Formation of North Carolina's Railroads

I: The Running of the Railroads and Their Impact on Society

J: Railroads and the Arts

K: North Carolina Railroads Lesson Plan

L: Railroads and Technology

M: Bibliography

 

 

1Wikipedia.com

2Link, W. (2009). North Carolina: Change and Tradition in a Southern State. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, Inc.

3Wilmington Railroad Museum

4National Archives and Records Administration

 

       
     
 
   
 

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