Watauga County Citizens Discuss Extension of Railroad, 1900

“Railroad Mass Meeting” by J.C. Horton from the Watauga Democrat, June 7, 1900

Pursuant to notice a good crowd of the best citizens of Watauga county, met in the court house in Boone on the 4^th of June to hear and take into consideration the propositions of the Carolina and Northwestern Railroad Company with reference to the extension of their road through Watauga county, which is now being surveyed.

The meeting was called to order by Capt. Lovill, and on motion of Sheriff W.H. Caloway was made chairman, J.C. Horton and R.C. Rivers secretaries.

Mr. Calaway explained the object of the meeting and expressed himself as favoring any project that would insure the construction of a line of Railroad through the county, that was fair, and safeguarded the interests of the taxpayers.

Mr. W.C. Ervin of Morganton addressed the meeting, explaining the project of the railroad people. He said that a prominent citizen of South Carolina, Mr. Barber, had bought the old narrow gauge road from Chester, S.C., to Lenoir, a distance of 108 miles, and that he had interested and secured the co-operation of men of capital from the North and they were planning to construct a through line from some Atlantic seaport, possibly Charleston, to the coal fields. They have already commenced placing ties and have purchased heavy steel rails to use in converting the C.&L. narrow gauge into a standard gauge road, and this work will be pushed as rapidly as possible.

They propose then to extend the road from Lenoir to cross the Blue Ridge at some practicable point into Watauga county, thence into Tennessee either by way of head of Roan creek and Mountain City, or down Watauga River to Butler, Tenn. They have a corps of engineers now at work on a survey from Cook’s Gap to Lenoir, and they are making very satisfactory progress and are well pleased with the route so far.

He said that they would ask the county to subscribe $60,000 to the capital stock of the company, and that an election be held in the near future authorizing the subscription, and the issue of that amount of county bonds to pay for the stock, said bonds to run for such period as the county authorities desire, bearing interest. He said that any line chosen would put from 30 to 40 miles of roadway within the county and that the company would not ask the subscription paid, until the road was in operation through the county, and desired to deal with us fairly and honestly in this transaction.

Col. W.S. Pearson of Morganton then spoke, giving his recollections of the time when Burke county was endeavoring to get a railway via Morganton and stated that the county voted a subscription of $50,000 to the W.N.C. road, and that they had paid it off long ago and had 28 miles of railroad in the county which was assessed at $125 per mile, and paid a tax of $2,865 into the county treasury. They also had secured other benefits in way of state institutions located there and manufacturing enterprises established which brought many thousands of dollars to his people, all of which would be lost without the railroad. He said that his county had made a mistake in not accepting a proposition recently submitted by another railroad company and thus securing a competing line, but that they hoped to get connection with the Carolina and Northwestern when it is completed.

Mr. Isaac Avery also made a short speech pointing out the great advantages that might be gained by encouraging this project. Many others in the crowd among them Capt. Lovill, E.S. Coffey, J.L. Hayes, L.H. Michael, M.B. Blackburn and A. Roten were called for and every one expressed himself as favoring a strong and decided movement on the part of the people of Watauga county to secure, if possible, the location of the new road directly through the county.

To this end it was unanimously agreed to appoint a committee of five members, whose duty it shall be to circulate petitions to secure the necessary signatures to have an election ordered on the question of subscription, and to confer with representatives of the railroad company and arrange the terms of the proposition to be submitted to the county. The committee named was composed of E.F. Lovill, M.B. Blackburn, J.P. Taylor, N.L. Mast and J.L. Hayes. The committee went to work in the crowd and soon secured about 200 names.

Quite a good crowd was present, representing different sections of the county and an earnest spirit was manifested. Mr. Ervin expressed himself as very much pleased with the intelligent interest taken in the proposed enterprise.