Thursday, November 14, 2019

Robinson Closes Private Road and Bridge into Elizabeth City, Angering Hundreds of Town People, Nov. 14, 1919

From The Independent, Elizabeth City, N.C., Friday, Nov. 14, 1919

Cut Off From the City Without Warning. . . Hundreds of Automobiles Bound for Elizabeth City Held Up When Mr. Robinson Closed His Road

Two hundred or more automobiles bound for the Elizabeth City District Fair from points in Camden, Currituck and Norfolk counties found themselves shut off from Elizabeth City Thursday morning by the closing of the Robinson Ferry Road.

Without any notice to the public, C.H. Robinson ordered the road closed and the bridge across Pasquotank river raised to prevent the passage of vehicles. Some got as far as the bridge, just across the river from the city, and had to get boats to bring them over to town.

The reason given by Mr. Robinson for closing the road was that the tide was up over the road Wednesday night and heavy traffic cuts the road to pieces after a tide.

And this is the price Elizabeth City and the northeastern counties pay for their shortsightedness in putting up with private ownership of the most important highway entering Elizabeth City.

Mr. Robinson’s action Wednesday aroused the ire of hundreds of out of town people as well as scores of local business men and is not calculated to help him in his desire to dispose of his road to the counties of Pasquotank and Camden.


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