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Mark Pace, local historian and director of the NC Room at the Richard H. Thornton Library in Oxford, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Thursday at 11 a.m.
In an ongoing Town Talk series focusing on the history of Henderson, Vance County and the immediate four-county vicinity, Pace and WIZS’ own Bill Harris discussed the importance of railroads on the emergence of local communities and towns.
The first railroad in the area was the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad that opened in 1840 between Raleigh and Gaston, NC.
“After 1840, some of the local communities that came into existence as a direct result of the railroad include Littleton, Vaughan, Macon, Norlina, Ridgeway, Manson, Middleburg, Henderson, Franklinton, Kittrell, Youngsville, Bullock, Stem, Creedmoor, Virgilina, Bunn, Hollister, Wise, the Watkins Community, Dabney and Stovall,” said Pace.
“The coming of the railroad to our area was one of the most significant events since the settlement of this area by Europeans and their descendants,” Pace stated. “It profoundly changed things on so many levels.”
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.
The Warren Plains Depot, originally part of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, remains in use for the sale of antiques today. Its appearance has remained relatively unchanged for over 150 years. (Photo courtesy Betsy and Billy Frazier)
Locomotive in front of J.J. White’s store in Townsville, NC circa 1908-1918. (Photo courtesy the North Carolina Room – Thornton Library)
Wood-fired engine of the Roanoke Valley Railroad at Townsville, NC circa 1918. (Photo courtesy the North Carolina Room – Thornton Library)
The Roanoke River Railway near Townsville, NC – March 1918. (Photo courtesy the North Carolina Room – Thornton Library)