1860s North Carolina railroad chicanery
Jan. 4th, 2026 02:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brooksmosesAs a result of a very random bit of internet research rabbit-hole exploration today, I came across a tale of politics-and-railroad chicanery in 1860s North Carolina that is far too good not to share. I present: "The Chatham Railroad", by Robert Wiesner, from the Chatham County Historical Society.
It is hilarious. Darkly hilarious, at times, but hilarious. It's well worth the read.
The short version of the tale is that the Chatham Railroad was chartered several times in the 1850s and early 1860s with the intention of carrying coal from "inexhaustible" coalfields that were much smaller than expected to markets that mostly didn't exist, finally got properly started just in time to be interrupted by the war, changed its plans in violation of the North Carolina state constitution basically as soon as the constitution was written, and was dissolved in 1871, in that decade-plus of time having built 30 miles of track and successfully purchased one locomotive, 27 freight cars, two passenger cars, and two state legislatures.
It is hilarious. Darkly hilarious, at times, but hilarious. It's well worth the read.
The short version of the tale is that the Chatham Railroad was chartered several times in the 1850s and early 1860s with the intention of carrying coal from "inexhaustible" coalfields that were much smaller than expected to markets that mostly didn't exist, finally got properly started just in time to be interrupted by the war, changed its plans in violation of the North Carolina state constitution basically as soon as the constitution was written, and was dissolved in 1871, in that decade-plus of time having built 30 miles of track and successfully purchased one locomotive, 27 freight cars, two passenger cars, and two state legislatures.
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Date: 2026-01-04 10:04 pm (UTC)