Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad

In the record (8)

1. 1852

   The Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, a 110-mile line on 5-foot gauge track running between Charlotte and Columbia, SC, was the first railroad to serve Mecklenburg County.

   Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

   North Carolina Railroad

   Source · checked 2026-08-14

2. 1852 · 1852-10-21

   Charlotte's first passenger train, on the newly completed Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, arrived from Columbia, SC on October 21, 1852, greeted by a brass band and free barbecue in a celebration newspapers estimated drew around 20,000 people from Columbia, Winnsboro, Chester, and other points.

   Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

   North Carolina Railroad

   Source · checked 2026-08-14

3. 1862

   Charlotte was chosen as the Confederate Navy's new inland ordnance center, on the recommendation of Captains W. H. Murdaugh and William Parker, because it lay roughly 200 miles from the coast (out of reach of the Union Navy) and sat on the junction of the North Carolina Railroad and the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad, giving it rail access to coastal cities.

   Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

   North Carolina RailroadWilliam H. ParkerW. H. MurdaughWilliam Parker

   Source · checked 2026-08-13

4. 1862

   The Charlotte Confederate States Navy Yard occupied a site at the southwest corner of East Trade and College Streets, near the North Carolina Railroad tracks, and operated from 1862 until the Confederate government's final collapse in 1865 — a distinction noted on its historical marker as the only Confederate navy yard ever built more than 100 miles from navigable water.

   Confederate Navy Yard / Mecklenburg Iron Works (site)Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government CenterConfederate Navy YardNorth Carolina RailroadElizabeth College

   Source · checked 2026-08-13

5. 1894

   The Southern Railway was formed in 1894 through the consolidation of the Richmond and Danville system (which included the Charlotte-area 'Air Line' route), the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad, placing Charlotte on the new company's Atlanta-to-Washington mainline, sometimes called the 'main street of the South.'

   Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

   North Carolina Railroad

   Source · checked 2026-08-13

6. 1904

   North Davidson Street served as the route of the streetcar line connecting the North Charlotte mill village to downtown Charlotte, running parallel to the railroad tracks through the neighborhood's commercial district.

   Alpha MillMecklenburg Cotton MillAda MillOrient MillVictor Cotton MillCharlotte Street RailwayCharlotte Electric RailwayNorth Carolina Railroad

   Source · checked 2026-08-13

7. 1904 · 1904-11-01

   Highland Park Manufacturing Company Mill No. 3 opened in November 1904 as the largest and most imposing cotton mill yet erected in Charlotte, located on the Southern Railroad line just north of the city.

   Alpha MillMecklenburg Cotton MillAda MillOrient MillVictor Cotton MillHighland Park Manufacturing CompanyMarshall ParkNorth Carolina Railroad

   Source · checked 2026-08-13

8. 1918

   Roughly 300 to 400 soldiers are believed to have died of influenza at Camp Greene during the fall 1918-winter 1919 outbreak, with coffins reportedly stacked at the camp's railroad station during the worst weeks.

   Unverified — sourced but not confirmed against a primary record.

   Camp GreeneNorth Carolina RailroadStephen B. Weeks

   Source · checked 2026-08-13