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University Railroad

In Chapel Hill. 41 dated events and 1 storyline, 1861–2024.

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  1. The legislature charters a University Railroad Company from Chapel Hill to the North Carolina Railroad The 1860-61 General Assembly passed an act to incorporate the University Railroad Company, to run a line from Chapel Hill to the North Carolina Railroad. Hillsborough Recorder, March 6, 1861, p. 2
  2. Court strikes down the act for a state-built railroad to Chapel Hill An 1869 plan had the state build a line from the North Carolina Railroad to Chapel Hill through commissioners, paid for with $300,000 in state bonds. When the commissioners chose Henry C. Thompson as president over Governor Holden's choice, Holden refused to sign the bonds, and in the University Railroad Company's suit against him the court held the act unconstitutional over Judge Reade's dissent. People: William W. Holden Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 33
  3. The railroad is rechartered as the State University Railroad The legislature rechartered the stalled iron-mine line as the State University Railroad, shifting its purpose to a rail link for the university, with UNC president Kemp P. Battle working alongside Hoke to raise funds. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Robert F. Hoke OrangePolitics: Road to Iron Mountain: The railroad comes to Chapel Hill
  4. Corporators of the State University Railroad meet at Chapel Hill and open books for stock Corporators of the rechartered State University Railroad met at the Chapel Hill law office of Watson and Alexander, with Paul C. Cameron in the chair after Kemp P. Battle explained the charter. They opened subscription books at twelve places from Hillsborough and Durham to Pittsboro and Raleigh, named three commissioners at each, and refused conditional subscriptions. People: Paul C. Cameron, Kemp Plummer Battle, Julian S. Carr, James B. Mason, John R. Hutchins The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 19, 1879, p. 3
  5. Subscription books for the University Railroad open at Barbee's drug store Books for subscriptions to the capital stock of the University Railroad were opened at Barbee's Drug Store in Chapel Hill, on the condition that subscribers would choose where the road ran. Four hundred dollars was subscribed within days. The Chapel Hill Ledger, September 20, 1879, p. 3
  6. University Railroad corporators open subscription books for a line from Chapel Hill to Durham Meeting at Chapel Hill with Jones Watson in the chair, the corporators of the State University Railroad adopted Kemp P. Battle's plan to seek $10,000 in stock for a line from Chapel Hill to Durham, and named a committee to canvass Durham and other places. Chapel Hill men subscribed $2,800 on the spot, led by Battle, S. M. Barbee and D. McCauley at $500 each. People: Jones Watson, Kemp Plummer Battle, Julian S. Carr The Chapel Hill Ledger, November 15, 1879, p. 2
  7. Battle, Redd and Winston speak for the University Railroad at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill citizens met to hear university president Kemp P. Battle and professors Redd and Winston argue that the railroad to the North Carolina Railroad should be built now, while the state offered convict labor. Further subscriptions were reported in the following weeks. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, George Tayloe Winston The Chapel Hill Ledger, November 22, 1879, p. 2
  8. Robert F. Hoke subscribes $5,000 to the University Railroad for the iron mine company Gen. Robert F. Hoke subscribed $5,000 to the University Railroad on behalf of the Iron Mine Company, which owned the iron ore near Chapel Hill. People: Robert F. Hoke The Chapel Hill Ledger, December 6, 1879, p. 3
  9. Robert F. Hoke serves as unpaid superintendent of the State University Railroad As the branch from University Station toward Chapel Hill got under way, university president Kemp P. Battle became president of the railroad company and General Robert F. Hoke its superintendent, both without salary, by Battle's account. John Holt managed the convict work force and Captain Fry was the civil engineer. The Chapel Hill Ledger reported that on January 8, 1880, the new directors, Hoke among them, elected Battle president and Andrew Mickle paid secretary and treasurer, and named Hoke to the committee to secure the convicts. People: Kemp Plummer Battle Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 246 · Also: The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 10, 1880, p. 2; The Chapel Hill Ledger, March 27, 1880, p. 3
  10. State convicts build the University Railroad Governor Thomas J. Jarvis supplied state convicts at low hire to grade the line from University Station to Chapel Hill, while the Richmond and Danville company laid the rails. A white convict was shot dead while fleeing, and a Black convict named Fries died of gangrene after a whipping by the road's managers, which the solicitor found no ground to prosecute. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Alexander Boyd Andrews, Robert F. Hoke, Thomas Jordan Jarvis, Frederick N. Strudwick Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), p. 246
  11. A Hillsborough meeting subscribes $4,400 to bring the University Railroad to town At a railroad meeting in Hillsborough, leading businessmen spoke and $4,400 was subscribed toward carrying the State University Railroad to Hillsborough; a committee kept soliciting. The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 24, 1880, p. 3
  12. University Railroad directors elect Kemp P. Battle president and Andrew Mickle treasurer Meeting right after the stockholders, the directors elected Kemp P. Battle president and Andrew Mickle secretary and treasurer at $200 a year, put Col. Thomas M. Holt on the board in Battle's place, and named Hoke and A. B. Andrews to arrange for convict labor and a survey. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Andrew Mickle, Robert F. Hoke, Alexander Boyd Andrews The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 10, 1880, p. 2
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  1. University Railroad stockholders organize and run the line to University Station Stockholders of the University Railroad Company met at President Battle's office with $10,160 of stock taken. After Julian S. Carr and Paul C. Cameron argued for Durham, they adopted Battle's resolution to locate the road from Chapel Hill to University Station, elected Cameron, Hoke, McCauley, Carr and Battle directors, and called in a quarter of the stock. People: Paul C. Cameron, Kemp Plummer Battle, Robert F. Hoke, Julian S. Carr, David McCauley The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 10, 1880, p. 2
  2. Julian S. Carr gives up on a Durham route for the University Railroad Writing from Durham, Julian S. Carr told the Ledger that the friends of a Durham connection had abandoned it, because Robert F. Hoke and the iron mine company declined to supply iron for the longer line, and that he had little hope for the road to University Station. People: Julian S. Carr, Robert F. Hoke The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 24, 1880, p. 3
  3. Engineers begin surveying the University Railroad from University Station Engineers spent the last week of January surveying the line from University Station, running a first line a little over four miles from the station, while the penitentiary board arranged to supply convicts, 25 to start. The Chapel Hill Ledger, January 31, 1880, p. 3
  4. Construction of the State University Railroad begins at University Station Work on the State University Railroad began in earnest at University Station under Col. Thomas M. Holt, with tools, barrows and axes delivered and the first stretch staked for clearing; the Ledger hoped to hear the engine whistle by January 1881. The Chapel Hill Ledger, February 14, 1880, p. 3
  5. A guard shoots a convict fleeing the University Railroad works A white convict grading the State University Railroad near University Station ran during a planned break and was shot through the body by a guard; he died despite Dr. Harris's care. Colonel Holt made the six men who had agreed to run with him build his coffin and bury him. The Chapel Hill Ledger, March 27, 1880, p. 3
  6. Joseph Blount Cheshire begins preaching to the University Railroad convicts Joseph Blount Cheshire of the Chapel Hill Episcopal church preached to the convicts grading the State University Railroad, while students of the university's Christian association handed out religious tracts. By late April he was holding a service at the camp every Sunday evening, and Professor A. W. Mangum had also preached there. People: Adolphus Williamson Mangum The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 3, 1880, p. 3
  7. Grading on the University Railroad reaches about two miles About two miles of roadbed had been graded from University Station on the North Carolina Railroad, and the convict force had grown to about eighty men, the assistant engineer, Captain Williamson, reported. He expected the work to go on at about a mile a month in good weather. The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 24, 1880, p. 3
  8. Railroad overseer Charles Motz is bound over in a convict's whipping death Charles Motz, an overseer on the State University Railroad, was arrested on Judge Seymour's warrant and taken to Hillsborough, charged with cruelly whipping a Black convict named Fries, who later died at the penitentiary. A Raleigh coroner's jury found on April 3 that Fries died of other causes, but when this was reported to the Superior Court at Hillsborough the judge refused to free Motz and bound him over to the next term. The Chapel Hill Ledger, April 10, 1880, p. 2
  9. Grading of the University Railroad reaches within a mile of Chapel Hill By late August the grading of the State University Railroad from University Station was done to within a mile of Chapel Hill, and the Ledger expected the rails to go down soon. In mid-June the grade had covered only about half the distance. The Chapel Hill Ledger, August 28, 1880, p. 2
  10. Chapel Hill women serve a dinner to the convicts building the University Railroad Spencer collected food around the village and, with other women, served a dinner at a long plank table to ninety-six convicts grading the railroad to Chapel Hill, with Joseph Blount Cheshire saying grace. Some residents refused to give, and Colonel Thomas M. Holt promised the ladies a ride on the first train. People: Cornelia Phillips Spencer, Joseph Blount Cheshire Jr. Hope Summerell Chamberlain, Old Days in Chapel Hill (1926), scan p. 272
  11. Work on the University Railroad stops for a time Construction work on the State University Railroad near Chapel Hill came to a halt in mid-November 1880, for reasons the townspeople did not know. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 20, 1880, p. 3
  12. Cross ties go down along the University Railroad All but 5,000 of the cross ties for the State University Railroad had been delivered and placed on the track by mid-December 1880. The rest were under contract for January delivery, and the iron was to be laid as soon as they arrived. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), December 18, 1880, p. 2
  13. Track laying on the State University Railroad stalls for want of labor Work laying rails on the State University Railroad was held up by a shortage of hands during the wheat harvest; the paper expected it to be pushed to completion once harvest was over. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 23, 1881, p. 3
  14. The State University Railroad reaches New Hope Creek Track on the State University Railroad was completed to New Hope, with cars due to cross the New Hope bridge that week. The sills, roadbed repairs, culverts, cattle guards and trestles were finished to within two and a half miles of Chapel Hill, and more than fifty hands were at work. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), November 26, 1881, p. 2
  15. Commencement celebrates the railroad's arrival, and Battle calls Hoke its father At the 1882 commencement an hour was set aside in Gerrard Hall to celebrate the railroad's coming to Chapel Hill. Kemp P. Battle told the history of the line and called General Robert F. Hoke the source of the enterprise and the father of the State University Railroad Company. People: Kemp Plummer Battle, Paul C. Cameron, Thomas Jordan Jarvis Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. II (1912), pp. 251-252
  16. Railroad service reaches West End The first passenger train on the University Railroad left Chapel Hill on Monday, February 6, 1882, and ran through University Station to Raleigh. The line ended about a mile west of the village at West End, where a boxcar served as the depot, and the settlement that became Carrboro grew up around it. The News and Observer (Raleigh), February 8, 1882, p. 2: The University Railroad Completed (DigitalNC)
  17. Julia Spencer drives a last spike to celebrate the finished University railroad Chapel Hill celebrated the completed State University Railroad with speeches and the driving of the last spikes, one by Julia J. Spencer, daughter of Cornelia Phillips Spencer, and one by the railroad's agent, J. G. Cooley. Passenger trains had been running to the West End terminus since February. People: Joseph G. Cooley DigitalNC: The News and Observer (Raleigh), May 11, 1882, p. 3 · Also: Battle, History of the University, vol. II, pp. 248-249
  18. Chapel Hill's mail moves to the University Railroad and its telegraph office opens Mail began running regularly to and from Chapel Hill on the State University Railroad, which the item credited to Congressman W. R. Cox, and a telegraph office opened at Chapel Hill on two wires that made the town part of the main line. People: William R. Cox Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), July 29, 1882, p. 2
  19. A post office called Blackwood opens at Robson station on the University Railroad A post office named Blackwood was established at Robson station on the University Railroad, halfway between University Station and Chapel Hill, with Morris King as postmaster. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), April 14, 1883, p. 3
  20. Court-appointed commissioners award damages to landowners along the University Railroad Commissioners named by the Superior Court, C. W. Johnston, Wm. Barton and R. P. Hall, met and assessed what the State University Railroad owed for running through private land, allowing Holloway $100, Robert Strayhorn $75, Richard Fitzgerald $25 and Sarah Fitzgerald $70; the Fitzgeralds were Black landowners. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), June 2, 1883, p. 2
  21. A University Railroad engine jumps the track and carries away a trestle near Chapel Hill On the night of December 14 the engine of a University Railroad train left the track near Chapel Hill and carried away a trestle; the fireman was badly scalded, others were bruised, and a car and the engine were wrecked. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), December 18, 1886, p. 3
  22. Conductor George N. Waitt is moved to the University Railroad George N. Waitt, for many years a conductor between Greensboro and Goldsboro, was transferred to the University Railroad branch to Chapel Hill, with Peyton Brown taking his old run. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), January 11, 1890, p. 3
  23. Heavy rains wash out parts of the University Railroad Heavy September rains did damage around Hillsborough, and washouts badly damaged the University Railroad, the branch line between University Station and Chapel Hill. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), September 16, 1893, p. 3
  24. A legislative committee kills a bill to tear up the University Railroad A committee of the General Assembly killed the measure that would have let the railroad from University Station to Chapel Hill be abandoned once a planned Durham-Chapel Hill trolley line had run ninety days, leaving the trolley project in doubt. People along the line and at Chapel Hill had opposed removing the track. Orange County Observer (Hillsborough), March 9, 1905, p. 2
  25. The University branch railroad passes to the State University Railroad Company Effective January 1, 1924, the Southern Railway Company put its University branch line to Chapel Hill under a separate corporation, the News reported, and the road was thereafter to be operated as the State University Railroad Company. The News (Chapel Hill), January 10, 1924, p. 5
  26. The State University Railroad asks to end passenger service to Carrboro The State University Railroad Company, part of the Southern Railway system, asked the State Utilities Commission for leave to stop passenger service on the ten-mile line between University Station and Carrboro, where two trains a day ran each way, saying automobiles and buses had made it unnecessary. John T. Johnston, a recent candidate for the legislature, said he would protest. The Chapel Hill Weekly, July 10, 1936, p. 1
  27. Passenger trains stop running on the University Railroad Mixed passenger service on the ten-mile line between University Station and Carrboro ended as car ownership spread and roads improved, leaving the line to freight. The State Utilities Commission granted the railroad's request to drop passenger service, and the last passenger train ran on Saturday, October 24, 1936, a trip some Chapel Hill and Carrboro people made into a railway picnic. UNC Press, UNC A to Z: University Railroad · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, October 16, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, October 23, 1936, p. 1; Chapel Hill Weekly, November 6, 1936, p. 1
  28. The freight train is taken off the Chapel Hill branch and conductor Fred C. Smith retires The freight train that had run on the ten-mile branch from University Station since passenger service ended on October 24 was taken off, and Captain Fred C. Smith retired after 47 years as the line's conductor, kept on by the Southern Railway as a freight solicitor. The regular Greensboro-Durham train was to make occasional trips to the branch for Chapel Hill and Carrboro freight. The Chapel Hill Weekly, January 8, 1937, p. 1
  29. Carrboro backs a study of turning the old University Railroad line into a greenway The Town Council unanimously approved an agreement to study converting the 11-mile rail corridor, which still carries coal to UNC's cogeneration plant, into a multi-use trail once the plant stops using coal. Chapelboro: Carrboro Commits to New Co-Gen Rail Line Project

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