Greenville and Columbia Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Greenville and Columbia Railroad was a railroad that served South Carolina
in the 19th century.
-area leaders Benjamin Perry, Waddy Thompson Jr., John T. Coleman and Joel Poinsett called a public meeting, this one presided over by Vardry McBee. The goal was to create enthusiasm and collect subscriptions for a rail line to the northern and southern parts of the state. With a committee of 30 potential subscribers, they agreed to seek a preliminary charter for a Greenville and Columbia Railroad, with the understanding that they raise at least $300,000 in subscriptions within a year.
Unsuccessful, the group renewed their charter the following year. The plan was to build a 109-mile line up the east side of the Saluda River through Newberry, South Carolina
, and Laurens, South Carolina
, to Greenville. The 30 commissioners sought subscribers from Columbia, South Carolina
, and all the surrounding counties. They were successful but when stockholders met in May 1847 in Columbia, those from the capital city and from the Abbeville and Anderson districts, urged by local property owner and famed politician John C. Calhoun
, who wanted a different route, voted to build a 147-mile line on the west side of the river with its terminus in Anderson.
Greenville stockholders, and especially McBee, the largest single subscriber, cried foul. They wanted their money back, but the majority stockholders refused. So the Greenville contingent chartered the Greenville Railroad Co. and threatened to build a railroad from "Dr. Brown's place," near modern-day Belton, South Carolina
, directly to Greenville, to shift freight and passengers away from Anderson.
McBee also put up $50,000 of his own money to make the subscription possible. The other stockholders reluctantly agreed. McBee's hand-picked candidate, John Belton O'Neall, was elected president of the line.
By August 1852, the line had been completed to Greenwood. Despite a flash flood that washed out bridges, embankments and tracks along the Broad River, the line went forward. By late November 1853 the tracks were laid to within three miles of Greenville.
The coming of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad meant that a traveler could go from Greenville to Columbia in less than 11 hours and on to Charleston by the following day. It was a remarkable improvement considering the journey had previously taken two weeks.
, but when Sherman's troops invaded Columbia, federal troops burned the carrier's offices and depot there. In addition, 12 miles of track ripped up, five bridges vanished and several locomotives were destroyed. After January 1865, it did not operate. A year later, another flood wiped out 40 more miles of track. The Greenville and Columbia Railroad did not restart operations until September 1866.
At one point in the 1870s, a quarter of the state's revenues were lost in a single fiscal year after a failed investment in the troubled railroad. As a result of the failed investment, the state adopted a constitutional ban on investing public money in stocks, a ban that stood for more than 120 years.
name in 1880.
Beginning in 1886, it was leased to the Richmond and Danville Railroad
and in 1894 it was incorporated into the Southern Railway
.
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
in the 19th century.
Beginnings
The line traces its history back to 1845, when Greenville, South CarolinaGreenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...
-area leaders Benjamin Perry, Waddy Thompson Jr., John T. Coleman and Joel Poinsett called a public meeting, this one presided over by Vardry McBee. The goal was to create enthusiasm and collect subscriptions for a rail line to the northern and southern parts of the state. With a committee of 30 potential subscribers, they agreed to seek a preliminary charter for a Greenville and Columbia Railroad, with the understanding that they raise at least $300,000 in subscriptions within a year.
Unsuccessful, the group renewed their charter the following year. The plan was to build a 109-mile line up the east side of the Saluda River through Newberry, South Carolina
Newberry, South Carolina
Newberry is a city in Newberry County, South Carolina, 43 miles west -northwest of Columbia. The charter was adopted in 1894. In 1890, 3,020 people lived in Newberry, South Carolina; in 1900, 4,607; in 1910, 5,028; and in 1940, 7,510. The population was 10,580 at the 2000 census. It is the county...
, and Laurens, South Carolina
Laurens, South Carolina
Laurens is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,916 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Laurens County.-History:...
, to Greenville. The 30 commissioners sought subscribers from Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
, and all the surrounding counties. They were successful but when stockholders met in May 1847 in Columbia, those from the capital city and from the Abbeville and Anderson districts, urged by local property owner and famed politician John C. Calhoun
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was a leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent...
, who wanted a different route, voted to build a 147-mile line on the west side of the river with its terminus in Anderson.
Greenville stockholders, and especially McBee, the largest single subscriber, cried foul. They wanted their money back, but the majority stockholders refused. So the Greenville contingent chartered the Greenville Railroad Co. and threatened to build a railroad from "Dr. Brown's place," near modern-day Belton, South Carolina
Belton, South Carolina
Belton is a city in eastern Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,461 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Belton is located at ....
, directly to Greenville, to shift freight and passengers away from Anderson.
McBee also put up $50,000 of his own money to make the subscription possible. The other stockholders reluctantly agreed. McBee's hand-picked candidate, John Belton O'Neall, was elected president of the line.
Construction
McBee played an instrumental role in the development of the line. His son, Pinkney, a civil engineer, surveyed the line. His sawmill provided the timbers and he coaxed iron from distributors. He even quarried stone from his quarry for the foundation of the Greenville freight terminal.By August 1852, the line had been completed to Greenwood. Despite a flash flood that washed out bridges, embankments and tracks along the Broad River, the line went forward. By late November 1853 the tracks were laid to within three miles of Greenville.
The coming of the Greenville and Columbia Railroad meant that a traveler could go from Greenville to Columbia in less than 11 hours and on to Charleston by the following day. It was a remarkable improvement considering the journey had previously taken two weeks.
Civil War
The railroad was Greenville's lifeline to the rest of the state during the Civil WarCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, but when Sherman's troops invaded Columbia, federal troops burned the carrier's offices and depot there. In addition, 12 miles of track ripped up, five bridges vanished and several locomotives were destroyed. After January 1865, it did not operate. A year later, another flood wiped out 40 more miles of track. The Greenville and Columbia Railroad did not restart operations until September 1866.
Reconstruction
Almost immediately after the line began operations again, the federal government seized it without reimbursing stockholders. Henry Hammett, one of the few solvent Greenvillians after the war, became president in 1868, but then the Greenville and Columbia fell into the hands of the Railroad Ring, politically-connected embezzlers who bilked the state out of its lien and mortgage on the rail line. While the carrier did manage to acquire the Union & Spartanburg Railroad around 1870, extending this line from Alston to Spartanburg, in 1872, the railroad declared bankruptcy.At one point in the 1870s, a quarter of the state's revenues were lost in a single fiscal year after a failed investment in the troubled railroad. As a result of the failed investment, the state adopted a constitutional ban on investing public money in stocks, a ban that stood for more than 120 years.
Reorganization and sale
The line was sold under foreclosure and reorganized under the Columbia and Greenville RailroadColumbia and Greenville Railroad
The Columbia and Greenville Railroad was a South Carolina railroad that operated in the late 19th century.Originally chartered and begun as the Greenville and Columbia Railroad, the line was sold under foreclosure and reorganized under the Columbia and Greenville name in 1880.Beginning in 1886, it...
name in 1880.
Beginning in 1886, it was leased to the Richmond and Danville Railroad
Richmond and Danville Railroad
The Richmond and Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847. The portion between Richmond and Danville, Virginia was completed in 1856...
and in 1894 it was incorporated into the Southern Railway
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
.