LOOKING BACK: Murfreesboro to Franklin Railroad Proposed

In July of 1924, an initial meeting in connection with a proposed standard gauge railroad from Franklin to Murfreesboro, North Carolina – and to some point on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Hertford or Bertie counties in North Carolina – was attended by a large and representative body of Franklin and Murfreesboro citizens.  The meeting was held in the office of Franklin Mayor Joe Bynum Gay. It was attended by a delegation from Murfreesboro – composed of J. A. Campbell, cashier of the First National Bank of Murfreesboro, Honorable Stanley Winborne, Honorable Lloyd J. Lawrence, Postmaster J. D. Babb, and Messrs. Thomas B. Winn and M. E. Worrell.

A most interesting discussion ensued.  Led mostly by General C. C. Vaughan (Jr.) of Franklin, the Murfreesboro delegation and the Franklin contingent participated in serious discussions.  In addition to the idea of a standard railroad, some speakers were concerned about constructing a hydroelectric plant on the Meherrin River above Murfreesboro to produce power for an inter-urban “trolley line” between Murfreesboro and Franklin.  The proposed trolley line would serve the communities within a twenty-five-mile radius of the hydroelectric plant.  Other meeting participants still advocated a steam-powered regular railroad.  The discussions, however, were of a most harmonious nature, and, on motion by General Vaughan, joint committees were appointed to study the propositions.  Special attention was to be applied to the most practical and economical type of roadway to be built – traditional steam-powered railroad or electrically powered trolley line.

Franklin Mayor Joe Bynum Gay appointed General C. C. Vaughan, Robert A. Pretlow, R. C. Campbell, Major R. E. L. Watkins, and Paul Scarborough.

Murfreesboro citizens serving on the committee were J. A. Campbell, chairman, and Stanley Winborne, D. C. Barnes, Thomas B. Wynn, L. J. Lawrence, and M. E. Worrell.

The many economic and social advantages to be gained by all sections affected by a new railroad were strongly stressed at the meeting and were generally agreed upon.  Whether its route would lie by Como or by way of Sunbeam and Statesville, in Virginia, to Murfreesboro was a major decision to be made. The selection of a more southern terminus at Ahoskie or Aulander were matters to be decided upon as the plans materialized to take a more definite shape.  The backers of the enterprise were fully determined to build the railroad, or the trolley line, and to begin actual construction as early as possible.

Following the initial meeting, various committees gathered a great deal of useful information.   According to available information, enthusiasm for a railroad or trolley line from Murfreesboro to Franklin did not materialize as expected.  Instead, interest seemed to be developing toward a better HIGHWAY connection between the two communities.  In that time period, motorized vehicle transportation was rapidly developing.   Over-the-highway type conveyances might make more sense.

(So, the only rail system at Murfreesboro was the Murfreesboro Railroad Co., which was a short line railroad from there to Pendleton, North Carolina – a distance of about six miles – to connect to the Seaboard Railroad.  But it was short-lived; it existed from 1891 to 1896.   At the same time, the Albemarle Steam Navigation Co., based in Franklin, Va., was operating steamships from Murfreesboro down the Meherrin and Chowan rivers to Edenton, N. C.  Competition for freight and passengers between the steamship company and the railroad company became extremely intense.  Finally, the Murfreesboro Railroad Co. went out of business.)

1926 a new “interstate” concrete highway connecting Murfreesboro and Franklin was completed.  North Carolina, earlier, had just completed a new highway from Murfreesboro to the Virginia state line.  Virginia had just completed a new concrete highway that extended from Franklin to the state line.  The Virginia side of the new highway spanned the Nottoway River a short distance north of the former Smith’s Ferry river crossing.  The new “General Vaughan Bridge,” which had been completed a few weeks earlier, was an important connector for the two sections of the new highway – an extremely important connection between Murfreesboro and Como, in North Carolina, and Franklin, in Virginia.

General C. C. Vaughn, Jr., of Franklin, who had retired as a Major General following World War I and who, earlier, was Commandant of the Virginia National Guard and a Spanish-American War captain, was a strong advocate for better roads in Virginia.  At the time of the new highway construction and the new bridge dedication, he was president of the Virginia Better Roads Association.

CLYDE PARKER is a retired human resources manager for the former Franklin Equipment Co. and a member of the Southampton County Historical Society. His email address is magnolia101@charter.net.

The post LOOKING BACK: Murfreesboro to Franklin Railroad Proposed appeared first on The Tidewater News .