The Railroad Comes to Davidson County
In the
1850's the expanding Railroad was a technological miracle that evoked emotions
that can hardly be understood today. The
people of the time did not take these hulking, steam venting, whistle
screaming, and smoke spewing giants of transportation for granted. At first few had even seen one, and those
that saw their first Railroad engine never forgot that moment for the rest of
their life.
In
the last 1840's fear gripped the wealthy merchants in the eastern North Carolina counties, because a
railroad line had been built from South Carolina to Charlotte, NC and had plans to expend
northward to Danville, Virginia. If left unchallenged, that would mean the
produce from western North Carolina would be shipped north
through Virginia, or south through South Carolina. In 1849 the citizens of Lexington rejoiced to hear that the
North Carolina Legislature had passed the Railroad Act. The Act specified that a railroad line from
the east would pass through Lexington. In the 1850's the decision to run the rails through
one town versus another, was the difference between success and failure of that
town. Soon after 1849, railroad gangs
started building the rails westward from Goldsboro and eastward from Charlotte. The line would run from Goldsboro to Charlotte via Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Thomasville, Lexington and Linwood.
The
first locomotive steamed into Lexington on Wednesday July 4th 1855, and it is a pretty safe
bet that Alex Siceloff and his
family were there to see this marvel of commerce and technology. The July 13,
1855
issue of the Salisbury paper carried the following
glowing article:
"LEXINGTON CELEBRATION. On Wednesday July 4th the citizens
of Davidson County had a celebration in honor
of the completion of the North Carolina Railroad to that place. During the fore part of the day rain fell in
torrents and by 11:00 o'clock and the small streams were
full. The first train from this point [Salisbury] left at 9:00
o'clock and when it arrived within about four miles of Lexington at Hargrave's
mill, the culvert there was found to be very much damaged by the swollen stream
[Swearing Creek]. At the time it was
thought that the train would have to return, but by the energies of the
engineer and the indefatigable superintendent on this end of the road, a number
of hands were called together and the structure was so much repaired as to
permit the trains to pass over I safety.
Happily, the rain ceased falling and the Heavens gave promise of a
pleasant time in the evening and about 1:00 o'clock, we think, the several
trains arrived in Lexington. It was estimated that not less than…2,000
persons arrived by railroad. After all
had landed safely on terra firma amidst the shouts of the people and the
booming of cannon the crowd of visitors were welcomed to the hospitality of the
good citizens of Davidson County by James A. Long, Esq., in
a short speech replete with true eloquence and beauty. After which, the crowd was formed in line led
by a fine band of music and marched to the grove where the sumptuous barbecue
had been prepared. Here, as at the depot, the best of order was kept and
everything passed off quietly. We do not
know that we ever saw a better table set or the provisions better
prepared. It was first rate. The
citizens of the county served great credit and if it had only been a dry day we
are decidedly of the opinion that it would have been a grand affair; as it was
there most have been some five thousand persons present. The citizens of Lexington seemed to have vied with
each other in making all agreeable and happy."
Cannons
booming…bands playing…locomotives chugging…a community barbecue…5,000 people
all in one place -- it was the greatest spectacle that Alex Siceloff and his family had, or ever would see. On that day in July 1855, Lexingtonians
were thinking of the pomp and circumstance of the occasion. But the real importance of the railroad was
that now Davidson County residents could import
goods, and export both agricultural products and manufactured goods without
reliance on the horrendous dirt roads.
Back
in 1844 Samuel F.B. Morse
demonstrated his telegraph by sending a message to Baltimore from the chambers of the
Supreme Court in Washington, DC. The message, "What
hath God wrought?" marks the beginning of a new era in communication. With the railroad, the telegraph came to Lexington.
While
the railroad was being built the town experienced a building boom. Families
moved from the county and from other villages not reached by the railroad, new
homes were built and businessmen took steps to provide for expansion by
building new stores and places of industry.
In a mere two years the change was obvious. In a September 12, 1852 letter written by George Kinney to his father, he
penned:
"I can tell you Lexington is improving. There is a large new store put up on the
vacant lot northeast of the courthouse owned by Earnhardt,
James Adderton and Bennett Noe. Jerry Adderton has
gone into business with Mr. A. Hunt and they have built a store house. Jerry
has bought the Rounsaville house for a dwelling
house. James P. Stimpson,
Shff., and James Dusenberry
have put a new drug store at Henley's old stand.
Several new dwelling houses are now building and Mr. Crowson
has gone into a splendid ready-made clothing store is doing a fine
business…"
Backwater
Lexington, and Davidson County as a whole, now had the
opportunity to finally grow and prosper.
In
1857 the Greensborough Partout and Flag
ran advertisements for the following Lexington stores: Eli Perry; King,
Hege & Co.; Adams, Dobson and Grimes; Lexington Jewelry Store; J. P. Stimson. A
fascinating advertisement in the same paper placed by Earnhardt
and Adderston reads as follows:
"Lexington Ahead! Earnhardt
and Adderton now receiving at Andrew Hunt's old stand
new and elegant stock of spring and summer goods, embracing a general
assortment of dry goods, groceries, hardware, Queensware,
boots, shoes, hats caps, bonnets, gentlemen's clothing as well as a select
stock of Ladies Dress Goods, cloaks,
collars, skirts, skirting, linen handkerchiefs and almost any article in the
mercantile line. All of which will be
sold at the lowest possible prices. Our
goods have been bought in the Northern cities very low for cash and will be
sold to cash buyers at less profits than has usually been done in this section
of the country we go for short profits and quick sales as we believe 20% cash
is better than 33% on long time. 'All kinds of county produce taken in
exchange for Goods.'"
By November 1858, Alexander Siceloff was able to conduct his legal business in the
beautiful new Davidson County Courthouse in Lexington. Back in the February 1856 Court session, it
had ordered, "building of [a] new courthouse in the town of Lexington is necessary for
safekeeping of records of several courts of this county." By March 1857
the public square was covered with large blocks of marble and the sound of the
hammer was heard from sunset to sundown.
The building was "to be 80 feet long and 60 feet wide, two stories
high, when completed no doubt will be the finest in the State." Its total
cost was $20,000, with the granite front and columns costing $4,000. On October 15th
1858
the "Greensborough Patriot and Flag" said, "…The new building is
indeed magnificent, by far the best we ever saw and we presume the finest in
the state. Beautiful and magnificent
Temple of Justice, it will stand for ages as a monument both of their taste and
liberality, while the stranger in passing will involuntarily stop to gaze on
its beautiful proportions, its majestic columns and admire the artistic skill
of the master workmen which is so admirably and tastefully displayed in every
part of the building." In 1865 after the War Between the States, Federal
troops stationed in the courthouse caused the building to partially burn. Luckily, the building was restored to
original beauty and the ancestors of Alex Siceloff can walk across the same
steps that he did.
In
1858 Union Academy was built.
Members of the church of the Reformed and Lutheran faiths built the
school near their long church a few miles northwest of Thomasville. It was called Union Academy until the new Bethany
Church was built three years later, and then was called Bethany Academy. The community put up the
structure. Alexander Siceloff, already a successful farmer and entrepreneur,
was one of the principal leaders in this endeavor along with John D. Bodenhamer, Joe Guyer, Israel
Long, Charles Hoover, Andrew Lindsay, and John Elliot, Philip Sink and his
brother Philip Siceloff. The building was a one story wood building,
painted white with green desks. The structure had three rooms, one large room
and two small ones with a fireplace at each end. Back on August 1,
1789
Frederick Miller had deeded land for a place of worship six miles north of Thomasville to those of the Reformed
and Lutheran belief. They had built a
thirty by forty foot log building in size with log benches for seating,
galleries on three sides and a goblet pulpit.
They called this church Frederickstown to
honor the land's donor. Services were
routinely held there until 1812. From then until 1851 it was a mission area.
In 1861 the log church was replaced, and the Church renamed Bethany, as noted above. (Note: It
became Bethany Reformed Church in 1902, when the Lutheran portion of the
congregation relinquished its portion of control over it.)
ForcumJR@aol.com
Jim Forcum
is writing a book on the Siceloff (his cousins)
family of Davidson Co.