Awesome. I’ve never read any railroad history so only ‘know’ what I’ve gleaned from an article or two here and there. I appreciate the detailed reply. It filled in a big knowledge gap for me (I actually have a spreadsheet going to trying to follow the station history for Raleigh).
As an aside, is it known, or safe to say Ulysses Grant came to Raleigh through the Seaboard terminal that was on Halifax St (now on Salisbury?) He was coming from Petersburg or Richmond I imagine. Anyway, I think historic markers for things that big should be placed around town.
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True, though the 120 foot tall smoke stacks were meant to head that off to a degree. 4 total mills were around this area, three still standing. Pilot, Raleigh, Melrose still here and Morris (Morris was at Johnson and Salisbury where the super ugly State Parking deck 64 now is). I think Melrose and Morris operated off the electric grid but the other two had stacks and presumably had to generate their own massive electric needs. Obviously @dbearhugnc knows way more than I do so should weigh in with any corrections.
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Yup. Railroad infrastructure as part of municipal history and development has been one of my geek things for awhile.
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General Ulysses S. Grant came to Raleigh on April 23, 1865 after President Lincoln’s funeral to inform General William T. Sherman that the original terms of surrender initially hammered out at Bennett’s Place farm in Durham had to be revised.
As General Joseph E. Johnston had earlier lead the retreat of the 21,000 member Army of the South to Greensboro, he ordered the burning of Raleigh’s original Union Depot and surrounding storehouses containing large supplies of shoes and blankets at Cabarrus Street. This occurred prior to Sherman’s arrival coming up the road from Clayton on April 13th.
So, General Grant could have arrived on the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad from Petersburg by way of Weldon. (Using the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad to Goldsboro, and coming to Raleigh by way of the North Carolina Rail Road would likely have been difficult as Sherman had already directed the Goldsboro station to be burned after the Battle of Bentonville as part of the larger Campaign of the Carolinas.)
With the Union Depot in ruins, it’s difficult to say which of the Raleigh & Gaston structures (situated up the hill and across the tracks from Zimmer’s proposed tower) would have received his detail.
But, the freight operations at the corner of Jones and Salisbury Streets, where the present General Assembly Building stands, would have been the most likely arrival point.
That being said, General Sherman had established his headquarters in the Governor’s Palace after receiving the surrender of Raleigh from then-mayor William H Harrison. (Governor Zebulon Baird Vance had already left Raleigh after securing what state records he could. He was in Hillsborough and later Charlotte to meet with Jefferson Davis, but declined to join him on his escape from Richmond; thus returning on his own back to Greensboro.) It was there that Grant and Sherman conducted their meetings without Johnston’s knowledge of Grant’s arrival.
After securing the city and confiscating all available weapons (sparing it the fate which befell Columbia SC), the bulk of the almost 60,000 Union troops set up garrison on Dix Hill. There was the foraging for supplies around the city with some damage incurred (including the theft of North Carolina’s copy of The Bill of Rights which was eventually returned in 2005.) One member of General Joseph Wheeler’s 11th Texas Cavalry by the name of Lieutenant Robert Walsh, staying behind from Johnston’s retreat, fired on members of Sherman’s troops near the Market House on Fayetteville Street. He was eventually captured and hanged on April 13th, and he is now buried at Oakwood Cemetery.
Meanwhile, General Sherman was taking the train back and forth to Durham’s Station and going on to Bennett’s Place by horseback. Once Grant was satisfied that the proper terms of surrender were in place, he left Raleigh for Washington (by way of Goldsboro) on April 27th letting Sherman finish the negotiations with Johnston. Sherman and his army departed Raleigh on April 29th for Richmond, and then on to Washington for their Grand Review on May 24th.
Thereafter, the state declared the mansion “unfit” to serve North Carolina’s governors. From 1865 until 1891, the state’s chief executive was responsible for securing his own accommodations while in Raleigh. Most governors rented private homes or stayed at the Yarborough House hotel on Fayetteville Street. Construction of the present Governor’s Mansion occurred from 1883 to 1891.
The city acquired the abandoned property in 1876 and re-purposed it as the Centennial School. The aging structure was demolished in 1883 and replaced by a building more suitable for use as a public school. That building itself was demolished and replaced by the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium in 1930, now home to the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts.
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I appreciate the interesting historical tidbits you share from time to time. Thanks.
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The Cotton Mill, you know the thing that created all that smoke, is alive and well.
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Thanks. There’s a concurrence of historical happenings that have piqued my interest, and I’ll dive in to do some research from time to time.
These photos were posted in the Albert Barden Collection on the State Archives Flickr page without any attached info. Does anyone know if this was somewhere in Raleigh?
Charlotte had a lot less history to work with to start, so its no surprise its almost all gone.
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This area looks to be in the Wakefield Plantation district.
Moredecai, Glenwood, or Ingleside plantations. Need to do a little more research, though.
‘General’ Julian Shakespeare Carr’s Occoneechee plantation (east of Hillsborough), 04/17/1903. There was a horse racing track on the back portion of the property which later became the Occoneechee Speedway.
https://openorangenc.org/buildings/occoneechee-farm-poplar-hill
https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/carr-julian-shakespeare
[Also, the same Julian Carr of the infamous ‘Silent Sam’ dedicatory speech]
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FYI: The remnants of the Occoneechee Speedway are part of Segment 10 of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. The total trail length is 1200 miles starting at Clingman’s Dome and terminating at Jockey’s Ridge.
I’ve done just a little smidge of it through Falls Lake State Park as I had been challenged to get off my butt and start hiking again after a lengthy absence from the activity.
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The original NS did provide passenger service between Raleigh and Charlotte for a time. I’m looking at the May 31, 1931 public timetable that shows daily train 30 departing Charlotte 7:30 am arriving Raleigh 4:45 pm and daily train 31 departing Raleigh 7:30 am arriving Charlotte 4:50 pm. By 1937 the train numbers were 43 and 66, operating six days a week with fewer stops on a slightly different schedule. These trains originated and terminated at “Jones St Station” in Raleigh. By September 1940, all regularly scheduled service Raleigh-Charlotte over the original NS had been discontinued.
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Thanks, Chuck.
You’ve got some timetables that I don’t have.
Kind of neat article about Glenwood South growing up over the last 20 years, and where it’s potentially heading.
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I’ve seen a similar scenario play out in sections of South Beach, and the writer is correct to presume that the district will likely morph into its next incarnation with all of the new investment, especially Smoky Hollow. The new retail and commercial space coming on line will allow existing and the many hundreds of new residents that are to come to shape its next act.
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I always thought it would be smart if a development like Downtown South would just make a big old walking party street as part of the development and the City of Raleigh designated this area as a special tax zone with legal open container area. People have a party destination, city of Raleigh has money for affordable housing or whatever. Plus no former residents complaining about it.
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That’s a good idea. You could run for city council with that. Make Raleigh Drunktown Again! (Kidding… I do actually like this idea)
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Thanks for posting. It will be interesting to see how Glenwood South develops with the new projects bookending the street.
IMO, one thing that works against Glenwood South becoming more upscale is the lack of an alternative location with a collection of dive bars and clubs. In most college towns there is more of a “strip” by the college, but in Raleigh it feels like GS largely serves that function for NC State which seems to have relatively few bars right by campus. There are a few like Players Retreat, but not as many as I would expect. I could be wrong, but that is my impression.
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