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 | History of Roanoke County |  |
Building of the Roanoke & Southern Railroad
During the Fall of 1886, John C. Moomaw of Roanoke
County rode over the line from Roanoke to Greenville,
N. C., enlisting the interest and support of various
communities in the project of building a new line of
railway.
These efforts culminated in a mass meeting which
was held in Roanoke in the Spring of 1887, when the
Roanoke & Southern Company was formed.
Delegations from various localities were in attendance,
and presented their claims and advantages to the
directory which had been chosen for the new organization.
D. F. Houston was president of the new company
and among the directors were H. S. Trout, P. L.
Terry, S. W. Jamison, John C. Moomaw, E. H. Stewart
and Jas. S. Simmons. Among others who were actively
engaged in the work of bringing the road to Roanoke
were T. T. Fishburne, J. W. Boswell, R. A. Buckner,
J. F. Wingfield, H. Q. Nicholson, R. H. Woodrum,
L. L. Powell, R. H. Gray, Herbert J. Browne, J. A.
Pugh and Dr. J. D. Kirk.
Shortly after this meeting the Roanoke & Southern
of North Carolina was formed with F. H. Fries, President,
and R. J. Reynolds, J. W. Hanes, W. A. Lemly,
C. B. Watson, J. W. Fries, C. H. Fogle and others as
directors.
These two corporations were subsequently consolidated,
and D. F. Houston was elected president, the
united boards constituting the directory.
The work of construction was begun in the county of
Henry by using convict labor, but it soon became evident
that the work could not be completed in this way,
and the Virginia-North Carolina Construction Company
was formed during the Fall of 1887.
This company contracted to build the line for the
subscriptions and assets of the Roanoke & Southern
Railroad.
F. H. Fries was made President of the Construction
Company, and it was planned to build the road in three
sections: Section A being from Winston-Salem to
Martinsville, Section B from Martinsville to Roanoke,
and Section C from Winston-Salem south to some point
on the Seaboard Air Line.
Throughout the next four years th