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145-572: By the time the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (known as the Seaboard Air Line Railway before 1946) was officially created, track that would make up its main line had already been built by the company's predecessors. The main line was built in the late 1800s by the following companies: By 1900, the Seaboard Air Line Railway was incorporated, which brought together the predecessor companies together and created

290-474: A weroance , King Coquonosum , and by his sister, Queen Oppussoquionuske . This Algonquian -speaking people later had a town at Rohoic Creek (formerly known as Rohowick or Indian Towne Run). Present-day Petersburg developed to the east. Petersburg was founded at a strategic point at the fall line of the Appomattox River and settled by English colonists. By 1635 they had patented land along

435-674: A Mediterranean Revival station there as well. Warfield died in October 1927 and was succeeded by Legh R. Powell, who had worked his way up on the financial side of the railroad. The railroad was in an unfortunate position due to being geographically sandwiched in the South between two well-to-do rivals, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and the Southern Railway . In addition, Warfield's expansion down

580-710: A Democratic politician in the Jim Crow South, Arnold promised to "deal with all Virginians fairly", whatever their ethnicity. He was endorsed by Arthur Wergs Mitchell , the first black American to be elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat. Arnold ultimately lost the Democratic primary to John S. Battle , who won the gubernatorial election. Even after the Great Migration of many blacks to northern jobs and cities, Petersburg

725-564: A controlling interest in the steamship company in 1851, providing valuable northward connections from the docks at Norfolk for the railroad's passenger and freight business. Control passed to the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1901, but in 1922, with S. Davies Warfield as its president, the Old Bay Line became a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAL. In that same year, Warfield

870-532: A kind of blueprint for the national civil rights movement. Beginning in the 1950s black Americans in Petersburg struggled to desegregate public schools and facilities. In 1958 the City Council closed Wilcox Lake, a popular swimming hole in Petersburg to prevent the lake's public recreational area from being racially integrated. It never re-opened to swimming. Through sit-ins in the bus terminal in 1960,

1015-599: A lease agreement, was formally consolidated within the Seaboard. In 1904, Seaboard subsidiary Atlanta and Birmingham Air Line Railway , purchased the previous year, completed construction and extended the Atlanta route to Birmingham, Alabama , the largest center of iron and steel production in the South, and a valuable endpoint for the Seaboard. Upon formation, the Seaboard inherited multiple repair shop sites from predecessor railroads, most of which were obsolete. A fire at

1160-472: A line from Jacksonville via Tallahassee to a connection with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) at Chattahoochee, Florida , for through service to New Orleans ; a line to Atlanta, Georgia , and Birmingham, Alabama , connecting with the main line at Hamlet, North Carolina ; and a line from the main at Norlina, North Carolina , to Portsmouth, Virginia , the earliest route of what became

1305-646: A line running east from Quincy, Florida , through Tallahassee to Lake City, where it connected with the FA&;GC. In 1868, the P&;G and the FA&GC were acquired by carpetbaggers , with the P&G being renamed the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad (JP&M), into which the FA&GC — now called the Florida Central Railroad — was consolidated in 1870. Meanwhile, in 1871,

1450-689: A majority of shares in the Seaboard and Roanoke, which included controlling interests in each of the affiliated companies and subordinated railroads in the Seaboard Air Line system. Although a New York syndicate of various stockholders headed by Thomas Fortune Ryan bitterly opposed the deal, control of all of the railroad properties comprising the Seaboard system was formally transferred to the Williams syndicate in February 1899. Immediately, Williams and his financial backers sought to expand into

1595-615: A marketing strategy, and all the railroads remained separate legal and operating entities. The Family Lines System and the Chessie System became subsidiaries of the newly created CSX Corporation on November 1, 1980, but continued to operate as separate railroads. The Family Lines name and logo were dropped when all of the Family Lines merged on December 29, 1982, to form the Seaboard System . On July 1, 1986,

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1740-691: A mostly agricultural state with few major cities. Starting in 1813, the city paved its streets, which helped attract business. In 1816 the Upper Appomattox Canal Company completed the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System to bypass the Appomattox Falls, which facilitated traffic up and down river to Farmville as well as powered cotton and flour mills. Petersburg responded to the silting-up of its Appomattox River port by building

1885-399: A new campus there. This is the site of the present-day Central State Hospital , which provides a variety of mental health services. In 1894 a fireworks factory exploded killing eleven people. The limitations of Petersburg's small geographic area and proximity to Richmond are structural problems that have hampered it in adapting to major economic changes in the 20th century. Other forces in

2030-495: A number of through freight trains instead ran the Andrews and Charleston Subdivisions between Hamlet, North Carolina and Savannah, Georgia to allow passenger trains to be prioritized on the main line. The Seaboard Air Line installed Centralized traffic control along the main line in the 1940s to improve efficiency. The Seaboard Air Line would also be the first railroad to install a talking hot box detector (the predecessor to

2175-652: A peninsula on the north shore of the Appomattox River ) became the area's free black residential area. With access to waterways and a population sympathetic to refugee slaves, this neighborhood was an important site on the Underground Railroad . During the Antebellum period Petersburg became the slave states' eleventh largest city, and 49th among all American cities in industrial development. Commission merchants (39 firms by 1860) bought agricultural products from nearby Dinwiddie County as well as points to

2320-725: A prehistoric Native American settlement dated to 6,500 BCE , the early third of the Archaic Period (8,000 to 1,000 BCE). Succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years before European exploration and colonization. When the English arrived in Virginia in 1607, the region was occupied by the Appamatuck , a significant tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy . They were governed by

2465-596: A prosperous decade in the 1920s. In 1924, Warfield, now president and CEO of the railroad, began building a 204-mile extension, called the Florida Western and Northern Railroad , from the Seaboard mainline in Coleman, Florida south to West Palm Beach , which for almost thirty years had been the exclusive domain of the Florida East Coast Railway . Some 35 miles northwest of West Palm Beach,

2610-666: A rail line, "...between Deep River, at or near the Coalfields, Moncure, NC in the county of Chatham, and the City of Raleigh or some point on the North Carolina Railroad." The project was riddled with delays and finally reorganized as the Raleigh & Augusta Air-Line in 1871. It eventually reached Hamlet in 1877 which in later years was a major SAL terminal point. With a route that now extended through North Carolina

2755-494: A strategic move to reduce costs and counter the competition of airlines and trucking companies, merger with the parallel system of Seaboard's chief rival, Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) was first proposed in 1958, but was not approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission until 1967. On July 1 of that year, SAL and ACL merged to form Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The seeming redundancy of

2900-552: A substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, cotton and flour and banking. At the time of the American Civil War , Petersburg was the second-largest city in Virginia after the capital, Richmond, and the seventh-largest city in the Confederacy. Petersburg's population had the highest percentage of free black Americans of any city in the Confederacy and the largest number of free blacks in

3045-429: A transportation hub. Area highways include Interstate Highways 85 , 95 , and U.S. Route highways with 1 , 301 , and 460 . Both CSX and Norfolk Southern rail systems maintain transportation centers at Petersburg. Amtrak serves the city with daily Northeast Regional passenger trains to Norfolk, Virginia , and long-distance routes from states to the South. In the early 21st century, Petersburg civic leaders promote

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3190-515: A twice-daily train from Portsmouth to Suffolk, Virginia , 17 miles away. By June 1837 the railroad was completed to Weldon, where a connection was made with the tracks of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad (later part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ). In 1846, after suffering financial difficulties, the P&R was reorganized as the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad , known informally as

3335-547: Is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census , the population was 33,458 with a majority black American population. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines Petersburg (along with the city of Colonial Heights ) with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes. The city is 21 miles (34 km) south of the commonwealth (state) capital city of Richmond . It

3480-655: Is located at the fall line (the head of navigation of rivers on the U.S. East Coast ) of the Appomattox River (a tributary of the longer larger James River which flows east to meet the southern mouth of the Chesapeake Bay at the Hampton Roads harbor and the Atlantic Ocean ). In 1645, the Virginia House of Burgesses ordered Fort Henry built, which attracted both traders and settlers to

3625-516: Is now CSX's Yeoman Subdivision and part of the Tampa Terminal Subdivision . The S-Line has been abandoned beyond Gary, which has severed the line from Tampa Union Station . Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad ( reporting mark SAL ), which styled itself as "The Route of Courteous Service", was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with

3770-758: Is the only segment of the S-Line that still carries regular passenger service. From Savannah to the Ogeechee River in Richmond Hill, Georgia , the line was abandoned and consolidated with the A-Line shortly after the 1967 merger. Though, the original S-Line bridge over the Ogeechee River remained with its tracks removed next to the A-Line bridge until 2019. The S-Line was severed as a through route between Savannah and Jacksonville in 1986 when track

3915-527: The Champion , while eliminating others. By 1972, Seaboard Coast Line and its corporate relatives Louisville and Nashville , Georgia Railroad , Atlanta and West Point Railroad , Western Railway of Alabama and Clinchfield Railroad began advertising themselves as the Family Lines System , and applying the Family Lines logo to their rolling stock . However, the Family Lines name was merely

4060-724: The 18th Corps , attacked the Dimmock Line , a series of defensive breastworks constructed to protect Petersburg. General Robert E. Lee arrived with his Army of Northern Virginia , and the 292-day Siege of Petersburg began. Due to botched Union leadership and arrival of Confederate General William Mahone , the Union forces suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Crater , suffering over 4,000 casualties. In early April 1865, Union troops finally managed to push their left flank to

4205-656: The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the final British drive to regain control of the colony led to the Battle of Blanford in April 1781, which started just east of Petersburg. As Virginia militia retreated north across the Appomattox River, they took up the planks of the wooden Pocahontas bridge to delay the enemy. Although the British captured Blanford and Petersburg, they did not regain

4350-561: The Atlantic Coast Line 's tracks from Weldon to Richmond, and the tracks of the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac from Richmond to Washington. Between 1898 and 1900, Seaboard affiliate Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina completed the laying of track from Norlina to Richmond, thereby providing an all-Seaboard route from Atlanta to Richmond. As important as the route to the major railroad hub of Atlanta was, access to Florida resorts and markets would be even more important to

4495-674: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad , its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . Predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War . The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia , until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia . The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted into apartments. At

Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Railroad) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4640-538: The Battle of the Crater and nine months of trench warfare devastated the city. Battlefield sites are partly preserved as Petersburg National Battlefield by the National Park Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior . Petersburg rebuilt its railroads, including a connecting terminal by 1866, although it never quite regained its economic position because much shipping traffic would continue to

4785-612: The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway , which ran from central Florida to Boca Grande , as well as the East and West Coast Railway between Arcadia and Manatee County . Warfield, however, was not content with what seemed to be a complete Seaboard system in Florida, and at the end of 1925, announced two new extensions, one from West Palm Beach to Miami and another from Arcadia to Fort Myers and Naples . Groundbreaking for

4930-600: The Florida Sunbeam, a wintertime train from Detroit and Cleveland to Florida. Following is a partial list of the many named passenger trains that Seaboard operated during the first half of the 20th century, some of which were continued by successors Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) and Amtrak . Trains originating in New York were handled by the Pennsylvania Railroad from New York to Washington; by

5075-729: The Mid-Atlantic . This was part of a drive to improve public education that started with the Reconstruction legislature. In 1888, its first president, John Mercer Langston , was elected to the US Congress on the Republican ticket, the first black American to be elected to Congress from Virginia. In 1882, the state legislature also authorized moving the mental asylum facility to the Mayfield Farm and developing

5220-570: The Panic of 1907 , the railroad went into receivership and Ryan was ousted. S. Davies Warfield , a Seaboard director and member of the railroad's executive committee, who had assisted Williams in forming the corporation, was appointed one of the receivers, and was subsequently named chairman. In 1912, Warfield — who was the uncle of the Baltimore-born Wallis Warfield Simpson, the future Duchess of Windsor – became

5365-469: The Portsmouth, Virginia shops in 1903 resulted in the plant being upgraded and modernized. To serve the southern section of the system, new shops were built on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida in 1907, which became the primary diesel shops after 1948. Rather than build any other heavy back shops, the Seaboard chose to equip several major roundhouse terminals to handle medium repairs in addition to

5510-515: The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad in 1835, and three years later it opened between Petersburg's Pocahontas neighborhood and Richmond's Manchester neighborhood, proving a more convenient and cheaper link than the Manchester Turnpike. The legislature in 1846 chartered Southside Railroad to Farmville and Lynchburg to the west. It would run 124 miles westward and supersede the technologically outdated Upper Appomattox Canal and acquire

5655-490: The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad from Washington to Richmond; and by Seaboard from Richmond to points south. Prior to the completion of Seaboard's Cross-Florida extension from Coleman to West Palm Beach (1925) and on to Miami (1926), the Florida East Coast Railway handled SAL trains from Jacksonville to Miami. Thereafter, Seaboard split most major southbound trains at Wildwood , just north of Coleman , with one section going to Tampa and west coast points, and

5800-610: The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad from Washington to Richmond; and by the Seaboard from Richmond to Tampa, an arrangement that lasted until the creation of Amtrak in 1971. On July 1, 1900, the Seaboard formally assumed operation of the Georgia and Alabama, the FC&;P and the Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf railroads. In 1903, the FC&P, which had been controlled through stock ownership and operated separately under

5945-599: The Seaboard Road . Meanwhile, the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad had begun construction on November 1, 1836, with the first scheduled service between its endpoints beginning on March 21, 1840. After the American Civil War , this was advertised as the Inland Air-Line Route . By 1853, the Raleigh and Gaston had connected with the Seaboard and Roanoke at Weldon, thus offering travelers through service on

Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Railroad) - Misplaced Pages Continue

6090-469: The South Bound Railroad , which ran north from Savannah to Columbia, South Carolina . Thus, when the FC&P finished construction in late 1893, it had 1,000 miles of rail and a new "air line" extending straight from a connection with the Richmond and Danville Railroad in South Carolina into Jacksonville, resulting in not only a saving of several hours of travel time, but also connecting New York and Tampa. This direct entrée into Florida did not escape

6235-428: The Wildwood Subdivision from Baldwin to Owensboro . A short section of the S-Line from Owensboro to Zephyrhills via Dade City was abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line shortly after the 1967 merger in favor of the ex-ACL line which circumnavigated the towns instead of going right through them. The Hardy Trail was built on some of the former right of way near Dade City in 2019. From Zephyrhills to Gary in Tampa

6380-430: The 176-mile route from Portsmouth to Raleigh. Both railroads were built to 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge , rather than the 5 ft ( 1,524 mm ) gauge favored by most other railroads in the South; therefore, cars of both roads could run on the entire route, eliminating the need for travelers or freight to make a change of cars . The R&G takeover also gave

6525-483: The 1880s, a coalition of black Republicans and white Populists held power for several years in the state legislature. This resulted in two major public institutions in Petersburg, as the legislature invested for education and welfare. In 1882, the legislature founded Virginia State University in nearby Ettrick as Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. It was one of the first public (fully state-supported) four-year historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in

6670-481: The 1890s, the system prided itself on offering excellent passenger service between Atlanta and the northeast . A daily coach and Pullman train, the S.A.L. Express , ran from Atlanta to the Seaboard Road's depot and wharf at Portsmouth, where passengers could transfer to steamships for direct passage to Baltimore , Philadelphia and New York . The system's premier train, however, was the Atlanta Special , running in daily service between Atlanta and Washington, using

6815-557: The 1950s, Petersburg became the southern terminus of the Richmond-Petersburg Turnpike , predating the U.S. Interstate Highway System . Since that time, Petersburg has struggled in competition with nearby Richmond, as the capital has grown to dominate the region in a changing economy as industries restructured. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Virginia's Democratic Party –dominated legislature approved constitutional changes that effectively disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites. Those disfranchised suffered major losses in

6960-485: The 1960s, many middle-class families moved to newer housing in the predominantly white suburbs. They also moved to the Richmond metro area, where the economy was expanding with jobs in new fields of financial and retail services. Some companies shifted industrial jobs to states further south, where wages were lower, or overseas. The declining economy increased the pressure of competition and racial tensions in Petersburg. These flared from 1968 until 1980, when black members of

7105-538: The 8 mile long City Point Railroad , which linked the city to City Point on the James River, reachable by larger Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk -bound ships. During the same decade Petersburg became a railroad center. The Virginia and North Carolina legislatures authorized the 65-mile long Petersburg and Weldon Railroad , in 1830 (three years after the first American railway, the B.& O. ) and its "Southern depot" began handling (mostly freight) traffic to Weldon, North Carolina in 1833. The Virginia legislature authorized

7250-466: The Appomattox Railroad in 1854. Petersburg business interests for years managed to block a charter for the last major line, the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad , which was completed in 1858. It connected Petersburg to the Atlantic Ocean port of Norfolk and would foster more growth in that city than Petersburg itself. In 1851 the city introduced gaslights and by 1857 installed a new municipal water system. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold

7395-431: The Arnold Pen Company, at the time one of the largest manufacturers of fountain pens , launched a campaign for Governor of Virginia. As a Petersburg city councilman, Arnold had pushed through a budgetary increase earmarked for equality and fair access for public housing and recreational facilities for everyone, including people of color, and increased budgetary considerations for the black schools in Petersburg. Unusually for

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7540-422: The Atlantic, Gulf and West India and its subsidiaries and reorganized them as the Florida Transit Company. The following year, Reed acquired the JP&M along with its subsidiary, the Florida Central, both of which he combined together as the Florida Central and Western Railroad . In 1883, Reed reorganized the Florida Transit Company as the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. Then, in 1884, Reed brought both

7685-472: The City Council accused the white Mayor of racism over a re-districting plan which they and the ACLU alleged was designed to allow whites to maintain white supremacy in the city. For decades, the city government was run by a small group of white businessmen and bankers. Most were wealthy enough to own homes in the exclusive Walnut Hill neighborhood and their interrelated families had been established there for generations. In 1980 one black councilwoman described

7830-477: The Civil War, and tried to work with African American legislators to acquire (and rebuild) railroads further South. As it had before the Civil War, Virginia paid millions to get railroads rebuilt and commerce moving through its cities. Charges of corruption against Scott, and resentment against northern and black workers led to volatile situations in many areas. Eruptions of Ku Klux Klan violence centered on railroads through interior North and South Carolina. Together

7975-490: The Florida Central and Western and the Florida Transit and Peninsular under the umbrella of a single entity, the Florida Railway and Navigation Company, which instantly became the largest railroad in Florida. In 1886, the company was reorganized as the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P). In late 1892, the FC&P began construction of a new line running north from a junction near Jacksonville to Savannah, Georgia . The FC&P had that same year already leased

8120-403: The Florida Railroad was reorganized as the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company. Through two new subsidiaries, the Peninsular Railroad and the Tropical Florida Railroad, the Atlantic, Gulf and West India opened two new lines, one running to Ocala and Tampa from a junction with the main line at Waldo , and another running from Ocala to Wildwood . In 1881, Sir Edward Reed acquired

8265-399: The Florida market. In 1860, the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad (FA&GC) completed construction of a line running west from Jacksonville, Florida , to Lake City, Florida . That same year, the Florida Railroad opened from Fernandina , just north of Jacksonville, southwest to Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast . In 1863, the Pensacola and Georgia Railroad (P&G) completed

8410-504: The James River, which opened in 1838 (and was acquired by the city and renamed the Appomattox Railroad in 1847). As discussed below, that became one of four railroads built (some with government subsidies) constructed (with separated terminals to the advantage of local freight haulers) before the American Civil War . In 1860, the city's industries and transportation combined to make it the state's second largest city (after Richmond). It connected commerce as far inland as Farmville, Virginia at

8555-415: The Lynch and Callender mills at Ettick and Matoaca and Battersea across the Appomattox river, and the Merchant's Manufacturing Company had another mill at Campbell Bridge near Ettrick. Together those cotton mills constituted approximately a third of that industry in the state. The town also had three water-powered flour mills by 1860, and five iron foundries. The city became an important industrial center in

8700-423: The Miami extension took place in Hialeah in January 1926, and by December 1926, the line was open for freight. From January 7 though January 9, 1927, Warfield took a large faction of dignitaries on a special run of the luxurious Orange Blossom Special , beginning at Arcadia and proceeding south to Naples, then doubling back over to the east coast and proceeding south from West Palm Beach to Miami . Warfield had

8845-432: The Mid-Atlantic region. When the Civil War began in 1861, Petersburg was strategic in supporting the Confederate effort. The city provided several infantry companies and artillery units to the Confederate Army, along with three troops of cavalry. In April 1861 more than 300 free black Americans of Petersburg volunteered to work on the fortifications of Norfolk, Virginia under their own leader. Slaveholders also contributed

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8990-403: The Norfolk seaport. After the consolidations of smaller railroads, both the CSX and Norfolk Southern railway networks serve Petersburg. Petersburg has the oldest free black settlements in the state at Pocahontas Island. Two Baptist churches in the city, whose congregations were founded in the late 18th century, are among the oldest black congregations and churches in the United States . In

9135-402: The P&R control of the Raleigh & Augusta Air-Line Railroad which the former road controlled. This was the first time "Air Line" appeared as part of a Seaboard predecessor. The R&AA-L began as the Chatham Railroad, chartered by the state on February 14, 1855 (from the 1877 booklet, "History Of The Raleigh & August Air-Line Railroad" compiled by Walter Clark, Attorney At Law) to build

9280-500: The PIA gained agreement by the president of the Bus Terminal Restaurants to desegregate lunch counters in Petersburg and several other cities. Virginia officials strongly opposed school integration following the 1954 US Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. They initiated the program of Massive Resistance . For instance, rather than allow schools to be integrated, then Governor of Virginia , J. Lindsay Almond ordered

9425-452: The Petersburg City Schools, which had become predominantly black due to whites sending their children to private schools or moving to suburbs. Projected industrial development of large tracts of farmland in the annexed areas failed to take place. In 1985 Petersburg again sought to annex more land from Prince George County. This time the nearby City of Hopewell , a city that already had huge amounts of taxable industry within its borders, joined

9570-442: The Petersburg Volunteers—who distinguished themselves in action at the Siege of Fort Meigs on the Great Lakes frontier on May 5, 1813. Fourth President James Madison called Petersburg "Cockade of the Union" (which later was applied to the town as a nickname "Cockade City"), in honor of the cockades which Volunteers wore on their caps. Petersburg Blacks established the First Baptist (1774) and Gillfield Baptist Church (1797),

9715-406: The Petersburg city government as "our own little version of the Byrd Machine ", comparing it to the political organization led by segregationist Democrat , Harry Flood Byrd , that controlled Virginia politics for decades. In 1968, following the April assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. , Petersburg was the first city to designate his birthday as a holiday; in 1983 it would be memorialized as

9860-437: The R&G, P&R, and R&AA-L formed the backbone of the future Seaboard Air Line. Moncure Robinson's son John M. Robinson acquired financial control of the trio in 1875. As a marketing tactic they were collectively known as the "Seaboard Air-Line System." The name initially had no legal authority, although that changed as Robinson continued to extend southward. The first known official use of "Seaboard Air Line" appeared when

10005-438: The S-Line in the mid 2000s and are both owned by Genesee & Wyoming . South of Yulee to Panama Park near Jacksonville is now CSX's Kingsland Subdivision . The S-Line Urban Greenway is now on the former right of way in northeast Jacksonville. The S-Line in Florida is CSX's primary freight route through the peninsula. From Jacksonville to Baldwin, the S-Line runs through CSX's Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision and runs on

10150-435: The Seaboard Inland Air Line to connect Georgia and South Carolina to Portsmouth, Virginia (in the Hampton Roads area across from Norfolk, Virginia ). They worked with Confederate general turned Republican political boss William Mahone to work against the conglomeration of railroads reorganized by Thomas A. Scott, who had moved up the ranks of the Pennsylvania Railroad, took control of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad after

10295-432: The Seaboard System's name was changed to CSX Transportation. Subsequently, the Chessie System was merged into CSX Transportation on August 31, 1987. The "Old Bay Line," as the Baltimore Steam Packet Company was commonly known, operated steamships between Norfolk, Virginia , and Baltimore, Maryland , carrying mail and freight as well as passengers and vehicles on the overnight run. The Seaboard and Roanoke acquired

10440-573: The Seaboard and Roanoke, the Raleigh and Gaston, and others were operating as a coordinated system under the Seaboard Air-Line System name for marketing purposes, combining the nicknames of the two principal roads. In 1889, the Seaboard leased the still-unfinished Georgia, Carolina and Northern Railway , providing a link from Monroe, North Carolina , (on the Seaboard line to Charlotte, North Carolina , acquired in 1881) to Atlanta, Georgia , (completed in 1892). During its heyday in

10585-505: The Seaboard's passenger trains included the Florida and Metropolitan Limited , Atlanta Special , Suwanee River Special , Orange Blossom Special , Southern States Special , Cotton Blossom , Palmland , Silver Meteor , Silver Comet , Silver Star , Sunland , and Tidewater. Seaboard also had a number of fast, high-priority freight trains called Red Ball freights between various points on its system. However, from 1918 to 1966,

10730-592: The Seaboard. In the first half of the 20th century, Seaboard, along with its main competitors Atlantic Coast Line Railroad , Florida East Coast Railway and Southern Railway , contributed greatly to the economic development of the Southeastern United States , and particularly to that of Florida . Its trains brought vacationers to Florida from the Northeast and carried southern timber, minerals and produce, especially Florida citrus crops, to

10875-681: The West Palm Beach architectural firm of Harvey & Clarke, led by Gustav Maass , design a series of now historic Mediterranean Revival stations in West Palm Beach , Lake Worth, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach , Deerfield Beach , Fort Lauderdale , Hollywood , and Hialeah , as well as in Naples and Fort Myers. In April 1927, Warfield completed a push of the Miami extension even further south to Homestead , and had his architects erect

11020-476: The ability to exercise their rights as citizens. The legislature also instituted Jim Crow laws, including imposing racial segregation . With many black Americans having served the nation and cause of freedom in WWII, in the postwar years they pressed for social justice, an end to segregation, and restoration of voting power. In 1949 Petersburg businessman and politician, Remmie Arnold , the president and owner of

11165-450: The annexation suit to try to annex commercial areas of Prince George County, including Fort Lee and suburban neighborhoods near the base where many military families live. Many residents of Prince George had relocated to stay within the county after the previous annexation by Petersburg. They were strongly opposed to another attempt by the cities to annex their neighborhoods. The U.S. Department of Defense also expressed strong opposition to

11310-500: The area. The Town of Petersburg, chartered by the Virginia legislature in 1748, incorporated three early settlements, and in 1850 the legislature elevated it to city status. Petersburg grew as a transportation hub and also developed industry. It was the final destination on the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System , which opened in 1816, to a city mostly rebuilt after a devastating 1815 fire. When its Appomattox River port silted up, investors built an 8-mile railroad to City Point on

11455-411: The citizens of Petersburg, black and white alike, since the mid-1960s, as a necessary measure to allow the city of expand its tax base and its potential for growth and development. The city argued to the counties that it was better prepared to provide municipal-type services than the predominantly rural counties and that the city needed more land for expected new development. The annexation was opposed by

11600-560: The city's historical attractions for heritage tourism, as well as industrial sites reachable by the transportation infrastructure. The federal government is also a major employer, with nearby Fort Gregg-Adams , as home of the United States Army 's Sustainment Center of Excellence , and the Army's Logistics Branch, Ordnance, Quartermaster, and Transportation Corps. Archaeological excavations at Pocahontas Island found evidence of

11745-520: The city's largest manufacturer, closed a cigarette factory in town. De-industrialization, restructuring of railroads, and related national structural economic changes cost many jobs in the city, as happened in numerous older industrial cities across the North and Midwest. The post-World War II national construction of highways encouraged development outside cities and suburbanization added to problems. In addition, reacting to racial integration of schools in

11890-487: The compact core: these include indie restaurants, bars and coffee shops. The long-abandoned Walnut Mall, which closed in the early 1990s, has been demolished. The Army has expanded activities at nearby Fort Gregg-Adams, home of the United States Army 's Sustainment Center of Excellence . The Army's Logistics Branch, Ordnance, Quartermaster, and the Transportation Corps moved there from Fort Eustis following

12035-522: The county and city governments that have had negative impact on regional cooperation. Prince George County is predominantly white while the city of Petersburg is roughly four-fifths black. These strained relationships have slowed regional progress and eroded business confidence, hampering economic development in the region to the present day. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, numerous remaining retail merchants, including Thalhimers , JC Penney , and Sears Roebuck , left older shopping areas in Petersburg for

12180-435: The county governments, who lost most of their commercial tax base, as well as the residents of the annexed suburban areas. Following the annexation, blacks realized that the annexations had added 8,000 new white residents. City council members were then elected at-large, requiring majority approval for each seat. Black civil rights organizations challenged the annexations in court, saying these were motivated to illegally dilute

12325-442: The days before air travel, air line was a common term for the shortest distance between two points: a straight line drawn through the air (or on a map), ignoring natural obstacles (i.e., " as the crow flies "). Hence, a number of 19th-century railroads used air line in their titles to suggest that their routes were shorter than those of competing roads: see list at Air-line railroad . The Seaboard never owned an airplane. In 1940

12470-572: The deficit of the whole railroad had been in the Depression year of 1933. In May 1945, all of the Seaboard properties were sold under foreclosure at an auction sale to bondholders for $ 52 million. In 1946, the railroad was reorganized as the Seaboard Air Line Railroad . Quick to recognize the cost savings of diesel power over steam in the postwar period, the Seaboard dieselized all of its mainline trains by 1953. In

12615-780: The early 1950s when they were both in divinity school in New York state. In 1957 they co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an important force for leadership of the movement in the South. Walker also founded the Petersburg Improvement Association (PIA), modeled on the Montgomery Improvement Association in Alabama . According to Walker and other close associates of King, Petersburg had played an important role,

12760-582: The end of 1925 SAL operated 3,929 miles of road, not including its flock of subsidiaries; at the end of 1960 it reported 4,135 miles. The main line ran from Richmond via Raleigh, North Carolina , Columbia, South Carolina , and Savannah, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida , a major interchange point for passenger trains bringing travelers to the Sunshine State. From Jacksonville, Seaboard rails continued to Tampa , St. Petersburg , West Palm Beach and Miami . Other important Seaboard routes included

12905-633: The extension ran through Indiantown , which Warfield planned to make the new southern headquarters of the Seaboard. The extension was constructed in record time, and opened in January 1925. Later in 1925, Warfield constructed the Gross-Callahan Cutoff , which allowed time-sensitive trains to bypass congested Jacksonville, and built the Valrico Cutoff , which provided a direct route from Tampa to West Palm Beach. Warfield also leased

13050-464: The extension. By aggressive marketing and technological innovations that drew travelers to the line, such as the highly popular Silver Meteor streamliner, introduced in 1939, Seaboard managed to regain its financial footing. The economic boom of World War II also helped replenish the railroad's coffers. In 1944, the Silver Meteor alone turned a profit of over $ 8 million, nearly as much as

13195-466: The federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day , becoming a true national holiday when South Carolina became the last state to sign the observance into law. In an attempt to stem its economic decline, in 1971 the city completed steps begun in 1966 to annex 14 square miles of land from adjacent and predominantly white counties of Prince George and Dinwiddie. The annexation had been generally supported by

13340-401: The federal government's Reconstruction Finance Corporation , the railroad set about modernizing its equipment with new steam freight locomotives and new and rebuilt passenger cars. In 1942, to cut expenses, the SAL abandoned a 27-mile section of its then only 15-year-old Fort Myers-Naples extension between South Fort Myers and Naples, along with sections of two other little-used branch lines from

13485-562: The first and second oldest black congregations in the city and two of the oldest in the nation. These black churches were the first Baptist churches established in Petersburg. The Gillfield Baptist Church obtained title to its land in 1818 and in 1859 completed a $ 7000 brick structure; the Petersburg African Baptist Church also owned its own sanctuary and the community also organized burial and other benevolent societies. Many free blacks in Virginia migrated to

13630-618: The foothills of the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Mountains chain, to shipping further east into the Chesapeake Bay and North Atlantic Ocean . During the American Civil War (1861–1865), because of this railroad network, Petersburg became critical to Union plans to capture the Confederate States national capital established early in the war at Richmond. The 1864–65 Siege of Petersburg , which included

13775-617: The formation of the Seaboard System Railroad , which merged all of the railroads owned by SCLI into one. In 1986, Seaboard System renamed themselves CSX Transportation (CSXT), and by August 1987, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway -the final remaining railroad under the Chessie System brand- was merged into CSXT. As of 2023, much of the line is still in service, though it has been abandoned in some places. At

13920-536: The growing urban community, despite increasing legislative restrictions. Until 1860 Petersburg was a majority black American city, although the enslaved population had few legal rights. Between 1850 and 1860, Petersburg's free black community increased 24%, although industrial growth fueled an even greater increase in the white population. Of the 18,366 people counted in Petersburg by federal census takers in 1860, 9,342 were white, 5,680 were slaves, and 3,244 free blacks. Thus in 1860, nearly 26% of all free persons were black,

14065-550: The highest proportion in any Southern city. Free Black men worked as tobacco twisters, in iron foundries, and as draymen, boatmen and cabdrivers, or in the skilled trades of mason, wheelwright, coopers and blacksmiths. Free Black women worked in tobacco factories as stemmers, or as washerwomen or seamstresses or laborers. Plantation owners also brought slaves for hire into the city. As in many other upper South cities, many white households had slaves, but more than 40% were enslaving just one servant. Pocahontas Island (actually usually

14210-692: The labor of numerous black slaves. In 1864, Petersburg became a target during the Overland Campaign of Union General Ulysses S. Grant . Its numerous railroads made the city a lifeline for Richmond, the Confederate capital. After his defeat at the Battle of Cold Harbor , Grant remained east of Richmond, crossed the James River and moved south to Petersburg. Grant intended to cut the rail lines into Petersburg, stopping Richmond's supplies. On June 9, troops led by William F. "Baldy" Smith of

14355-641: The line for high-speed passenger service as part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor . Virginia has since bought its portion of the line, and, as December 2023, North Carolina is negotiating a deal to buy the portion in their state. The S-Line is still in service from Norlina, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia . This segment is now CSX's Norlina Subdivision , Aberdeen Subdivision , Hamlet Subdivision , Columbia Subdivision , and Savannah Subdivision . Amtrak still operates on this segment from Raleigh to Savannah. This

14500-486: The main line north of Camden, South Carolina . At this time, the company had leased the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P) network which expanded the system through Georgia and Florida. The Seaboard Air Line would fully not own the FC&P network until 1903. The Seaboard Air Line would run many historic passenger services over its main line, many of which ran from New York to Florida. Some of

14645-499: The majority stock owner of the Seaboard. By 1915, the railroad had recovered. However, along with most other U.S. railroads, the Seaboard was nationalized during the railroad crisis brought on by World War I and was run by the United States Railroad Administration from December 28, 1917, to March 1, 1920. With an influx of tourists traveling to rapidly developing Florida, the Seaboard enjoyed

14790-410: The mayor of Colonial Heights, James McNeer, met with Harris and members of his board to discuss job opportunities for blacks in the mall area. McNeer later became President of Richard Bland College . In the late 20th century, Petersburg worked to restore historic buildings and attract different kinds of stores and businesses to its historic center. During the 1993 Virginia tornado outbreak , Petersburg

14935-568: The merger was complete, the company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL), who largely retained both main lines in the combined network. To differentiate the two main lines, the Seaboard Coast Line designated the SAL’s main line as the S-Line and the ACL’s main line as the A-Line. The letter S was added as a prefix to the mileposts on the S-Line (S was also added to the beginning of

15080-585: The mid-20th century, such as industrial and railroad restructuring, reduced the number of jobs in the city. In addition, suburban development attracted people to newer housing outside the city. World wars led to major federal institutions being constructed near Petersburg, which created local jobs. Soon after World War I started, the US Army established Camp Lee just outside of Petersburg in Prince George County for training draftees. The facility

15225-580: The modern defect detector ). This first talking hot box detector was installed on the main line in Riceboro, Georgia . In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with their long-time rival, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The ACL also had a main line running from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida that was roughly parallel to the SAL’s main line. The two main lines crossed each other in Chester , Savannah , Jacksonville , and Plant City . After

15370-416: The name stems from combining the most common short forms of the two railroads' names: the public and the railroads themselves for many years had referred to SAL as "Seaboard" and ACL as "Coast Line." On May 1, 1971, SCL turned over all its passenger operations to the newly formed Amtrak , which continued to operate the profitable Silver Meteor and Silver Star alongside a former Coast Line streamliner,

15515-568: The new Southpark Mall that opened in 1989 in adjacent, and predominantly white, Colonial Heights . A Miller & Rhoads store in Petersburg closed when the department store chain went out of business in 1990. The Ku Klux Klan had held marches in Colonial Heights. After the new shopping mall opened, blacks led by civil rights activist Curtis W. Harris and the SCLC boycotted Southpark Mall for about five years. The boycott ended after

15660-458: The new United States. After the war, in 1784 Petersburg annexed the adjacent towns of Blandford (also called Blanford), Pocahontas and the outlying town of Ravenscroft, which became neighborhoods of the larger city. An area known as Gillfield was annexed in 1798. Residents' devotion to the cause of America two decades later during the War of 1812 (1812–1815) led to the formation of the militia unit of

15805-412: The north end, CSX still operates the line from Richmond to just north of Chester, which is now CSX's Bellwood Subdivision . The short segment of the S-Line from Centralia (just north of Chester, Virginia ) to Collier Yard (just south of Petersburg, Virginia ) was abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line shortly after the 1967 merger. The remaining track was connected to the A-Line in an effort to consolidate

15950-444: The north, south and west and sold supplies. Petersburg's industrialists processed cotton , tobacco and metal, then shipped the resulting products out of the region. Richmond and Petersburg became the two largest tobacco towns in the world, with Richmond selling 61% of the state's tobacco in 1861, and Petersburg 23%. Petersburg's cotton industry relied on waterpower since its inception in the 1830s, and by 1860 towns had developed around

16095-527: The northern states. The complex corporate history of the Seaboard began on March 8, 1832, when its earliest predecessor, the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad was chartered by the legislatures of Virginia and North Carolina to build a railroad from Portsmouth, Virginia , to the Roanoke River port of Weldon, North Carolina . After a couple of months of horse-drawn operation, the first locomotive-pulled service on this line began on September 4, 1834, with

16240-500: The notice of John Skelton Williams and his financial backers. In April 1899, only two months after assuming formal control of the various railroads in the Seaboard system, the Williams syndicate purchased a majority stock interest in the FC&P for $ 3.5 million. On April 14, 1900, the Seaboard Air Line Railway was incorporated, comprising 19 railroads in which it owned all or most of the capital stock. Williams

16385-556: The offshore naval Battle of the Capes at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay , forcing the British resupply and evacuation fleet to withdraw. In October 1781, Lord Cornwallis surrendered to the superior allied Continental Army 's General George Washington and French General comte de Rochambeau . After two further years of infrequent conflict and many treaty parlies, the Revolutionary War ended with Britain formally recognizing

16530-520: The other going to Miami. Northbound, the process was reversed, with west and east coast sections joining at Wildwood to continue their journey. The term heavyweight refers to trains consisting of passenger cars with all-steel construction, considered a great improvement in safety over the all-wooden or wood-and-steel cars of the 19th century. By 1910, nearly all major railroads were replacing their wooden passenger fleets with cars of heavyweight construction. Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg

16675-672: The post-bellum period, a historically black college which later developed as the Virginia State University was established nearby in Ettrick in Chesterfield County . In the 20th century, these and other black churches were leaders in the national Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1960s. Richard Bland College , now a junior college , was originally established here as a branch of Williamsburg's famed College of William and Mary . Petersburg remains

16820-460: The pre-existing letter prefixes on the SAL’s branch lines). In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company, Seaboard Coast Line Industries (SCLI), merged with the Chessie System , creating CSX Corporation . CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and SCLI Systems separately, however in 1982 they began the process of consolidating the railroads of both holding companies. This began with

16965-526: The proposed annexation. After five years of litigation, with attorney Richard Cranwell representing Prince George County, the Virginia courts, including the Virginia Supreme Court , unanimously ruled that the cities had not shown that annexation would benefit their cities, nor was it necessary to provide governmental services to Prince George residents. The prolonged annexation fight contributed to decades of racially tinged hostility between

17110-596: The railroad companies repaired the damaged railroads to the city. Saint John's Episcopal Church was founded in Petersburg in 1868. In 1870 the General Assembly incorporated the Central Lunatic Asylum as an organized state institution, as part of an effort by the bi-racial Reconstruction -era legislature to increase public institutions for general welfare. The legislature also founded the state's first system of free public education. During

17255-471: The railroad proposed the creation of "Seaboard Airlines," but this idea was struck down by the Interstate Commerce Commission as violating federal anti-trust legislation . During a spate of interest in aviation shares on Wall Street following Charles A. Lindbergh 's trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, Seaboard Air Line shares actually attracted some investor curiosity because of the name's aviation-related connotations; only after noticing that Seaboard Air Line

17400-593: The railroad to Weldon, North Carolina and the Southside Railroad . With the loss of Petersburg's crucial railroad lines, the Confederate forces had to retreat, ending the siege in a victory for the Union Army. The fall of Petersburg meant that Richmond could no longer be defended. Lee attempted to lead his men south to join up with Confederate forces in North Carolina. Hopelessly outnumbered, he

17545-618: The railroad's success in years to come. In the last two decades of the 19th century, the pieces of the route to Florida began to fall into place. Between 1885 and 1887, the Palmetto Railroad , later reorganized as the Palmetto Railway , had built southward from Hamlet, North Carolina, on the Seaboard main line , to Cheraw, South Carolina . In 1895, the Seaboard took control of the Palmetto Railway and extended

17690-644: The same decade, the railroad installed CTC signaling across most of its system, generating further savings of time and money, as well as improved safety. However, like all American railroads, Seaboard saw a decline in revenues, especially in passenger traffic, from the 1950s into the 1960s, in the face of growing competition from airlines, trucking companies and the Interstate Highway System . In 1960 SAL reported 9910 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 484 million passenger-miles, not including Gainesville Midland and Tavares & Gulf. As

17835-404: The same time) conceived plans for a city at Peter's Point, to be renamed Petersburgh . The Virginia General Assembly formally incorporated both Petersburg and adjacent Blandford on December 17, 1748. Wittontown, north of the river, was settled in 1749, and became incorporated as Pocahontas in 1752. Petersburg was enlarged slightly in 1762, adding 28 acres (110,000 m ) to "Old Town". During

17980-518: The schools in several localities including Warren County , Charlottesville and Norfolk , to be closed. The school board of Prince Edward County closed the public schools for five years, starting in 1959. In Petersburg, the Bollingbook School opened in 1958 as a segregation academy for white students. Retail and industry prospered until about the late 1980s. Petersburg was hit hard in 1985 when tobacco giant Brown & Williamson ,

18125-531: The south bank of the Appomattox River as far west as present-day Sycamore Street, and about 1 mile (1.6 km) inland. In 1646, the Virginia Colony established Fort Henry a short distance from the Appamatuck town, near the falls. It provided waterpower for mills and later industrialization. Col. Abraham Wood sent several famous expeditions out from here in the following years to explore points to

18270-575: The strategic advantage. Lord Cornwallis' forces coming up from the Carolinas into Virginia occupied Yorktown on the York River , waiting to meet a Royal Navy fleet. But a larger combined American-French army soon surrounded and besieged them. Cornwallis and his troops found themselves trapped and isolated when the French Navy's West Indies fleet under Admiral de Grasse sailed north and won

18415-488: The system was pushing towards Atlanta. It had already acquired the Georgia, Carolina & Northern Railway which intended to reach that city from Monroe, North Carolina. Construction began in 1887 and was completed as far as Inman Park, east of Atlanta, by 1892. However, an ordinance prevented it from reaching the city directly. To circumvent this issue the Seaboard Air Line Belt Railroad (SALB)

18560-413: The three roads offered a competitive network serving several important cities. The South was also blossoming into an industrial giant in the area of cotton, agriculture/farming, textiles, and manufacturing. The American Civil War devastated railroads, particularly in former Confederate territories including Virginia and North Carolina. After the war, Moncure Robinson and Alexander Boyd Andrews organized

18705-564: The tracks to Columbia . Also in 1895, the Savannah, Americus and Montgomery Railway , a Savannah-to-Montgomery route, was bought by a syndicate that included the Richmond bankers John L. Williams and Sons. John Skelton Williams , a son of John L. Williams, became president of the line, renaming it the Georgia and Alabama Railway . In January 1899, the Williams syndicate offered to purchase

18850-404: The two lines on to the A-Line though Petersburg. Some of the supports that once held the S-Line's bridge over the Appomattox River are still standing on the northwest side of Petersburg. CSX abandoned the S-Line from Collier Yard to Norlina, North Carolina in 1987. CSX sold the right of way to the states of Virginia and North Carolina in 2019. The states are doing preliminary work to rebuild

18995-413: The usual "running" repairs on locomotives. Unfortunately, the new 2,600-mile railroad did not prosper as expected in its early years. Thomas Fortune Ryan, who had opposed the Williams syndicate when it purchased the controlling interests in the various Seaboard companies, succeeded in assuming control of the railroad in 1904. Ryan's policies, however, proved disastrous for the Seaboard's finances. Following

19140-491: The voting power of blacks. A federal judge, citing provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, agreed and ordered the city to be divided into single-member districts , or wards, to enable blacks the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. White flight from the annexed suburban neighborhoods began almost immediately. As residents of the city of Petersburg, their children would be required to attend

19285-584: The war, with the efficiently managed Seaboard Road showing a profit even during the Panic of 1873 , and paying stockholders an annual dividend of 8 percent for many years. In 1871, the Raleigh and Gaston acquired the Raleigh and Augusta Air-Line Railroad, which, however, reached only to Hamlet, North Carolina . When the R&;G and its subsidiary fell into financial straits in 1873, the Seaboard's president, John M. Robinson, acquired financial control of them, becoming president of all three railroads in 1875. By 1881,

19430-551: The west coast of Florida was seen as an unnecessary extravagance due to the presence of the ACL in the same area. In December 1930, the Seaboard again entered bankruptcy following the collapse of the Florida land boom and the onset of the Great Depression . The United States District Court in Norfolk, Virginia—which would oversee the railroad for the next 14½ years—appointed Powell as a receiver . With loans obtained from

19575-457: The west, as far as the Appalachian Mountains . Around 1675, Wood's son-in-law, Peter Jones, who then commanded the fort and traded with the Indians, opened a trading post nearby, known as Peter's Point . The Kennon and Bolling families, prominent tobacco planters and traders, also lived in the area and engaged in local politics. In 1733, Col. William Byrd II (who founded Richmond at

19720-605: The western part of the upper South and the Midwest. For example, the Southern's timetables listed SAL routes for train destinations south of Jacksonville Union Station , the gateway hub for trains from the Midwest and the Northeast to Florida destinations, examples being the Southern's Kansas City-Florida Special , Ponce de Leon and Royal Palm . Additionally, the Southern and the SAL railroads pooled their operations for

19865-543: Was 40 percent black in 1960. Under state segregation and Jim Crow laws, those citizens were barred from free use of public spaces and facilities. Major black churches, such as First Baptist and Gillfield Baptist, formed the moral center of the Civil Rights Movement in Petersburg, which gained strength in mid-century and was a center of action. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker , the pastor of Gillfield Baptist Church, had become friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in

20010-637: Was abandoned between Riceboro and Bladen, Georgia . Additional track was abandoned between Bladen and Seals, Georgia four years later. The shortline Riceboro Southern Railway now operates from Richmond Hill to Riceboro, and the First Coast Railroad operates from Seals, Georgia to Yulee, Florida . Both the First Coast Railroad and the Riceboro Southern Railway took over their respective sections of

20155-536: Was actually a railroad did investors lose interest. The railroads' prosperous operations of the 1850s, hauling passengers as well as valuable cargos of cotton, tobacco and produce from the Piedmont to the tidewater port of Portsmouth , were interrupted by the Civil War , during which bridges and tracks of both railroads were destroyed at various times by Union or Confederate troops. Prosperity returned after

20300-685: Was chartered in 1892 to build an 8-mile branch and a connection with the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis at Howells. From there the SALB utilized trackage rights over the Dixie Line to reach the downtown area. Just prior to this event Robinson would link Rutherfordton and Wilmington, North Carolina via Charlotte and Hamlet by acquiring the Carolina Central Railroad in 1883. Rail service between these cities opened in 1887. In

20445-608: Was named president of the Seaboard as well. In 1941, the Chesapeake Steamship Company, jointly owned by the Atlantic Coast Line and the Southern , was merged into the Old Bay Line. Due to the decline of business with the rise of interstate highways and air travel, the steamship company was liquidated in 1962. The SAL had a cooperative relationship with the Southern Railway for traffic to

20590-416: Was struck by an F4 tornado that swept through the downtown area, seriously damaging a number of restored historic buildings and businesses. The same tornado also touched down in Colonial Heights destroying a Walmart store. As of 2007, Petersburg has continued to evolve as a small city, and its commercial activities have changed. Downtown Petersburg, known as Old Towne, has had new businesses established in

20735-546: Was surrounded and forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House , Virginia, on April 9, 1865. In the years after the Civil War, many freedmen migrated to Petersburg, founding numerous churches, businesses and institutions. The Freedmen's Bureau established new facilities for freedmen , including a mental health hospital in December 1869, at Howard's Grove Hospital, a former Confederate unit. The U.S. Federal Government and

20880-448: Was the first president of the new corporation, which advertised its north–south route as the "Florida-West India Short Line." James H. Dooley , veteran of several rail mergers in the South, helped organize the SAL and served as chairman of SAL's executive council. On June 3, 1900, through service from New York to Tampa, Florida , was inaugurated, with trains operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad from New York to Washington, D.C. ; by

21025-530: Was used again during World War II . In 1950 the camp was designated as Fort Lee , and additional buildings were constructed to house the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Center and School. During WWII Camp Pickett was established west of Petersburg near the small rural town of Blackstone , and the Defense Supply Center, Richmond opened in neighboring Chesterfield . In the postwar period, some of these installations have been reduced in size. In

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