Stokesdale and Madison Branch — Atlantic & Yadkin Railway

History

The town of Stokesdale was incorporated in 1907. It was known earlier as Pine or Pond, but was renamed perhaps for Governor Montford Stokes (1762-1842), or a surveyor, conductor, or executive of the railroad. In 1886 the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Railroad was built from Greensboro to Mount Airy. The railroad passed through Pond and a railroad station was built to service the area. The post office was moved at this time and the name was changed to Stokesdale.

Stokesdale is located in the northwest corner of Guilford County, and is a rural community with a mixture of agricultural and farming areas, businesses, industries, and residential areas. A small business district provides services for the citizens of the area. It is at an altitude of 950 feet. The A&Y had a telephone there and a capacity for 22 cars on sidings and spurs. For more information, visit the Stokesdale web page, look for the link on town history especially.

Stokesdale was a junction as well as a town. Here the Madison Branch left the main line and ran north into Rockingham County to Ellisboro and Madison. A junction meant extra railroad facilities, and the 1916 ICC valuation survey duly recorded them — a loading platform and a small cluster of section buildings set apart from the depot itself. The depot the surveyors measured was the replacement built after the fire: a Type 4 combination station on brick piers, put up to Southern Railway standard print No. 15-343, with a high wood platform along one side and end of the freight room and a chert passenger platform of about 252 square yards. Its oil house followed an older standard plan dated November 1905.

Stokesdale station, North Carolina State Library Photographic Archives; pulpwood truck visible to the left and pulpwood flatcars to the right — Stokesdale station, from the North Carolina State Library Photographic Archives. If you look carefully to the left behind the station you can see what I believe to be a pulpwood truck, and to the right behind the station is a cut of pulpwood flatcars (pulp racks). Looks like Stokesdale was a pulpwood loading point at the time the photo was taken (date unknown). Click for full size.

Stokesdale depot, circa 1908, before it burned, courtesy Steven Shelton — Stokesdale depot, ca. 1908, before the fire. Courtesy of Steven Shelton. Click for full size.

Stokesdale depot replacement, circa 1910, courtesy Steven Shelton — Stokesdale depot replacement, ca. 1910. Courtesy of Steven Shelton. Click for full size.

The Stokesdale depot after being moved to Madison, remodeled as a residence, photo by Bob Hunter — The Stokesdale depot after being moved to Madison and remodeled as a residence. Photo by Bob Hunter.

The depot was sold first to Mr. Sam Heffinger who had it moved to Madison in 1977. It became Mr. Heffinger's home after he remodeled it. Later it was sold to Bob Hunter (deceased) and he also had it refurbished and lived in it. This is a contemporary image of the depot taken by Bob, who also provided the blueprint and contract files below.

A&Y Stokesdale depot blueprint, ca. 1908, Hunter collection — A&Y Stokesdale depot blueprint, ca. 1908. Hunter collection. Click for full size.

A&Y Stokesdale depot construction contract, 1909, Hunter collection — Depot construction contract, 1909. Hunter collection. Click to open PDF (2 MB).

Track Diagram

ICC valuation map of Stokesdale track and depot layout — Track diagram, Stokesdale. Click to enlarge.

An image from the ICC valuation maps gives a fair idea of how the track and depot were laid out.

Industries

The most definitive record of Stokesdale's rail-served industry now in hand is the 1916 ICC valuation. Its spur inventory shows one industrial customer with dedicated track at the station — Stokesdale Lumber Co., which held two sidings there, a house track and a spur (ICC contracts 712-17 and 712-12):

Industry	Goods Shipped / Rec'd	Company Name
lumber company	lumber	Stokesdale Lumber Co.

The Stokesdale industry information needs work. The table shown here earlier was carried over in error from another town's page — it listed Ramseur-area mills and factories — and has been removed. What appears above is what the primary sources now in hand actually support. My original, fuller industry source for these town pages does not appear to have been the 1916 Southern Railway guide, which on re-checking does not list A&Y towns; I need to locate the correct guide or photocopy before I can document Stokesdale's shippers more completely. Information from readers is welcome.

Odds and Ends

I will include any information that is non-railroad in nature that helps provide a hint as to the character of the people and industries who lived and worked in Stokesdale.

A&Y locomotive 297 blasting through Stokesdale, undated real photo postcard, Bott collection — A&Y 297 blasting through Stokesdale, undated real photo postcard, Bott collection. Click for full size.

I purchased this undated real photo postcard of A&Y 297 blasting through Stokesdale with a relatively short train. The photographer is also unknown.

Although the tracks and racks are gone now, you can still see the roadbed if you look carefully. These images from my trip confirm Mr. Garreth McDonald's observation that the A&Y ran right between streets in this area!

Stokesdale right-of-way as grassy median between streets — The A&Y right of way is now the grassy median between streets. Click for full size.

Stokesdale right-of-way in front of the firehouse — The right of way ran in front of this firehouse (which did not exist when the railroad did). Click for full size.

Jeff Friddle provided these contemporary photos of the A&Y trestle near Stokesdale.

A&Y trestle near Stokesdale, photo by Jeff Friddle — A&Y trestle near Stokesdale. Photo by Jeff Friddle. Click for full size.

A&Y trestle near Stokesdale, second view, photo by Jeff Friddle — A&Y trestle near Stokesdale, second view. Photo by Jeff Friddle. Click for full size.

Masonic building in Stokesdale, circa 1900 — Masonic building in Stokesdale, ca. 1900. Click for full size.

This 1900 era photo depicts the Masonic building in Stokesdale. I also like how it gives a feel for the landscape at that time.