Summerfield (Milepost CF 57.5)
History
Summerfield is a community in north Guildford County at an altitude of 881 feet.
It was settled about 1769 by Charles Bruce, later a Revolutionary patriot, and known as
Burce's Crossroads until 1812 when a post office was established and the community renamed
in honor of the evangelist, John Summerfield (1798-1825). Site of Revolutionary
skirmish between Lee and Tarleton and a campsite of the British army under General Charles
O'Hara of the Coldstream Guards, February 12, 1781. In 1998, the town was
incorporated to avoid being annexed by Greensboro. You can learn more at the Summerfield
town web page.
In 1943, Summerfield had a capacity for 26 cars. There is no track through the town
now, although the roadbed can still be seen in a rails to trails path.
Track Diagram
Industries
A Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 indicates the following
industries in addition to LCL shipments, passengers, and mail were located in
Summerfield and used the A&Y for delivering and
receiving products by rail (although some may have used the station or team
track rather than having a dedicated siding). I will add other industries as I
receive information about them:
Industry |
Goods Shipped/Rec'd |
Company Name |
flour and grist mill |
flour, meal, feed, etc. |
Summerfield Milling Co. |
sawmill |
rough lumber |
J. W. Styers (Greensboro) |
|
|
|
Odds and Ends
I have corresponded with Ms. Gladys Scarlette, the author of a pictorial history of
Summerfield, first published in 1995. My copy arrived! This is a very
interesting book with lots of photographs of businesses, schools, and other buildings from
many different periods in the life of this town. Ms. Scarlette, a native of
Summerfield has done a wonderful job putting together this collection. All towns should be
lucky enough to have someone like Ms. Scarlette who is willing and able to preserve a
sense of the past so that future generations can understand their heritage. It seems that
the Barnes
& Noble carries the book. Ms. Scarlette is considering a second printing.
Thanks to Bill Brueckmann, another Summerfield resident, for alerting me to this book!
Hopefully, I can obtain permission from some of the photographers to place some of
the photos from the book here on the website. Unfortunately, a good closeup of the
Summerfield railroad station is not available. The pictorial history has a photo
with the station in the background which is sufficient to show that it was built along the
lines of many of the A&Y stations, but the details are nearly impossible to discern.
Well, we will see what the future brings.
|
Here are a couple of photos of an old
brick building that used to be a hardware store and is currently being renovated to
perhaps become the town hall. |
|
This building used to be within site of the A&Y tracks.
I really think that a model of this building would clearly state: Summerfield on the
A&Y. |
|
We have had a difficult time finding a photo
of the Summerfield depot. Dewey Trogdon had a contest and
this is the best photo of the depot that was entered in
the contest. |
|
Mr. Trogdon also found this in service photo
of an unidentified A&Y consolidation in service
steaming out of Summerfield at speed. |
|
This photo of an A&Y train in
Summerfield was published in "Mixed Train Daily"
by Lucius Beebe. Published by E. P. Dutton. & Co., New
York, N. Y. in 1947. |
If you know a better scene for me to
model, or if you have historic photographs of Summerfield you would be willing to share
with me for research or others on this website, please contact me.