Towns Along the Line · Milepost CF 104.7

Siler City, NC

Chatham County · Altitude 598 ft.

History

Siler City is located at 598 feet above sea level in west Chatham County and named after a family of settlers who came from Germany around 1750. Known first as Matthews Cross Roads (after Captain Billy Matthews) at the junction of the Raleigh-Salisbury and Fayetteville-Greensboro plank roads, later with the coming of the CF&YV Samuel Siler was honored when the depot was named Siler’s Station. The post office established in Samuel Siler’s store on July 13, 1880 was named Energy. The name was changed to Siler Station in 1884 and to Siler City in 1886. The town was incorporated March 7, 1887. Read more about the history of this town at the official Siler City web site. This town produces furniture, textiles, processed grain and poultry according to the North Carolina Gazetteer.

By the standards of the line, Siler City’s depot was a modern one. The 1916 ICC valuation recorded an L-shaped Type 3 combination station (Southern Railway print No. 15/219) with its freight room set nearly three feet above the passenger end — and, most tellingly, wired for electric light. In 1916 that put Siler City in select company: only three stations on the entire A&Y had electricity, and the other two were the terminals at Mount Airy and Greensboro. Siler City was the only country depot on the line so equipped. Fittingly for the Chatham County seat, it also anchored the largest industrial cluster on the southern main line short of Sanford — the survey logged dedicated sidings for the Hadley-Peoples Manufacturing Company and the High Point Bending & Chair Company, the Stout Brothers siding just to the south, and the longest passing track in the whole southern segment.

Track Diagram

In 1943, the Siler City yard had a capacity for 54 cars. Today it is a very small part of the NS system. The yard was a typical small yard in the industrial section of town. The currently existing industrial buildings probably did not exist or were differently configured during the A&Y era.

Industries

A Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 listed fifteen industries in Siler City using the A&Y for delivering and receiving products by rail (although some may have used the station or team track rather than a dedicated siding). The 1930 Sanborn fire insurance maps confirm several of these and document additional firms operating along the A&Y tracks by that date.

1930 Sanborn fire insurance map showing A&Y RR tracks through Siler City’s industrial district, with R.F. Huddleston Planing Mill, High Point Bending & Chair Co., and Siler City Mills labeled — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Siler City, N.C., October 1930 (Sheet 4). The A&Y RR tracks cross the industrial district at center, flanked by R.F. Huddleston Planing Mill (above) and High Point Bending & Chair Co. (right). Siler City Mills’ flour mill sits directly on the tracks at lower left. Click to view full size. *Source: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.*

Industry type	Goods shipped / received	Company name
brick factory	machine-made bricks	Bray Bros.
cotton gin	cotton	Edwards & Lane
cotton gin	cotton	Farmers Gin Co. ③
cotton gin	cotton	Lambe Mfg. Co.
cotton gin	cotton	T.E. Lane & N.L. Stone ③
cotton mill	yarns, 12s, 16s, and 20s, 2‑ply skeins and tubes	Hadley-Peoples Mfg. Co.
flour and grist mill	shipstuff, meal, bran	Siler City Milling Co. (see link below)
flour and grist mill	flour, shipstuff, meal	Electric Milling Co.
flour mill	flour, meal	Siler City Mills, Inc. ③
furniture factory	chairs, rockers, porch and lawn furniture, brace arms, goose necks, chair stock in rough	High Point Bending & Chair Co.
grain and hay dealer	meal and crushings	Siler City Light & Telephone Co.
hosiery mill	hosiery	Chatham Hosiery Mills, Inc. ③
ice and coal dealer	ice, coal	Siler City Ice & Coal Co. ③
machine shop	machine work	C.S. Ellis Machine Co. ③
planing mill	pine roofers & building material	Stout Bros. Lumber Co.
planing mill and sawmill	lumber, building materials	R.F. Huddleston Planing Mill ③
sash, door & woodworking factory	sash, doors, millwork	Chatham Sash & Door Co., Inc. ③ (in receivership Sept. 1930)
sawmill	oak, pine, poplar	H.H. Elder
sawmill	oak, pine, poplar	Ed. T. Jordan
spoke and handle factory	ax, pick, hammer, canthook handles	D.C. Kidd (P.O. Ore Hill, NC)
spoke and handle factory	spoke billets	P.A. Smith (P.O. Kimbolton, NC)
steel, iron works & machine shop	general machine work	A.A. Lambe
woodworking / bent chair stock	bent chair stock, chairs	Williams-Brower Co., Inc. ③
woodworking factory	rough chair stock	Piedmont Hardwood Co.

③ Identified from the 1930 Sanborn fire insurance maps; not in the 1916 Southern Railway Shippers Guide. Sources: Southern Railway Shippers Guide, 1916; Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Siler City, N.C., Oct. 1930 (Library of Congress).

Odds and Ends

Here 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 Siler City. I welcome any and all information about this former A&Y community!

A&Y locomotive at Siler City, photograph posted by Doug Nixon — A&Y locomotive at Siler City, posted by Doug Nixon. Click for full size.

This image was posted on the A&Y Facebook page by Doug Nixon. The date can be guessed from the automobiles. This is likely taken from the Siler City (Chatham) Mills. It shows the original depot in the center.

Siler City Mills, with the original depot in the center — Siler City Mills. Click for full size.

The Siler City Mills was a prominent industry in town. I have linked a PDF by Jerry Stone with historic information about the last years and the fire that destroyed the mills.

I also have a PDF of “The First 75 Years” booklet published by the company.

Greased pig contest postcard, Siler City Grit newspaper, ca. 1907 — Greased pig contest, postcard from *The Siler City Grit*, ca. 1907. Click for full size.

A greased pig contest photo courtesy of “The Siler City Grit” newspaper circa 1924. Found on eBay.

Siler City High School, ca. 1939. Click for full size.

Siler City High School, circa 1939.

Elkins Pharmacy, Siler City, NC.

Siler City Post Office, ca. 1940. Click for full size.

The Siler City Post Office circa 1940.

Siler City Drug Store and Edwards Watchmaker and Jeweler, ca. 1915 — Siler City Drug Store and Edwards Watchmaker & Jeweler, ca. 1915. Click for full size.

Siler City Drug Store, circa 1915.

Oak chair from the Boling Chair Company, Siler City, NC — Boling Chair Company oak chair, Siler City, NC.

An oak chair from the Boling Chair Company of Siler City, NC.

N&W MoW boxcar 517879 in the Siler City yard — N&W MoW boxcar 517879, Siler City yard. Click for full size.

The only photograph I took here. The image is probably of more interest to N&W historians and NS modelers than to those interested in the A&Y.

Pop Kola poster from Reitzel Beverage Company, Siler City, NC — Pop Kola poster, Reitzel Beverage Co., Siler City.

Why a soda poster? I found this poster on eBay and the story told by the seller was that POP KOLA was a Coca-Cola® imitation circa WWII that was too close to the real thing — because someone had gotten the actual Coke formula! The lawyers had it out and POP KOLA ceased production. Why is this on the Siler City page? According to the eBay seller, POP KOLA was bottled by Reitz Bottling Company of Siler City, NC! I have now verified this story from another source. However, Jack Allred states that the name of the company was Reitzel Beverage Company. According to Jack, POP KOLA was short lived. The Reitzel’s most popular drink was probably “3 Cent Copper” — it also tasted a lot like Coca Cola. Another product, Gold Dot soda, was also bottled by Reitzel Beverage Company.

More information on Siler City to come. Stay tuned.