Siler City (milepost CF 104.7)
Siler City is located at 598 feet above sea level in west Chatham County. Known first as Matthews Cross Roads, at the junction of the Raleigh-Salisbury and Fayetteville-Greensboro plank roads, it was later known as Siler's Store and Siler's Station. The post office established here in 1880 as Energy. The name was changed to Siler City in 1884 and was incorporated in 1887. This town produces furniture, textiles, processed grain and poultry according to the North Carolina Gazetteer.
In 1943, the Siler City yard had a capacity for 54 cars. Today, it is a very small part of the new NS system. I did not spend much time in Siler City. The yard was a "typical" small yard in the industrial section of the City. The currently existing industrial buildings probably did not exist or were differently configured during the A&Y era.
The only photograph I took is this one to the left. The image is probably of more interest to N&W historians and NS modelers than to those interested in the A&Y. I'll have to look harder.
Why a soda poster? I found this poster on EBAY and the story told by the seller was that POP KOLA was a Coca ColaŽ 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 alot like Coca Cola. In addition, another product, Gold Dot soda, was also bottled by Reitzel Beverage Company.
More information on Siler City to come. Stay tuned.
