Ramseur (milepost CR 18.7)
History
This town (altitude 442) in east Randolph County was originally know as Allen's Fall. After 1878 when Deep River Mills was formed the town was renamed Columbia. In 1895 the town was incorporated and renamed Ramseur through the efforts of William H. Watkins, a local textile mill owner, in honor of Stephen D. Ramseur, a Confederate General and associate of Watkins during the war. Like other towns on the branch, Ramseur is located on the Deep River. The river provided hydro-power and was the main reason the textile mills and furniture factories that provided much of the A&Y's tonnage were established there.
In the days of the A&Y, the town served as the terminal and namesake of the Ramseur branch. In 1943, the sidings in Ramseur had a capacity of 34 cars. In 1916, the ICC Valuation project listed the following structures belonging to the A&Y in Ramseur:
- Combination (freight/passenger) station
- 2 oil houses
- Passenger platform
- Coal bin
- Section house
- Engine oil house
Based on engineering drawings dated 1916 in the ICC valuation papers, the combination station was built about 1886 and was 50'x30' with an 6-8' wide wooden platform running around it. The passenger platform built around 1908 was 20' wide and extended 48' from one end of the station at that time. The platforms were boarded up on the sides using 1" boards in a vertical alignment. The station had a gable roof (13' 3" and 20' 6" in height) with metal shingle covering. The station was lighted with electric lights with tin reflectors. The photograph of the station is dated 1918. Click on the thumbnail to see a full size image in a separate window.
One of the oil houses was constructed using an old boxcar body (9'x35') supported by 14 track ties. The oil house was estimated by the engineer to have been built in 1910. The Section store house, built approximately 1891 also was an old boxcar body (9'x35') supported with "100' B.M. blocking" according to the engineering report of 1916. The roofs for both structures were re-covered with "ready roofing" material.
Track DiagramClick on the image below to see a rendition of the ICC Valuation Map Section 27b #5 I developed from a digital image of the original blueprints in the National Archives. Note the 55' diameter turntable used at this end of the Ramseur branch. Also note the Columbia Mfg. Co., warehouses and two furniture factories. I am guessing that one or both of them were the Ramseur Furniture Co. listed in the Shippers Guide (see below).
Industries
A Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 indicates the following industries were located in Ramseur and using 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):
Industry Goods Shipped
Company Name
cotton mill Yarns, No. 8, Skeins, Cones and Tubes
Enterprise Manunfacturing Co.
cotton mill 36" 4 yard 4x4 Sheetings
Columbia Manufacturing Co.
flour and grist mill flour and feed
Ramseur Milling Co.
flour and grist mill flour and feed
Enterprise Milling Co.
flour and grist mill flour and feed
Richland Roller Mills
furniture factory case goods, chiffoniers, bureaus, and wash stands
Ramseur Furniture Co.
planing mill miscellaneous
Fleta Lumber Co.
planing mill miscellaneous
Coleridge Mfg. Co.
sawmill oak lumber
Hurly C. Parks
sawmill oak lumber
W. T. Foushee & Co.
sawmill oak lumber
Staley Lumber Co.
sawmill oak lumber
John Bray & Son
sawmill oak lumber
J. C. Craven
sawmill oak lumber
T. A. Cox
woodworking factory cotton mill supplies
Novelty Wood Works
Odds and Ends
Occasionally, my searches yield some information about a business or prominent landmark that existed in the towns served by the A&Y. Not all of the businesses used rail to ship or receive goods in car lots, but these businesses could have been LCL shippers and were definitely a part of the life of the residents. So I'll include them when interesting. For Ramseur, I found this old label for the Ramseur Broom Works, Inc.
