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How The West Was Won, The Transformation of Western North Carolina

By Frank Stasio,
Hady Mawajdeh
Published July 21, 2015 at 12:01 PM EDT
Image of train running in western North Carolina. When the Western North Carolina Railroad Company expanded railroad access to western North Carolina, it allowed several industries to boom.
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When the Western North Carolina Railroad Company expanded railroad access to western North Carolina, it allowed several industries to boom.
Gerald Ledford Collection
Image of a train in Boone, N.C. in 1923
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A train passing through Boone, N.C. in 1923
Gerald Ledford Collection
Image of convict laborers outside Swannanoa tunnel
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Convict laborers outside Swannanoa tunnel
Gerald Ledford Collection

Railroads have always been important to the economic development of North Carolina, but for many years the western part of the state was left out of the equation. The intense, mountainous terrain deterred companies from developing in the area around Asheville.

But in 1877, the state-owned Western North Carolina Railroad Company, headed by Maj. James H. Wilson, began boring through the mountains west of Old Fort. And this started a new chapter in western North Carolina history. Industries like mining, timber and tourism all began to boom.

This story is documented in a new exhibit at the Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University called “How The West Was Won: Trains and the Transformation of Western North Carolina.”

Host Frank Stasio previews the exhibit with Les Reker of the Rural Heritage Museum and exhibit curator and former North Carolina legislator Ray Rapp.

The exhibit is on view through January 2016.

Tags
The State of ThingsLes RekerRay RappRural Heritage MuseumWestern North Carolina Railroad CompanyWestern North CarolinaTrainsMars Hill UniversityHow The West Was Won
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Frank Stasio
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
See stories by Frank Stasio
Hady Mawajdeh
Hady Mawajdeh is a native Texan, born and raised in San Antonio. He listened to Fresh Air growing up and fell in love with public radio. He earned his B.A. in Mass Communication at Texas State University and specialized in electronic media. He worked at NPR affiliate stations KUT and KUTX in Austin, Texas as an intern, producer, social media coordinator, and a late-night deejay.
See stories by Hady Mawajdeh