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Memorial Boulder Unveiled at Ceremony

The Memorial Ceremony in Ridgecrest, North Carolina, which took place on Sunday, October 22, 2023 was marked by the unveiling of a stone boulder and plaque commemorating the mostly African American incarcerated laborers who toiled, and whom many lost their lives, in order to build the Western North Carolina Railroad between Old Fort and Ridgecrest, up and over the Swannanoa Gap. This stretch of railroad track remains, to this day, one of the country’s most marvelous and deadly feats of engineering.

Both The Valley Echo and The Hickory Daily Record covered the event.

Memorial Unveiling Ceremony Scheduled for October 22, 2023

The public is invited to attend the memorial unveiling ceremony on October 22, 2023 at 3 pm at 391 Yates Avenue, Black Mountain, NC 28711. This new memorial boulder is part of RAIL’s ongoing effort to uncover and highlight the history of the railroad which opened and transformed Western North Carolina. Please see the following press release for more information.

**Saturday Field Demonstrations CANCELLED Due to Weather!**

Unfortunately, due to the storms and high winds which are forecasted, we have made the decision to cancel today’s field demonstrations for safety reasons. We may reschedule these in the future- please watch this page for more information and thank you for your participation in the RAIL Symposium.

Our Fourth Issue of RAILINGS is now LIVE!

The RAIL Symposium is Coming to UNC Asheville March 30, 31, and April 1!

More to come! Register HERE!

Probable Gravesites Located

In November 2021, and in the aftermath of the dedication of the RAIL Memorial at Andrews Geyser, RAIL Treasurer Anne Chesky-Smith made contact with Blair Tormey of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University to discuss the possibility of using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to locate the graves of incarcerated laborers who perished in the construction of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad. Blair connected us to Paul Martin Archaeology Consultants in Tennessee. Paul specializes in archaeological surveys that employ human remains detection canines in conjunction with geophysical surveying tools such as GPR.

To Read More About RAIL’s Weekend Search with the Human Remains Detection Dogs go to our Recent RAIL Press Page!

October Dedication Successful!

Our dedication and unveiling for the memorial on Sunday, October 17 at 3:30 pm at Andrews Geyser was a great success. We thank everyone who helped make this dream come true! Our next goal is to place Wayside Markers to continue to draw attention and educate the public about this important piece of History.

Many thanks to Greg Dillingham and Ellen Pearson for these Dedication photos!

RAIL: The Railroad and Incarcerated Laborer Memorial Project

The construction of the Mountain Division of the Western North Carolina Railroad is widely considered one of the greatest human accomplishments in regards to both engineering and construction ever undertaken at the time it occurred. The project took place over a period of several years in the late 1800s. Many people are aware that the railroad provided the first dependable access to and from much of Western North Carolina for the rest of the state as well as much of the nation. Many also know the names of some of those who were instrumental in seeing through the completion of this ambitious project. Names such as Colonel Alexander Boyd Andrews, of Andrews’ Geyser fame. However, what most people are unaware of is that at least 95% of the labor which built the railroad across the Blue Ridge Escarpment was completed by inmates from the North Carolina State Penitentiary… and approximately 98% of those inmates were African American men… the majority of whom were unjustly imprisoned…

Asheville Weekly Citizen, May 9, 1878

This project was created to share in the true story behind this marvelous human endeavor and to honor their memory. Ultimately, this website seeks to uncover another frame in the hidden history of an Appalachian world rich in both heritage and diversity, and to memorialize ALL of those who lost their lives in this monumental undertaking.

The Steering Committee of RAIL would like to welcome you to learn about the work we are doing and we hope you enjoy your visit to our humble website.

Please click on the menus above to navigate through the website.

The RAIL Project

The Railroad and Incarcerated Laborer Memorial Project