The Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad was a

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

railroad that served

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The line was chartered as the Spartanburg and Asheville Railroad in 1873 and the following year it was consolidated with the

Greenville and French Broad Railroad Greenville is the name of several places: Canada * Laxgalts'ap, British Columbia, formerly named Greenville * Greenville, Nova Scotia, in Yarmouth County *Greenville Station, Nova Scotia, in Cumberland County * Lower Greenville, Nova Scotia, in C ...

, a North Carolina line. The line between

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat, seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest c ...

, and

Hendersonville, North Carolina Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. It is south of Asheville and is the county seat of Henderson County. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leona ...

, opened in 1879. It was sold under foreclosure in 1881 and reorganized under the Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad that same year. The 21-mile distance between Hendersonville and

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, was completed in 1886. By that point, the line was operated as part of the

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

until 1894 and controlled by the Southern Railway afterward.Appalachian History: Manuscript Resources in Special Collections, Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad Company

References

Defunct South Carolina railroads Defunct North Carolina railroads Railway companies established in 1873 1873 establishments in South Carolina American companies established in 1873 {{US-rail-transport-stub