William Aiken (1779 – May 5, 1831), or William Aiken, Sr., was the founder and president of the pioneering

South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company was a railroad in South Carolina that operated independently from 1830 to 1844. One of the first railroads in North America to be chartered and constructed, it provided the first steam-powered, schedul ...

. and Born in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, he immigrated to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

at age 10. He was raised

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. He married Henrietta Watt in 1801. They raised two children, living in 456 King Street from 1807 until his death in 1831. The railroad was organized in a meeting at this house in 1827, and Aiken was chosen as President. Construction of the railroad began in January 1830. He was killed in a Charleston carriage accident caused by the train's noise frightening his horse. The railroad was completed in 1833, and was the longest railroad, at 136 miles, under one management, in the world. A historic district comprising one of his homes and selected structures of the railway,

William Aiken House and Associated Railroad Structures The William Aiken House and Associated Railroad Structures make up a National Historic Landmark District in Charleston, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, that contains structures of South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company and the ho ...

, was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

and was further declared to be a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Also another home of his known as the

Robinson-Aiken House The Gov. William Aiken House (also known as the Aiken-Rhett House, or the Robinson-Aiken House) was built in 1820 at 48 Elizabeth Street, in the Wraggborough neighborhood of Charleston, South Carolina. Despite being known for its association wi ...

, which his son,

William Aiken Jr. William Aiken Jr. (January 28, 1806September 6, 1887) was the List of Governors of South Carolina, 61st governor of South Carolina, serving from 1844 to 1846. He also served in the state legislature and the United States House of Representative ...

, a governor of South Carolina, acquired after his death, also was listed on the National Register. This home is also known as the Gov. William Aiken House. Aiken is the namesake to

Aiken County, South Carolina Aiken County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 168,808. Its county seat and largest city is Aiken. Aiken County is a part of the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistica ...

References

1779 births 1831 deaths People from County Antrim Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States Businesspeople from Charleston, South Carolina 19th-century American railroad executives Accidental deaths in South Carolina {{US-business-bio-1770s-stub