Bonsal is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the New Hill, North Carolina postal district, in extreme southwestern

Wake County, North Carolina Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

, United States. Bonsal was a railroad junction between the Durham & South Carolina Railroad (D&SC) (originally chartered as the New Hope Valley Railroad) and the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

(originally the

Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad was a North Carolina railroad that operated in the second half of the 19th century. History Early years The Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad traces its history back to the early 1850s, when the line w ...

). The New Hope Valley Railroad route was abandoned in the late 1970s. The original name of the community was Godsey after the Godsey Farm in the area, but this was changed to Bonsal in 1905 after William Roscoe Bonsal, builder and first President of the Durham & South Carolina Railroad (see below). The community was briefly incorporated from 1907 to 1917 to allow the citizens to vote in favor of bills supporting temperance and prohibition. The town charter was revoked in 1917 when the citizens, having accomplished their purpose for being incorporated at all, refused to pay town taxes. Bonsal is now the site of the North Carolina Railway Museum (NCRM) and the operating

New Hope Valley Railway The New Hope Valley Railway is a heritage railroad in Bonsal, North Carolina operated by the North Carolina Railway Museum, Inc., an all-volunteer, nonprofit, and tax exempt educational and historical organization. The railroad consists of a tot ...

(NHVRy) tourist line. The line owns approximately 6 miles of track between Bonsal and New Hill, North Carolina, operating for passengers on the first Sunday of each month from May to November and both Saturday and Sunday the first two weekends in December. Other special event trains are operated at other times throughout the year. The railway north of New Hill, North Carolina has been converted into the American Tobacco Trail.

External links

New Hope Valley Railroad & NC Railroad Museum

The American Tobacco Trail

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Wake County, North Carolina Unincorporated communities in North Carolina