The Petersburg Railroad
The Petersburg Railroad, sometimes called the Weldon Railroad, united Petersburg with Weldon, North Carolina. It was one of the first railroads in America, beginning operations in 1833. It carried vast amounts of cargo and passengers to and from Petersburg before and during the Civil War, prompting General Grant to make its capture one of his chief objectives during his assault on the city in the summer of 1864. These iron rails were ploughed up in 1981 two miles southwest of this point by Lewis Walker, III, who donated them to the college. They were probably thrown aside at the time they were replaced by steel rails in the 1870’s.
Marker is on Johnson Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
