South Carolina Rail Road Company

Product Details

Beautifully engraved antique bond certificate from the South Carolina Rail Road Company dating back to the 1860's. This document, which is signed by the company President and Secretary, was printed by the American Bank Note Company and measures approximately 15" (w) by 17 1/2" (h) - including the coupons attached at the bottom margin

This certificate features four vignettes - the Liberty allegorical and George Washington flanking the South Carolina State Seal at the top, a train at a busy depot at the bottom, and two cherubic figures in the lower corners.

RN-T4 revenue imprint at lower left side.

Images

You will receive the exact certificate pictured.

Historical Context

The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company was chartered under act of the South Carolina General Assembly of December 19, 1827. The company operated its first 6 miles line west from Charleston, South Carolina in 1830.

The Louisville, Cincinnati and Charleston Railroad, which had built no track of its own, gained stock control of The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company in 1839. The merged companies changed its name to South Carolina Rail Road Company under an act of the South Carolina General Assembly of December 19, 1843. The South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company had built its first 6-mile line west from Charleston, South Carolina in 1830. The railroad ran scheduled steam service over its 136-mile line from Charleston, South Carolina, to Hamburg, South Carolina, beginning in 1833.

In 1840, the company constructed a 66.3-mile railroad line between Branchville, South Carolina and Columbia, South Carolina; and In 1848, the South Carolina Rail Road Company constructed a 37.1-mile railroad line between Kingsville, South Carolina and Camden, South Carolina. In 1853, the company constructed a 1.8-mile railroad, mainly a bridge over the Savannah River, from Hamburg, South Carolina to Augusta, Georgia.

After 10 years of full operation, and the breakaway and reconsolidation of the LC&CRR, the South Carolina Railroad was still obliged by its original charter to connect with Camden. Despite hard economic times, and heavy debt inherited from the failed LC&CRR project, the 37.1-mile branch between Kingsville, South Carolina and Camden, South Carolina was completed in 1848, fixing the route map for the next 50 years.

During the great prosperity and statewide railroad expansion of the 1850s, the SCRR enjoyed a doubling of its receipts but was obliged to focus on paying off debt, upgrading its physical plant and resolving inefficiencies in its route. After the Civil War, financial losses due to operations of Federal military forces were estimated at $1,438,142. Losses due to the downfall of the Confederacy were $3,803,917, including defaulted CSA bonds, uncollected transport charges and 111 emancipated slaves.

Competition crept in thanks to previous failure to expand. In 1867 the SCRR fought an unsuccessful frog war during construction of the competing Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Railroad by interfering in the courts, claiming an exclusive charter for any railroad connecting Charleston, Columbia, Camden or Augusta. A grade crossing in Columbia was protested in court, then blocked by a parked train, then torn up physically and finally threatened by a steamed-up locomotive ready to move forward to block at any moment. All of these obstructions were quickly dismissed or prohibited.

With debt over $6 million in 1873, the line was unable to expand beyond investments in some collateral lines, including the Greenville and Columbia Railroad. In a pinch, "fare tickets" were found to be helpful. Widely accepted as currency, each unit was good for a 25-mile passage along the line.

Despite these and all other efforts, the road went bankrupt in 1878 and was knocked down to New York interests for $1,275,000. On November 1, 1881, South Carolina Rail Road Company was sold in foreclosure to the organizers of The South Carolina Railway Company, which was incorporated under the general laws of South Carolina on October 17, 1881, as amended December 24, 1885.

After entering receivership in 1889 which lasted for five years under the aggressive management of Daniel H. Chamberlain, former Reconstruction governor of the state, The South Carolina Railway Company was reorganized as South Carolina and Georgia Railroad Company, under the general laws of South Carolina, May 12, 1894, amended by act of December 24, 1894.