Abstract:
In the early 19th century, connecting the Piedmont and Coast was of utmost concern for state legislators. To solicit investors to the proposed Fayetteville and Western Railroad, Rev. Simeon Colton was enlisted to travel to areas of proposed construction and illicit investors. His efforts failed but his remarks concerning the benefits of such a rail line and notes concerning his attempts to find interested parties in the company are reprinted here from an address Colton gave before the Board of Internal of the General Assembly in 1840.