SECTION II
<~Y\ewd - journal
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1982
Earty A & Ft Train ? hauling lumber
A&R Railroad
Was Critical
To Hoke County
by Paul Fa
The National Endowment for the
Humanities is sponsoring a project
at Richmond Technical College to
.. study railroad history in the Sand
hill region and its impact on
; Southern culture. All the member
prounty libraries of the Sandhill
. Regional Library System, including
Hoke, are invited to participate in
? the project and to contribute
something to the researches.
? Transportation is chiefly respon
i sible for the growth and develop
ment of the United States. As the
country expanded, the need for
more rapid and efficient transit
increased. This requirement was
^rnet by the railroad, probably the
^nost important single form of
transportation involved in the for
mation of the U.S. It was the
railroad that aided the develop
i ment of the State of North Caro
>? lina.
The growth of Hoke County can
? also be attributed to the success of
the railroad. Around the turn of the
century, one railroad was built
^through the heartland of the coun
ty, which would play a vital role in
the lives of its citizens. It was the
Aberdeen and Rockfish Railroad
(A&R).
One of our residents told me: "If
there were no A&R and Raeford
Institute, present Raeford and
Hoke County could not have
existed."
A&R is particularly fortunate in
its strategic location and set-up.
^Few short line railroads in the
country have six different connec
? tions as has the one in our county.
The road connects with the Sea
board Air Line at Aberdeen and
with the Laurinburg & Southern; at
: Raeford it has a connection with
the Laurinburg & Southern; at
Skiko it connects with the Cape
Fear Railway which road serves
Fort Bragg and reservation, and at
PFayetteville it connects with the
r Atlantic Coast Line and the Nor
folk Southern. These alternate
routes are indeed good insurance
for a short line railroad.
After World War II when cars,
trucks, and highways became very
ii popular and partially replaced the
functions of railroads/trains as
i transportation/delivery means,
railroads gradually lost their tradi
tional values. People, today, pay
f less and less attention to the roles
which the railroads had long played
in building this nation.
I A&R, however, has its colorful
' history, which is inseparable from
the growth of our country. It also
\ has close connections with one of
\ the pioneer families in the Sandhill
> region. Its builders, John Blue and
V Neil S. Blue (two brothers), pro
bably contributed more to the
prosperity of this region than any
other old family members. I wrote
an article on Dr. McFadyen's
Mission to China, to which Mr.
Niel S. Blue donated a substantial
number of money to expand a
Christian hospital in Hsuchow-fu in
early 1930s. This article is to
analyze John Blue's successful story
as a businessman and his family's
contribution to the development of
Hoke/Raeford region.
Mr. Blue was born within a farm
in present Hoke County limit
(Quewhiffle Township) in 1845. His
parents were Neil McK. Blue and
Eliza Smith, sturdy Scotch on both
sides. His grandfather, John Blue,
immigrated from Scotland in 1786
in early childhood and settled in the
Sandhill Region. John's father,
Peter Blue, was shot by Col.
Thomas Wade's men near the Ford
of Rockfish for his participation in
the Piney Bottom massacre which
had murdered a group of revolu
tionaries in 1781.
Mr. Blue joined the Confederate
army and fought the War between
the States for two years. In 1867,
two years after closing the hostility,
he began his life's battle, with a
capital of not more than S200 and
from that time till 1890 he was
actively engaged as turpentine
"operator." He-continued in that
business for more than 20 years,
branching out and constantly be
coming a more important factor in
that line of work. The secret of his
success was that from the first he
determined to keep inviolate all his
obligations, and his reputation in
that regard soon secured him
unlimited credit, which, however,
he had ever been chary of using.
In 1892, Mr. Blue chartered and
began to build A&R Railroad,
running from Aberdeen eastward
through the land which he had the
foresight to purchase in the days
when it had but little money value.
This enterprise had proved enor
mously profitable, and the railroad
had been extended until it formed a
connecting link with the Atlantic
Coast Line, a few miles south of
Fayetteville.
After a fight with ACL who at
first refused to allow A&R to make
a necessary crossing of the Coast
line tracks the expanding A&R
entered Fayetteville and began
catering to merchants. In 1931 the
railroad company bought motor
trucks and began door delivery.
Merchandise was also handled in
car load lots.
Firms in Raeford who had had a
big part in keeping the railroad
alive were: Hoke Oil and Fertz.
Co., Hoke Concrete Works, Up
church Milling Co., Burlington
HONEST
KIND
DEDICATED
ONNIE
IS THE ONE
VOTE
ONNIE BRATCHER
DUDLEY
NOV. 2,1982
HOKE COUNTY
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Paid by Froodom Chapel Sunday School Department
Mills and the Johnson Company,
all of which had been frequent
carload lot shippers. Most all of the
Raeford merchants used this me
thod of receiving shipments, and
many other firms shipped products
out but on a smaller scale than
those mentioned above.
Meanwhile, the A&R was one of
the first railroads to install motor
driven passenger coaches. Its first
one was put into service in 1920.
The inland waterway develop
ment of the Cape Fear river which
gave Fayetteville a municipal port,
caused the A&R to make its last
extension of two miles in 1938. The
extension connected the railroad
with the port.
The railroad had had its ups and
downs. The years between 1913 and
1918 were tough ones after the
timberlands were cut over. The
hardest blow yet was in 1918 when
the government took over big
railroad and completely ignored the
little A&R. While the larger truck
lines were getting a free face
lifting at the expense of the
government, the A&R, short of
labor and materials, watched their
John Blue, first president
roadbeds go bad and other equip
ment deteriorate.
The year of 1932 took its toll but
the Aberdeen and Rockfish rail
road pulled through and experi
enced easy sledding once again.
John died in 1922 leaving the
operation of the railroad in the
hands of his children. William
(Will) A., being the oldest, became
President and Chairman of the
board upon his father's death.
William was ably assisted by his
brother Henry McCoy and Habert
J., who served as Associate Vice
President. A sister, Louise became
active in the running of the railroad
serving as Secretary of the Board of
Directors and later, after William's
death, as Chairman of the Board.
Another sister, Kate (Mrs. John
Graham), preferred to stay out of
active participation. However, she
remained in close contact with her
family and their railroad activities
as a stockholder in her father's
company. John's oldest son, Clif
ton, died in 1912.
Will Blue was succeeded by his
brother Henry McKoy Blue in
1954. guided the railroad through
the 50's. He was assisted by his
Vice President. Forrest Lockey. a
very able and capable railroad man
who had worked his way up
through A&R ranks.
Upon the death of Henry Blue in
I960. Forrest Lockey became the
First man outside the Blue family to
serve as President of the railroad.
During his tenure there was an
expansion in rail service for the
A&R. Bigger rail, cars with in
creased commodity demand of
A&R customers came into being.
Newer and more powerful radio
equipped engines were purchased
to move increased loads. Heavier
rail was installed to take care of the
demands of increasing traffic.
The retirement of Mr. Lockey in
1975 brought another man into the
office of the President who had
worked his way up the A&R ranks.
Willard Formyduval, who took
office April I. 1975 was. in the
tradition of his predecessors, a
forward looking man seeking to
improve the status and services of
this small but thriving railroad.
The Blue family, however, still
retains its control of the railroad
through membership on the A&R's
Board of Directors. John Blue, son
of William A. and Richard and
William Blue, son of Halbert J. are
active in their participation in
guiding the affairs of the Aberdeen
and Rockfish.
Although the Aberdeen and
Rockfish railroad has lost its
original role as the important
Aberdeen & Rockfish Jitney
transportation means for our coun
ty and few Blue family members
still live here (Mrs. Kate Coving
ton, niece of Neil S. Blue, lives in
North Magnolia Street of Raeford),
we, Hoke citizens, should not
forget the railroad which once
helped our region become prosper
ous and deliver invaluable services
to our residents and business for
almost half a century.
Meanwhile, we should also pay a
high respect to a family for so many
of its members have made signifi
cant contributions to the growth
and development of the Sandhill
region as well as the strengthening
of our Southern culture.
This article is based on Local
History/Genealogy collection of
Hoke County Library and a per
sonal collection from Ms. Joyce C.
Monroe. Vice President of United
Carolina Bank and author of
"Progress Since 1903. " History of
the Bank of Raeford.
John Blue was also the first
president of the Bank of Raeford
when it was established in 1903.
Special thanks are extended to Ms.
Monroe for making this article
possible.
Cotton Gin
Look what he found at a
garage sale!
Shop the Classified Ads for
the parage sales. At some
you will find most unusual
buys, but at all you
will find
happy
buyers and
sellers daily.
CALL 875-2121
cYlew^ - journal