Joanna Community Page / Goldville Railroad Stop / CN&L Railroad Line

Image courtesy of photographer – researcher Ann L. Helms, 2018. The Joanna CN&L Railroad Depot, 1986.

City Directories and History: This page on R&R is provided as a section to display historic images and information on the historic community of Joanna, S.C.

Also known as the Goldville Community and railroad stop: Columbia, Newberry & Laurens Railroad (1895-99, 1900-84)

Charter: The charter for the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens Railway Company was approved on December 26, 1885.

“That the said company be, and is hereby, authorized to construct, maintain and operate a railroad extending from the City of Columbia through the fork of Lexington and Newberry Counties by the way of he Town of Prosperity and the Town of Newberry to the Town of Laurens; and the said company shall have the power to extend the said railroad to any point on the boundary line between this State and the State of North Carolina, as the said company may hereafter determine.”

History: The rails from the Laurens Railroad between Newberry and Laurens were removed during the war. The railroad was partially repaired in 1875 and operations were resumed by the Columbia & Greenville Railroad. It went into receivership in 1878 and was sold at foreclosure in 1881. It was reopened as the Laurens Railway, under the control of the Columbia & Greenville Railroad.

In 1885 the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens Railroad was granted a charter. Construction began in 1890, with the line opening in 1891, from Columbia to Dover Junction with a connection to the Laurens Railway. In 1896 the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens Railroad, purchased the Laurens Railway, completing the 75 mile long line. (courtesy carolinarails.org)

Joanna located six miles southeast of Clinton has an unusual history of name changes and acquired its present name only recently. It began as the early settlement of Milton which was established in the 1760’s in the fertile lands along the Little River and became an area of flourishing plantations. Important in the settlement of Milton were John Hunter, Sr. and Judge John Hunter. Another early settler was John Black who operated a grist and flour mill, a sawmill, and a mercantile establishment. Black’s store also housed the local post office to handle mail going and coming by coach on the route from Columbia to Greenville and from New Orleans to Washington. In J814 the post office was renamed Huntsville, presumably in honor of the Hunter family. In 1853, following a population shift in the area, the post office was moved to Martin’s Depot which was also a stagecoach stop. This designation lasted until 1883 when the name of the small town was again changed, this time to Goldville. According to tradition James Blalock, an overseer of lands owned by a prominent family in Union County, had been highly successful during the Civil War in running cotton through the Union

1883 Map of Laurens Co., S.C. – Courtesy of the Library of Congress

blockade to the British West Indies. For this he had been paid in gold which he had deposited in a secret vault. When Blalock resigned his job as overseer in 1872 he requested payment in gold. With his accumulated wealth he purchased land in the area of Martin’s Depot which he paid for with gold. His large plantation was called Goldville, a name later adopted as the official name for the community.

The Yorkville Enquirer reported on Jan. 21, 1891 -“Three store buildings were destroyed by fire at Goldville in Laurens Co., last Tuesday.”

In addition to growing cotton, Blalock, using convict labor leased by the state, built a five-thousand spindle yarn mill. In 1924 the mill was purchased by Stewart Hartshorn who named it after his daughter, Joanna. In 1948 the name of the town and post office was once again changed, this time to Joanna after the plant that produced merchandise bearing the nationally-known trade-mark of “Joanna Fabrics.”

(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)

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Columbia, Newberry, & Laurens Railroad

Courtesy of Craig Dooley via Ann L. Helms Contributor to R&R

The Columbia, Newberry, & Laurens Railroad was one of nine ‘pocket railroads’ in South Carolina. A ‘pocket railroad’ was a short-route road that did not exceed 75 miles in length. 

In 1885, the South Carolina General Assembly issued a charter for the Columbia, Newberry, & Laurens, and the railroad was official on Christmas Day, 1885. In 1890, work began on the track, and by July, 1891, the line was complete from Columbia to Dover Junction, 63.5 miles. In 1896, the Laurens Railroad Company was merged into the CN&L to complete the line to Laurens. 

The first locomotive of the CN&L was built in 1887, and sold in 1922. The CN&L ran daily passenger trains that originated from Union Station in Columbia, and travelled up the line to Laurens, SC. These trains were always pulled by steam, until the service was discontinued in 1952. The rail was originally 56 pound rail which was replaced with 80-85 pound rail in 1925. In 1972, the entire line was rebuilt using heavy ribbon rail. 

The CN&L’s first wreck occurred on September 9, 1899 when a wood trestle over the Broad River collapsed under the weight of the train, killing the entire crew. On September 5, 1928, a Southern Railway passenger train was detoured on the CN&L from Newberry to Columbia, due to a washout on SR track. However, a washout had also occurred on the CN&L at the 3 mile marker, right near the site where Riverbanks Zoo would be located 44 years later.  The Southern train was unaware of this, and plunged into the washout. The train crew and the CN&L pilot onboard were all killed. 

Despite these wrecks, as well as other derailments over the years, the CN&L was a very safe railroad.  Those 2 wrecks were the only ones that resulted in death. 

Because of the CN&L’s location and businesses along its route, the CN&L was a very profitable railroad.  It was an important connection with the Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, and Southern Railway.  In the late 1950’s, the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company steam-powered electric generating plant opened up at Lake Murray, providing significant coal traffic on the CN&L. 

As an interesting side note, the town of Irmo, SC was built by the railroad as a water and fuel stop along the way.  It was incorporated in 1890, and consisted of 1 square mile of area.  It has obviously grown over the years.  The name of the town came from the first two letters of the last names of C.J. Iredell, secretary-treasurer of the CN&L, and H.C. Moseley, first president of the CN&L. 

The Columbia, Newberry, and Laurens railroad was an important boom to the towns of Irmo, Clinton, Chapin, and others along its route. Known also as the “Crooked, Noisy, & Late,” the railroad was an independent company throughout its 99 year history, even though it was technically ‘owned’ by the Atlantic Coast Line since 1924. Its diesel locomotives reflected this controlling interest, as they were in the ACL’s purple and silver paint scheme. In 1984, the CN&L was formally merged into CSX Transportation. 

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