Ever Wonder Why the Trolley Logo for Old North Salisbury?

If you are curious as to why the Old North Salisbury Association has the Trolley Car as its logo - you will find the answer most interesting! It's not about the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer as you might think (www.nctrans.org)! Yes ~ it's down the road ~ but not the reason for the Trolley Logo!

In 1896, the City of Salisbury was primarily a "walking city". The population, at that time about 6,000 people, lived in a clustered area around downtown and could walk to most of their churches, shops, and places of work.

In 1901 the first street car line was proposed to run between Salisbury and Spencer. The Salisbury Light and Power Company (later called the Salisbury-Spencer Railway Company) completed the trolley car line from the Southern Railway Hotel in Spencer along North Main St. to the Square in Salisbury. These were electric trolley lines, not the automated trolley we see today on our Friday Nights on the Town. The company changed hands several times and in 1935 Duke Power took over the electric railway franchise here. Duke Power continued the street car service until 1938 when the lines were abandoned for the bus lines. The old tracks along the street of Salisbury were either removed or covered over.

There used to be a trolley stop at North Main Street and Miller Street to service the residents of the Steele Plantation at the John Steele House. The stop is a current bus stop for today's buses. (The picture above depicting the trolley lines along North Main Street in downtown Salisbury in the days of yore is actually an 18" x 12" poster that is available for about $20.00 from www.allposters.com.)If you click on the picture, you will be able to see it in a larger format and can clearly see the trolley lines.

From time to time in the past, although we haven't heard much about it lately, the topic of resurrecting the old trolley line along North Main Street resurfaces. Many believe it would be a tremendous tourist attraction and revenue generator for both Salisbury and the Town of Spencer. Many even believe that the original old tracks could still be under the pavement on North Main Street! Now THAT would be a rejuvenator for the area, wouldn't it!

The advent of the street car was one of the factors in Salisbury's expansion from a "walking city" into a thriving 20,000 population between 1904 - 1930. Is is interesting to note that of the attractive residential suburbs which developed along Salisbury's major trolley line thoroughfares during this first part of the 20th century (along Fulton to Mitchell Avenue - out Mitchell to Fulton Heights - down Council Street to Caldwell St and out west Innes Street to the Yadkin Valley Fair Grounds), only North Main Street retains much of its original appearance.

So ~ because of its historic significance to the North Main Street neighborhood of Salisbury North Carolina, the trolley was chosen as the most appropriate symbol for the North Main Street Historic District signs and for the Old North Salisbury Neighborhood Association!

Historic Salisbury Trolley Tours
Each Saturday
April 1 – Oct 31, 2009
11 am & 1 pm
Board at the Visitors Center204 E Innes Street Salisbury