GRAVES' CONCLUSION: THE FORGOTTEN LEADER WHO SET NORTH CAROLINA ON TRACK FOR PROGRESS.

• Author: Washburn, Mark
• Position: HEADWINDS

You've probably never heard of Calvin Graves, a Yanceyville attorney and farmer, but he was arguably the most influential figure in propelling North Carolina from the depths of destitution to a manufacturing powerhouse. We were languishing as "The Rip Van Winkle State" when Graves' pivotal moment arrived in 1848. Impoverished by a lack of navigable waterways that fed the booming ports of Norfolk and Charleston, North Carolina's transportation network was little more than rutted wagon roads serving backwoods villages beyond the coastal cities.

But a newfangled invention was taking root. It was the railroad, and wherever one went, prosperity--and commerce --followed.

Farmers along a rudimentary rail line from the Piedmont to Petersburg, Va., saw their shipping costs for a bushel of grain plunge from 45 cents to 15. Salt, cotton and other goods swiftly rode the rails at a fraction of the price of overland wagons.

In Raleigh, lawmakers considered competing plans for a $3 million, state-supported railway that would open the western frontier to easterly markets. It was a fierce battle between those who opposed the rail line and others. Fault lines split the east and west, Democrats and Whigs. In the N.C. Senate, it was a stalemate: 22 for, 22 against.

All eyes turned to Graves. As Senate president, he held the tie-breaking vote. As a Democrat, he was obliged to vote against the ambitious gamble. "Aye!" he declared, putting principle above party. In his mind, this railroad thing held revolutionary potential.

It went over budget and behind schedule, but when tracks opened between Goldsboro and Charlotte, North Carolina's economy was instantly roused from its stupor. Crops rode east and machinery rode west.

Three other railroads soon had junctions in Charlotte. Competition among the rail lines...