Collettsville, North Carolina facts for kids

Collettsville (pronounced coh-lets-ville) is a small, special place in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. It's called an unincorporated community. This means it's not a city or town with its own local government. Instead, it's part of the larger county.

Collettsville is also part of a bigger area called the Metropolitan Statistical Area. This area includes the cities of Hickory, Lenoir, and Morganton.

Homes in Collettsville

When you visit Collettsville, you'll see many different kinds of houses. Some homes are built with a unique design that reminds people of old European buildings. Others look like cozy cabins, made from simple wood.

Many of these houses are quite old. Some were built as far back as the early 1900s! Today, local people still live in and care for these historic homes.

Collettsville's Railroad History

Railroads played a big part in Collettsville's past. In 1884, a railroad called the Chester & Lenoir Narrow Gauge Railroad reached the nearby town of Lenoir. This made everyone excited about building more railroads. People even tried to start new railroad companies, but none of them succeeded at first.

Building the Caldwell & Northern Railroad

Things changed in 1891. A company called the Caldwell Land & Lumber Company received permission to build a railroad. This permission is called a "charter." By 1893, they had built a line from Lenoir all the way to Collettsville. They named it the Caldwell & Northern Railroad.

This railroad was mainly used to help the lumber industry. It carried wood from the forests to the many furniture factories in Lenoir. The railroad owned two locomotives (train engines), one passenger car, and 21 flatcars. Flatcars are open cars used for carrying goods.

Expanding the Rail Line

The Caldwell & Northern Railroad slowly grew and became successful. By 1903, the tracks were extended further up a place called Wilson Creek. However, the company ran out of money before they could finish.

In 1905, another company, the Carolina & Northwestern Railway, took over the line. They continued to operate it as a separate railroad. The tracks were extended even more, reaching Mortimer and then Edgemont by 1906.

Finally, in 1910, the Caldwell & Northern line officially became part of the Carolina & Northwestern Railway. This helped them provide better service to all their customers.

See also

In Spanish: Collettsville para niños