Mackeys Ferry, North Carolina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mackeys Ferry, North Carolina
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| Nickname(s):
a.k.a. Mackeys
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| Country | United States |
| State | North Carolina |
| County | Washington |
| Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
27970 (Roper, NC)
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| Area code(s) | 252 |
| GNIS feature ID | 989213 |
Mackeys Ferry, also known as Mackeys, is a small community in Washington County, North Carolina, United States. It is not a city with its own government. Instead, it is an unincorporated community, meaning it is part of a larger county area. Mackeys Ferry is located in North Carolina's Inner Banks region. It sits right where Mackeys Creek flows into the large Albemarle Sound.
Contents
History of the Railroad
For many years, a railway line called the Norfolk Southern Railway passed through Mackeys Ferry. This railway started running here around the beginning of the 1900s. It was an important way to transport goods and people.
Connecting Towns by Rail
The main railway line connected big cities like Raleigh and Norfolk. From Mackeys Ferry, smaller lines branched off. These branch lines went to other towns. They connected Mackeys Ferry to places like Columbia and Belhaven. This helped people and products move easily across the region.
Crossing the Albemarle Sound
Before a long bridge was built, trains had a unique way to cross the Albemarle Sound. They used a special ferry to carry the train cars from Mackeys Ferry to Edenton. This was a slow process.
In 1910, the Norfolk Southern Railroad built a huge wooden bridge. This bridge, called the Albemarle Sound Trestle, was over 5 miles long! It connected Mackeys Ferry directly to Edenton. This made train travel much faster and easier.
Changes to the Railway
In the late 1980s, the Norfolk Southern Railway stopped using the long bridge. It was too expensive to keep it in good repair. So, the bridge was taken down. This meant the railway line to Mackeys Ferry became a "spur line." A spur line is a short track that branches off a main line and then ends.
Trains continued to use the tracks near Mackeys Ferry for a while. They would load farm products at the old train station site. However, by 2004, these tracks were also removed. Today, the railway tracks only run a short distance outside of Plymouth. They go into an industrial area nearby.
