THE ACL - N&S lines come to Selma in the 1880's

When the State of North Carolina encouraged companies to build railroads in the 1880's by excusing some of them from paying taxes and permitting them to charge rates as high as they pleased, over fifteen hundred miles of railroad were then built during that decade. Construction on the north-south railroad through this area began in 1885 when the Atlantic Coastline decided to shorten its route from New York to Florida by cutting out the dogleg from Wilson to Wilmington and constructing a short cut from Contentnea to the PeeDee.
Misses Amma and Sarah Stancill stated that several miles of this track were laid in Johnston County by two of the county's oldest citizens, Mr. Reddick Stancill, overseer, and Mr. John Underhill. A section ran through farms of Barnabas Creech, Underhill and Stancill, and from near Micro to near Smithfield. The father of Mr. Henry Lee Boney also helped to construct the railroad through this area. The Misses Stancill recalled, "There were days when not only forests had to be burned and cleaned away for the track to be laid, but when sharp-edged cattle guards and many long and short bridges were built for protection of stock which roamed at large. They had neither tractor nor bulldozer for construction work, but hard labor by hand accomplished through the use of horse, mule and oxen to lay the heavy cross ties and iron track to Selma where the Union Station holds its depot on the ACL Railroad running north and south."
In 1887 when the ACL was started across the land of John Archibald Underhill, he donated the land to the company and contracted to grade the bed across his own land and to furnish the lightwood cross ties which were hewed by hand. He also sold cordwood to the company for firewood. An amusing situation existed concerning Mr. Underhill's trips to Wilson, He would walk to Micro to catch a train rather than buy a ticket at Selma because, "I am not going to pay to ride on my own land." Mr. Underhill, who moved to the Selma area about 1874, purchased his 400-acre farm from Iradell Godwin for $8,000, or $2.00 per acre, and paid for it the first year by selling turpentine and cord wood.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.