February 11, 1873 was a red letter day as Selma received its charter from the General Assembly 0f North Carolina. Page 388 of the General Sessions Laws-Private-of 1872-73, Chapter XVI states: An Act to Incorporate the Town of Selma, in the County of Johnston. Section 1. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact, That .the town of Selma, in the county of Johnston be and the same is hereby incorporated by the name and style of the town of Selma, and be subject to the provisions contained in chapter one hundred and eleven of the Revised Code Sec.2. That the Corporate limits of said town shall be as follows: one. half mile square making the railroad warehouse the geographical centre. Sec. 3. The officers of said corporation shall consist of a mayor, four commissioners and a marshal."
According to John Mitchener, the surveyor's description of Selma stated: "to find the beginning corner of the town of Selma commence at the' warehouse or depot now being moved from Mitchener depot and measure so many chains and links towards Goldsboro, and then at right angle to the road and from the center of said road 100 feet to a stake, the beginning corner of the town of Selma." Mitchener pointed out that the center of the railroad is about five inches further South owing to two changes of the gauge after placing the town, and because the depot has been moved west one-half the length of the building. Capt. A M. Noble was elected the first mayor of the incorporated town, and its slogan was" A Healthy Place to Live." This slogan may surprise those who have read early historical references to the swampy condition of the town and to railroad ditches in which people fished and gigged for frogs.
From the History of Selma - Centennial Program.
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