Wilmington Railroad Museum
The Museum recently received two grants to support additional development in programs and facilities.
~ FROM LANDFALL FOUNDATION: $4000 to establish a "Train Camp" for the summer of 2012. We'll be organizing several one-week sessions to stimulate creativity and imagination within the context of railroading and model railroad pastimes. Geared for grade-shoolers, these sessions will be part education, part activity, and part skill-building, based on an age-appropriate curriculum and adult mentoring.
~ FROM CAPE FEAR GARDEN CLUB: $2984 to beautify Railroad Heritage Square with planters and shrubbery. Now that area construction is complete, we installed touches that soften the industrial aspect of Warehouse B and are consistent with surrounding streetscape improvements. Improvements include columnar greenery around the 1855 station bell, and planters near the end of the wheel lathe and access ramp.
James C. Burke
The most enduring railroad legend of this region is
that of Joe Baldwin. Supposedly, Joe Baldwin, a conductor, was
decapitated in a train wreck. It was said that his body was retrieved
but his head was never found. The Maco Lights, a strange electrical
phenomenon associated with the stretch of track where Baldwin was
supposed to have been killed, was said to be the light from an
otherworldly lantern held by the ghost of Baldwin as he searched for
his missing head. The tale is very old. For generations, people would
go out to the small community of Maco and wait in the dark to see the
lights. After the tracks were taken up, the lights were no longer seen.
While doing research on the Wilmington &
Manchester Railroad, I came across several articles concerning an
accident that had occurred near Hood?s Creek (the Maco area) in January
1856. The only person to be killed in this accident was the train?s
conductor, Charles Baldwin. On the night of Friday 4 January 1856, the
locomotive on the Wilmington & Manchester Road was having
difficulty with its pumps eight to ten miles outside Wilmington.
Engineer Nicholas Walker uncoupled the engine from the rest of the
train and ran it ahead along the line to work out the mechanical
problem. On backing up to retrieve the cars, the engine collided with
the rest of the train. The mail car was smashed, slightly injuring mail
agent E. L. Sherwood. However, conductor Charles Baldwin was thrown
from the train with such force as to inflict fatal head injury (The
Wilmington Journal, 7 January 1856). Coroner J. C. Wood summoned a jury
that determined the accident had occurred because conductor Baldwin had
failed to hang a lantern at the end of the train which would have
alerted the engineer to slow down. (The Wilmington Journal, 14 January
1856). Charles Baldwin?s obituary, found in the same issue of the
Journal as the coroner?s report, indicates that he lingered till
Monday, 7 January 1856. He had moved to Wilmington from New York, and appeared to be well liked in the community.
So, is this the origin of the Joe Baldwin Legend? It
seems likely. It certainly happened in the right place. However, the
accident occurred a decade earlier than the legends say it happened.
Could there have been a second conductor named Baldwin killed at Maco?
I?ve yet to rule out that possibility.