1850s ‘Razzle Dazzle’

Rowan did not top these early Forties parades for decades. In the early 1850s, economic development trumped mere patriotism. One year, as many people as possible went to Statesville on the Fourth for a meeting to raise money for the railroad that was to go from Salisbury all the way to Memphis, Tenn. (By the way, it only got to Morganton.)

The sectional conflict that eventually caused the Civil War had a great impact on celebrations of the 1850s. The development of ind...