Verona, North Carolina - The Railroad

The Railroad

In 1897, The Wilmington, New Bern and Norfolk Railroad Company laid a railway from Jacksonville, to Wilmington, running through Verona. The Railway through Verona ran from 1897 to 1984, when the trains where shut down, and the tracks were torn up. Shortly after the tracks were laid, a large three story train station was built in Verona on the intersection of Loy Avenue and Verona Rd. Though the tracks operated until 1984, the Train Station shut down in the late 1930s. The Railway mostly carried lumber and industrial supplies from Jacksonville to Wilmington. During World War II, and the Korean War the railway played a vital role in the USA’s war effort as a troop train route. Marines were carried from the newly constructed Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune to the port of Wilmington to be deployed. After the old train station was shut down the antique structure remained, serving many purposes throughout the years before it caught fire and burned down in 2002. Right after it was shut down as a train station, it was used as a post office and general store. From around 1900 to the 1960s, there was a post office in Verona, and Verona was given its address: Verona, NC. In the 1960s the county townships were reorganized, and Verona became part of rural Jacksonville, causing the address of Verona’s citizens to change to Jacksonville, NC. Verona lost its post office and was put on the city postal route.