Wikipedia:WikiProject Trains/ICC valuations/Hampton and Branchville Railroad and Lumber Company

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Location and general description of property.—The railroad of Hampton & Branchville Railroad and Lumber Company, hereinafter called the carrier, consists of a single-track standard-gauge railroad located entirely in the southwestern part of South Carolina, extending from Hampton to Smoaks, a distance of 24.243 miles. Yard tracks and sidings of the carrier aggregate 2.004 miles, and all tracks owned and used 26.247 miles.

Corporate history.—The carrier was incorporated for a period of 50 years under the provisions of aspecial act of the Legislature of the State of South Carolina, approved December 16, 1891. Under the provisions of this act it was authorized to construct a line of railway from some point on the Savannah River below Hamburg, through the town of Hampton Court House, and the counties of Hampton, Colleton, and Orangeburg; to extend the line at any time to Sumter, S. C.; and to connect with any railroad in South Carolina or Georgia, thereby making a short line to Jacksonville, Fla. It was also empowered to manufacture lumber, railroad ties, and other timber products, and to build, purchase, own, hold, use, sell, or otherwise dispose of steamboats, sailing vessels, and other property. The principal office of the carrier is at Hampton, S. C. Control is vested in the heirs of W. H. Mauldin, one of the original incorporators.

Prior to the incorporation of the carrier, about 6 miles of its present line, extending in an easterly direction from Hampton, was constructed in 1890 by the firm of Mauldin and Sons, the exact date of completion not being of record. The first records of the carrier date from January 1, 1901, at which time its line of road extended from Hampton to a connection with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company at Hampton and Branchville Junction, S. C., a total distance of about 16 miles. In February, 1909, an extension of about 8 miles, from Hampton and Branchville Junction, to Smoaks, was completed and opened for operation, this work having been done by the carrier with its own forces.