St. Matthews Railroad Cut

Front inscription

Across the street is the St. Matthews Railroad Cut. The cut was built in 1841 as part of the first branch line of the S.C. Railroad, the longest railroad in the world upon its 1833 completion. The branch began 28 mi. S in Branchville and ran 38 mi. N to Columbia, connecting the capital city to Charleston. The line reached Columbia in 1842 and was initially owned by the Louisville, Cincinnati & Charleston Railroad Co.

Reverse inscription

Tradition holds the half-mile-long segment through St. Matthews was built by enslaved African Americans hired out to the railroad company by Jacob M. Dantzler and John J. Wannamaker, who provided the land for the cut. Workers had to hand-dig and haul away tons of earth in order to lay level track through hilly terrain. The steep, 100-feet-wide cut became a defining feature of the town of St. Matthews that developed around it.