Virginia Central Railroad

from the Marion collection

In 1850 the Richmond connection was constructed by the Virginia Central Railroad, the tracks passing only a few yards from the mill. By 1852 the Orange and Alexandria Railroad was serving Charlottesville. In opening a greater market potential, the two roads also brought Albemarle County within the radius of mills looking for national markets. Yet, the pressure from this competition is easy to over-rate. The Charlottesville Factory produced cloth primarily for lower class consumption rather than for the groups which bought fancy Northern goods.--Harry Poindexter