Begun in 1853 the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad was completed in 1854 and was 163 miles long. The railroad was built to haul South Carolina cotton to the Port of Wilmington which was setting itself to try and compete with the Port of Charleston. The railroad never met its estimate of carring cotton but become a big shipper of navel stores and cotton.

The Wilmington and Manchester ran on a 5' gauge which allowed it to connect up with the South Carolina at Kingtree, SC. After the Civil War, the railroad was in horrible shape and for the most part had to be completely rebuilt. The State of North Carolina became the primary owner of the road in 1868, and in 1870 the railroad was renamed the Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta Railroad.