The Western North Carolina Railroad was established by the state legislature in 1855 to extend the North Carolina Railroad from Salisbury (Rowan County) to Morganton (Burke County). The railroad from Salisbury to Morganton was constructed between 1858 and 1863. Following organizational restructuring and amendments to the Western North Carolina Railroad Company's charter, two routes were proposed to extend the railroad to Paint Rock (Madison County), North Carolina, and Ducktown (Polk County), Tennessee. After 1875, much of the labor needed for building the railroad was acquired by leasing prisoners from the North Carolina State Penitentiary. From 1886 to 1894, the property of the Western North Carolina Railroad Company was leased and operated by the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company. In 1894, it was sold to the Southern Railway Company.