This 25-mile branch, which opened around 1904, was originally built as part of the Suffolk and Carolina Railway, renamed the Virginia and Carolina Coast Railroad in 1906 and acquired that year by the Norfolk and Southern Railroad, which became the Norfolk Southern Railroad in 1910. The branch provided a connection between Norfolk Southern's Suffolk, VA to Edenton, NC line and their Norfolk, VA to Chocowinity, NC mainline without having to travel all the way down to the junction at Edenton, NC.

The branch was abandoned sometime between 1940 and 1942. It served four communities between Beckford Junction and Elizabeth City, including Parkville.