Construction on Norfolk Southern’s Columbia Branch off of their eastern North Carolina mainline was completed around 1904. The branch spanned 22 miles from Mackeys, NC (Mackey’s Ferry at the time) to Columbia, NC and saw daily passenger and freight traffic. It was abandoned in 1948. The branch served several communities including but not limited to Mackeys, Blount, Beasley, Scuppernong, Creswell, Woodley, Travis, and Columbia, all in North Carolina.

All of the track has long been removed and the line is difficult to trace as of April 2010. Part of the line has been reused as a power line corridor between Beasley and Scuppernong.