Construction on this line began in 1907, with the intent to connect the Richmond and Danville Railroad in Elkin, NC, with the Norfolk and Western line at Jefferson, NC, 60 miles away. However, only 18 miles of track were ever laid, and although the E&A was very profitable in its first 10 years, the building of US Route 21 from Elkin to Sparta rendered the line obsolete. Thus, the line was never completed to Jefferson, and was abandoned entirely in 1931.
Today, the right-of-way is visible in the woods north Elkin. After starting in Elkin, the line ran north through Adsit, Klondike, "State Road", Parks, Thurmond, Doughton and ended in Veneer.
The railroad was the focus of a term paper by Dan Bray in 1979; his paper is available at the Elkin Public Library, catalog number NC 385.
