Editing Saluda, North Carolina (section)

==History==
Saluda's name came from the [[Cherokee]] word ''Tsaludiyi'', meaning "green corn place". The first name of the area by European settlers was "Pace's Ridge", from the Pace family who inhabited the area. Many of the original families were [[Ulster Scots people|Scots-Irish]] who left [[Pennsylvania]] around the time of the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] in the early 1790s.<ref name=history/>

Count Joseph Marie Gabriel St. Xavier de Choiseul, French [[Consul (representative)|consul]] to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], and cousin to [[Louis Philippe I]] of France, bought land in 1831 from the [[Baring family|Barings]] of nearby [[Flat Rock, Henderson County, North Carolina|Flat Rock]] and built his home, Saluda Cottages.<ref name=Neufeld>{{cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/09/24/visiting-our-past-party-susans-flat-rock-story-1836/691159001/|title=Visiting Our Past: A party at Susan's - a Flat Rock Story from 1836|last=Neufeld|first=Rob|work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]|date=September 24, 2017|accessdate=September 25, 2017}}</ref>

In 1878, there were only two houses in the limits of present-day Saluda. The completion of the Southern Railroad that same year brought about a large change in Saluda. The Saluda railroad grade is unmatched by any main line east of the [[Rocky Mountains]] with a grade that drops {{convert|600|ft}} to the mile.<ref name=history>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.cityofsaludanc.com/history|accessdate=25 September 2017}}</ref> This included 50 curves, some [[Horseshoe curve|horseshoe]], and saved money by going over rather than through the mountains.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2019/03/15/visiting-our-past-working-railroad-casey-jones-dangerous/3068368002/|title=Visiting Our Past: Working on the railroad was Casey Jones-dangerous|last=Neufeld|first=Rob|work=[[Asheville Citizen-Times]]|date=March 15, 2019|accessdate=March 16, 2019}}</ref> This section of railroad was originally built as the [[Asheville and Spartanburg Railroad]]. The railroad was built with [[convict labor]], which marked the first such use on a large scale,<ref name=railroad>{{cite web|title=NC Highway historical marker program|url=http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=O-73%20-%20SALUDA%20GRADE|publisher=North Carolina Office of Archives & History|accessdate=9 November 2011}}</ref> and was supervised by Colonel Andrew Tanner, who operated the first hotel in Saluda and was elected the first mayor of Saluda in 1881.<ref name=history /> In 1887, eight passenger trains passed through Saluda daily, with about 3,000 visitors a year. The Saluda Grade was infamous for runaway train accidents. In 1880 alone, fourteen men were killed on the {{convert|3|mi|adj=on|0}} stretch of track.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gilbert|first=John F.|title=Crossties Over Saluda|year=1971}}</ref> Freight service along the line ended in December 2001 when [[Norfolk Southern]] suspended operations along the line between [[East Flat Rock, North Carolina]] and [[Landrum, South Carolina]]<ref>{{cite news| author=Lori Sondov| url=http://www.polkcounty.org/saludagrade/greerstory.htm| title=Activists launch effort to rescue piece of history in hopes of restoring railroad service thru the Tryon - Saluda area| work=Greer Citizen| date=January 8, 2003}}</ref> before severing this segment from the rest of its system in April 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polkcounty.org/saludagrade/the_saluda_grade.html |title=Welcome to the Saluda Grade |website=www.polkcounty.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111128025204/http://polkcounty.org/saludagrade/the_saluda_grade.html |archive-date=2011-11-28}}</ref> Talks to convert this segment to [[passenger train]] excursion and a [[Rails-to-trails]] conversion made no headway in the 2000s and 2010s.<ref>{{cite news |title=County manager: Rails to trails 'moot point' |url=http://www.tryondailybulletin.com/2011/03/16/county-manager-rails-to-trails-moot-point/|work=[[Tryon Daily Bulletin]]| date=March 16, 2011}}</ref> In February 2023, Norfolk Southern agreed to sell 31 miles of the Saluda Grade to the Saluda Grade Trail Conservancy, which plans to convert the segment to a rail trail.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=March 16, 2023 |title=Norfolk Southern to sell Saluda Grade for conversion to trail |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/norfolk-southern-to-sell-saluda-grade-for-conversion-to-trail/ |work=Trains Newswire |access-date=March 18, 2023}}</ref>