Inclined Plane highlights Aiken County's railroad history | Aiken Area News – The Post and Courier

Results include the fact that the history of some local institutions, such as St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church, are linked to the names of some of the Lowcountry’s historically prominent families. 

Jessica Meyer said the idea of a historical marker was brought to her attention “only a couple of months ago,” when Allen Riddick, the historical society’s president, notified the Meyer family about the Inclined Plane having been in the same vicinity as their house, which her husband said dates back to about 1917. 

She added, “We enjoy history, and my husband grew up in Aiken. I have only lived here for three years, but I’ve really enjoyed learning more about the city and its formation.”

She noted that lessons have included some for the household’s younger generation: Burck, 9; and Henry, 6. “They know that there is a train that was nearby, and they have seen some folks come by, but their favorite activity by far was digging the hole for the post, for the historical marker.

“My husband … grew up coming to this house and visiting this home, and would spend the night in this house, so we were fortunate to be able to purchase it when we moved back to town,” she said, recalling Salley Patterson, her husband’s “adopted aunt,” as the owner from his childhood years. 

The new creation is the historical society’s 77th marker in Aiken County. It reads, “Near here is the site of the Inclined Plane, a crucial segment of the original S.C. Railroad. The railroad’s mainline was built from 1830 to 1833 by the S.C. Canal and Rail Road Co. to connect Charleston to Hamburg and the Savannah River. The 136-mi. track was the longest in the world when completed. The Inclined Plane began at an Engine House near the intersection of Highland Park Drive and Highland Park Terrace and was among the last sections of the railroad to be built.”

The second side reads, “The Inclined Plane allowed trains to pass between Aiken and Hamburg despite the steepest gradient anywhere along the railroad. Trains were counterbalanced at opposite ends of two half-mile-long parallel tracks and attached to a cable driven by a stationary engine, which lowered and raised trains simultaneously over a 180-ft. change in elevation. The Inclined Plane was abandoned after a longer but quicker route that included the nearby Aiken Cut was built in 1852.”