“The Wind Blowed Cold”: An Archaeological Study of Life, Labor, and Imprisonment on the Western North Carolina Railroad

Between 1875 and 1890, thousands of people incarcerated by the state of North Carolina were forced to build the Western North Carolina Railroad (WNCRR) through the Blue Ridge Mountains under the state’s convict leasing system. Over 90% of these individuals were Black men and boys. This dissertation examined their lived experiences through the archival and archaeological records. Incarcerated railroad workers were subjected to inhumane living and working conditions, and many died due to illness, work accidents, and direct violence. Documentary evidence shows that these individuals resisted their oppression in many ways, including escapes, sabotage, and retaliatory violence. In recent years, several groups in western North Carolina have been working to reckon with this difficult history and memorialize the people who lost their lives building the railroad. This project engaged these communities through digital and in-person outreach. Archaeological excavations at the Cowee Tunnel Prison Labor Camp, located along the former Western North Carolina Railroad in Jackson County, suggest that incarcerated workers were subjected to enforced material poverty, resulting in archaeological deposits which differ from other forms of forced labor such as chattel slavery.