The History of COMPANY SHOPS 1857, Which In 1891 Became BURLINGTON, N.C. Burlington is a city which almost wasn't. The industry on which this city was founded could have been located in Graham, but the Graham residents did not want it. Glen Raven was seen as a possible location but that did not work either. Greensboro was also seen as a possible site. The industry, of course was the railroad. In the 1850's when the North Carolina Railroad was being constructed across North Carolina's mid section, the company began to seek a suitable site for the repair and maintenance shops. It seemed appropriate that the facilities be located as near the middle of the line, Charlotte to Goldsboro....as possible. One of the initial plans by the railroad would have located the shops just a bit west of what is now Glen Raven. But when agents went out to buy the land, they found the owners wanted nothing to do with the railroad, nor did they intend to sell their land. Graham was seen as a suitable site also, but railroad officials were met with indignant opposition in the little community which had just recently been formed to serve as the county seat for the new county of Alamance. The railroad line would have run just north of the courthouse where Harden Street is today. People in Graham did not want the loud and dirty trains disrupting the proceedings of the court and the quiet of the town. At that point the railroad officials turned to Greensboro in Guilford County, and perhaps would have located the shops there had it not been for Gen. Benjamin TROLLINGER of Haw River. He had land two miles west of Graham, and he contacted other property owners there and put together a tract of 632 1/2 acres that was made available to the railroad company. In his 1854 report to the stockholders the president of the North Carolina Railroad reported: "The board after encountering some difficulty, finally succeeding in securing some 632 and one-half acres of land, at a cost of $6,748.37, which is composed of several tracts and is deemed a suitable location, lying in the county of Alamance, some three or four miles East of the center of the line". Trollinger and his associates raised money for the purchase, and even people in Graham were approached to donate. They agreed to do so on the conditions of a signed agreement which said no lots would be sold and no businesses started in the new shops town. Graham wanted no competition as a business and trade center for the county. The agreement was made but for reasons unknown , the paper was never recorded, and unknown to the people at the time the foundations of a new city were laid. The land purchased also included tracts owned by Nancy and Willis SELLARS, Henry TARPLEY, Steve RICHARDSON and James FONVILLE. Part of the land can be traced back to Ephraim COOK and William O'NEAL, who received it from the Earl of Granville in 1774. To be continued with #2...The Company Shops.