| Scope and content |
A major portion of the collection concerns the East Carolina Railway and Bridgers's history of that railroad. Correspondence and other records concern the purchase of the East Carolina Railway by the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, East Carolina Railway's association with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, construction mileage, role of railroads in the lumber industry, and the purchase of land for extensions in Edgecombe, Greene, Pitt, and Halifax counties. Other documents reflect the popularity of railroad excursions and the scheduling of special days for use by African Americans, growing threat of truck competition, installation of telegraph and telephone lines, and transportation of cotton and fertilizer along the Tar River. Other materials include documents related to Bridgers's research for The Story of Banking in Tarboro; his command of the Naval Air Station at Roosevelt Roads, including correspondence, records, command chart for CINCLANTFLT and CINCLANT, and map and history of the Naval station; correspondence with his father, H. C. Bridgers, Sr., which mentions fraternity rush, cost of meals, and buying a car while at the University of North Carolina during the early 1930s and photographs, which depict the Bridgers family, World War II Naval airplanes, Naval station at Roosevelt Roads, and Tarboro around the turn of the century. |
| Access restriction | No access restrictions. |
| Cite as |
Henry Clark Bridgers, Jr., Papers (#558), Special Collections Department, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA. |
| Terms of use | Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law. |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner- Gift of family of Captain Henry C. Bridgers, Jr. |
| Biographical note | Henry Clark Bridgers, Jr., (1913-1981), son of Henry Clark Bridgers, Sr., (1876-1951) and great nephew of Robert Rufus Bridgers (1819-1888), graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1935, after which he joined the Navy as an aviator. During World War II, he served in the South Pacific as operations officer of Fleet Air Wing One. He achieved the rank of captain in 1963 and took command of the Naval Station at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. After retiring from the Navy, he returned to his native Edgecombe County, N.C., and became a local historian who wrote on railroading, banking, and steam boating in eastern North Carolina. |
