Bertie County NcArchives History .....Speller's Ferry - Williamston Fill 
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Gerald Thomas gerald_thomas00@comcast.net February 21, 2019, 9:59 am

GOOD-BYE, SPELLER’S FERRY
WELCOME, THE “WILLIAMSTON FILL” AND ROANOKE BRIDGE
SEPTEMBER 7, 1922

BY

GERALD W. THOMAS

Williamston, the county seat of Martin County, is situated immediately across
the Roanoke River from Bertie County and is the closest out-of-county town to
Windsor. The two communities have been linked commercially and socially
throughout much of their histories. Windsor was founded in 1768 and Williamston,
a little more than a decade later in 1779. Windsor was named in honor of
Windsor, in Berkshire, England, home of the British royal family, whereas
Williamston was named in honor of Gen. William Williams, a local military
commander during the Revolutionary War. A portion of the land area comprising
Martin County was originally part of Bertie County during the early colonial
period.
	The Roanoke River, running between Windsor and Williamston and serving as a
boundary between Bertie and Martin counties, proved to be an imposing obstacle
to transportation between the two jurisdictions. The river, a major
transportation corridor during the colonial and early-state eras, commonly
flooded from seasonal rains and heavy runoffs from upriver as far as the
mountains of Virginia. Throughout colonial and early state history, the only
routine across-the-river passages available to travelers between Bertie and
Martin counties were ferries. One prominent ferry, Speller’s, was located in
Bertie County. The ferry, also known as Speller’s Landing, was situated on the
north side of Roanoke River on land originally owned by Henry Speller who died
circa 1727. Speller’s descendants continued to own the real estate where the
ferry operated. The date that the ferry was established is not known.
	By the early 1830s, the citizens of the Bertie-Martin region increasingly
needed and desired improved transportation connecting the two counties. North
Carolina was in the midst of the so-called “turnpike era,” a period during the
first half of the nineteenth century when state leaders championed
privately-owned toll roads as improved transportation links within the state.
During the 1830-1831 session of the North Carolina General Assembly (November
15, 1830 – January 8, 1831), lawmakers passed an act to incorporate the
Williamston and Windsor Turnpike Company. The law designated eight individuals
from four towns in eastern North Carolina to raise the financial capital for the
company: James L. Bryan and Joseph B. G. Roulhac of Windsor; Dr. W. Bagley and
Joseph Biggs Sr. of Williamston; Lewis Leroy and William Blount of Washington;
and John M. Roberts and John S. Hawks of New Bern. The men were authorized to
obtain subscriptions (pledges to commit money) for one hundred shares at $50 per
share – maximum capital of $5,000. However, if the maximum amount was not
pledged, then the provisions of the act were void.
The law stipulated that a turnpike be constructed “beginning at a place known by
the name of the Sand Bar in Bertie county, on the Roanoke, opposite Williamston
Landing, where Henry Slade’s Fishery now is, or near it, and running straight,
or nearly so, to the nearest high land in Cashie Neck.” The law further mandated
that “the ferriage and toll thereof be regulated by the company.” The
anticipated road was to be built through several miles of swampy terrain,
commonly called “low grounds,” from Roanoke River to the “high ground.” The road
was never constructed. Presumably, commitments were not obtained to raise the
legislatively stipulated capital of $5,000. (No deeds for land or rights-of-way
purchases are recorded in the records of the office of the Bertie County
Register of Deeds for the Williamston and Windsor Turnpike Company.)
	Two years later the General Assembly passed another law again authorizing the
incorporation of the Williamston and Windsor Turnpike Company. The latest
statute designated six persons – James L. Bryan, Joseph B. G. Roulhac, and
William Watson of Windsor; and Joseph Biggs, Sr. D. W. Bayley, and Henry
Williams of Williamston – to obtain subscriptions for $5,000 of capital.
However, the new law mandated a different route for the turnpike. The road was
to be constructed “Beginning at Williamston landing, about forty feet below the
upper corner of the said landing on the swash, extending upwards sixty feet,
running thence a straight course … to the extreme bend of the river at the eddy,
thence up the river … to the bend of the river above Herring Gut opposite
Spear’s or Slade’s corner, on the north side of Roanoke river, in Bertie county;
from thence, such direction as the [company officers] … think expedient
terminating … at some point opposite Bond’s plantation, on the road leading from
Speller’s ferry to Windsor.” The law provided that the company establish a ferry
across Roanoke River. Once again, the anticipated road was to be built through
the Roanoke River low grounds, but along a more northwesterly route than the
planned road of two years earlier. As had been the case with the originally
authorized company, no turnpike was built.
	Sixteen years ensued before the legislature again attempted to have a toll road
constructed at some point between Windsor and Williamston. The General Assembly
passed an act during the 1848-1849 session to incorporate the Martin and Bertie
Turnpike Company. For the third time, the lawmakers authorized individuals to
obtain subscriptions for $5,000. The law designated D. W. Bagley, C. B. Hassel,
and A. S. Mooring (all three residents of Williamston) and Kader Biggs, John W.
Bond, and Frederick C. Miller (all of Windsor) to manage the subscriptions. The
legislation stipulated that the road be constructed from Williamston Landing
“and running on either [the] Martin or Bertie side of Roanoke river” as the
directors (to be elected by the shareholder if the company materialized) deemed
“most convenient and practicable so as to intersect … with the public road
leading from Speller’s Ferry to Windsor.” For the third time in two decades, no
turnpike was constructed.
Speller’s Ferry continuously served as the primary avenue for people traveling
between Windsor and Williamston into the early twentieth century. Boats and
canoes were utilized to transport individuals, agricultural commodities, and
other goods between the ferry and Williamston. Other ferries located upriver and
downriver from Speller’s operated, but Speller’s was the most convenient for
travel between southern Bertie County and Williamston.
By the early 1900s, certain Williamston citizens entertained the vision that a
road could be built in Bertie County from a point opposite Williamston Landing
through the low grounds to the “highlands.” The Enterprise, Williamston’s
hometown newspaper, reported on October 18, 1901, that a “reliable source” had
conveyed that the road could be “cut” through the swamp for $350. The paper
further reported that a “ferry boat” could be placed in operation for $200. The
paper touted improved commercial interests as the impetus for a road and ferry.
“If our merchants are desirous of inviting trade to Williamston it is very
necessary that they should not let this opportunity pass. This roadway should be
opened at once. By doing this the Bertie people, in the lower section of the
county, will have another market open to them for their peanuts and cotton. It
will cause more farmers in that county to grow tobacco [during] the coming
season.” The paper further positioned that “We really believe that this movement
is necessary to the success of the intended tobacco market for Williamston. The
sooner a ferry is established at this point the sooner our merchants will be
able to increase their business.”
The paper reiterated its position on May 9, 1902. Williamston merchants were
establishing a tobacco market in Williamston. The Enterprise noted that “An
added impetus will be given to a roadway through the lowlands of Bertie to one
of its main thoroughfares, affording an excellent opportunity for the farmers of
that county to bring their tobacco to the Roanoke and then bring [it] across on
the ferry to within a half a mile of the warehouses. Bertie is engaging in
tobacco for the first time and will, so say experts, produce a fine grade. The
roadway to Williamston will materially benefit both sections.”
Williamston’s town leaders initiated efforts to construct a new road in Martin
County during early summer 1902. They approved a road, which was termed the
“Bertie road,” to be built on the Martin County side of Roanoke River from
Williamston to a point opposite Speller’s Ferry. The officials appointed the
Martin County sheriff to manage the effort. The Enterprise concluded on July 4,
1902, that “we think [the new route is] a better route” than previously had been
planned. Work began on the road on Monday, July 7. By July 18, lumber was being
hauled to Conoho Creek about two miles from Williamston to build bridges. The
work of “cutting out the road” was progressing as quickly as “could be
expected.” Before August, the road had been “cut out” and the bridge across
Conoho Creek and the ferry boat were expected to be “in readiness in a short
time.” The town of Williamston expended $100 on the “Bertie Road,” which
subsequently became more commonly known as the “river road.”
By August 1903, the newly opened road was yielding benefits to Williamston as
The Enterprise had expected. On Tuesday, August 4, the road and ferry were “well
patronized” by a large crowd of Bertie County citizens who travelled to
Williamston to attend the opening sales of the tobacco market. The next day,
“quite a crowd” of Williamston’s residents took the new route to journey to
Windsor to attend the Confederate Old Soldiers’ Day festivities.
The advent of the automobile and the significantly increased need to accommodate
individuals’ personal travel necessitated extended highways throughout the
nation. Related, in 1915 during the waning days of Gov. Locke Craig’s
administration, North Carolina formed the Highway Commission. The action was
taken in large part to receive funds from the federal government for highway
construction. The commission was restructured in 1919 with passage of the Stacey
Bill, which enabled the commission to direct North Carolina’s increasing
involvement in road building. 
Federal, state, and local leaders opined that a continuous road was needed
extending down the Atlantic seaboard to the Southern states. Col. Beneham
Cameron, a Durham native, studied potential routes and concluded that
Williamston “was the key point” through which a highway should run. Eventually,
the resulting plan enlisted the cooperation of the federal government in
combination with state and local assistance.
Meetings were held during 1918 in various counties seeking the people’s approval
for the project. Martin County residents attended a “mass meeting” in
Williamston at which Colonel Cameron explained specifics of the project –
building of a road through the low grounds of Bertie County to the Roanoke River
and construction of a bridge across the river at Williamston. Subsequently, a
meeting of Bertie County citizens was held in Windsor at which the attendees
approved of the project.
John Hilary Matthews, one of Bertie County’s representatives to the General
Assembly, introduced a bill during the 1919 legislative session authorizing
Martin and Bertie counties to build the road and bridge. Lawmakers passed the
bill which was ratified on February 5, 1919. The law authorized the
commissioners of the counties to sell bonds to raise funds for the effort.
Martin County was authorized to sell $150,000 and Bertie, $50,000. The
commissioners were further authorized to annually levy taxes on residents’ real
and personal property in amounts sufficient to pay periodic interest due to bond
holders and to create a fund to pay off the bonds at maturity. The law noted
that the route for the road and bridge had already been “surveyed and laid out.”
Before the end of February, the United States Congress granted consent to Martin
and Bertie counties to construct a bridge across Roanoke River. Congressional
approval was required for construction of the bridge since the Roanoke was a
navigable waterway. The relevant statute, approved February 27, 1919, was
required pursuant to the provisions of a March 1906 law, “An Act to Regulate the
Construction of Bridges over Navigable Waters.” That law required Congress to
specifically approve the construction of any bridge across a navigable waterway.
The project was 3.9 miles in length beginning at the Williamston town limits and
going north toward Windsor. The roadway consisted of 3.1 miles of fill with top
soil and surfacing from the edge of the “high land” in Bertie County to the
Roanoke River. The resulting “dirt dam” became commonly known by local residents
as the “Williamston fill.” The State Highway Commission was responsible for
clearing the roadway and constructing the fill. The fill was fifty feet wide at
the base, thirty feet wide at the top, and fourteen feet high. A bridge built
across Conine Creek was 37.5 feet in width. The bridge across the Roanoke was a
swing span (i.e., drawbridge) of 220 feet. A swing span was required since the
waterway was navigable and had to accommodate river traffic at any time of day.
Complete plans and specifications for the project were approved by the federal
government. The project was the biggest undertaking by the State Highway
Commission during its relatively short existence.
Contracts were let to two out-of-state companies – Boyle Robertson Construction
Company of Washington, DC and Raymond Concrete Pile Company of New York and
Chicago – to construct the bridges over the river and Conine Creek. Work began
in March 1919. Approximately sixty convicts were sent to the site from the
Caledonia State Prison (Halifax County) and began cutting the right-of-way
through the dense forest of the low grounds. Within a few months, the prisoners
had cleared the way for the road from Roanoke River through the swamp to the
Bertie high land. Work continued on the road and bridges for three and a half
years. By late summer 1922, the project was completed.
Officials of the State Highway Commission organized a grand celebration in
Williamston for the opening of the Roanoke bridge (and “fill” road, etc.) for
September 7, 1922. Dozens of federal, state, and local officials and dignitaries
attended the festivities. The Enterprise reported that an estimated 6,000
persons attended the day’s events. Among the dignitaries were John Hilary
Matthews and Judge Francis D. Winston of Windsor. Winston delivered a poem –
“Good-bye, Speller’s Ferry” – which he had prepared for the occasion. One stanza
from the poem follows:
“Farewell dear Speller’s Ferry
     Sweet ‘River Road,’ good-bye
We’re off to grand old Windsor
     Just thirty minutes nigh.”
Indeed, the Roanoke River bridge and the “Williamston fill” were welcomed by the
residents of Bertie and Martin counties and the thousands of travelers who
journeyed along the route to destinations near and far.

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