THE MACO LIGHT
The Maco Light is one of those North Carolina legends passed from
generation to generation. The story is told about Joe Baldwin but when
the real story was uncovered in the archives of a Wilmington paper, it
turns out it was actually a Charles Baldwin who was killed. Mr Baldwin
was a conductor on the Wilmington-Manchester Line. He was struck by
a locomotive on rattlesnake grade near the town of Maco on the night of
January 4,1856.
Baldwin had failed to post a lantern on the rear of his disabled car on a
very dark stretch of track. The returning engine collided with the mail car
and caboose. Baldwin was thrown from the train, and died of head
injuries three days later, on January 7,1856. It is said that if you go to
the old track bed near Maco and look west, you can see his light a couple
of feet above the left rail.
On Friday, January 23, 2009,Port City Paranormal held a vigil at the
site. I set up my Cannon Xti on a tripod facing west about 150 yards
south of Highway 74/76 in Maco. The gravel from the old railroad is still
there so I had a good point of reference. The camera was set to
automatic exposure with no flash and self timer so as not to affect the
exposure. I shot three total frames. The one to the right is the second.
The first and the last showed only sky and blackness. The red lights to the
lower left were not evident looking with the naked eye.
This is what we caught on camera. The three glowing globes are fused
as if the light moved ever so slightly.
generation to generation. The story is told about Joe Baldwin but when
the real story was uncovered in the archives of a Wilmington paper, it
turns out it was actually a Charles Baldwin who was killed. Mr Baldwin
was a conductor on the Wilmington-Manchester Line. He was struck by
a locomotive on rattlesnake grade near the town of Maco on the night of
January 4,1856.
Baldwin had failed to post a lantern on the rear of his disabled car on a
very dark stretch of track. The returning engine collided with the mail car
and caboose. Baldwin was thrown from the train, and died of head
injuries three days later, on January 7,1856. It is said that if you go to
the old track bed near Maco and look west, you can see his light a couple
of feet above the left rail.
On Friday, January 23, 2009,Port City Paranormal held a vigil at the
site. I set up my Cannon Xti on a tripod facing west about 150 yards
south of Highway 74/76 in Maco. The gravel from the old railroad is still
there so I had a good point of reference. The camera was set to
automatic exposure with no flash and self timer so as not to affect the
exposure. I shot three total frames. The one to the right is the second.
The first and the last showed only sky and blackness. The red lights to the
lower left were not evident looking with the naked eye.
This is what we caught on camera. The three glowing globes are fused
as if the light moved ever so slightly.
VISIT THE MUSEUM IN DOWNTOWN WILMINGTON |
Port City Paranormal would like to thank Mr Mark Konig of the Wilmington
Railroad Museum for his help with our research.
Railroad Museum for his help with our research.
