John Henry Pearson (1852-1954) is pictured in 1869 at age 17. Pearson was appointed a conductor on the Western North Carolina Railroad at age 16 and was known as “Captain Johnny” by his regular passengers. He was the first conductor to usher passengers from Salisbury to Morganton and eventually to Old Fort. After four and a half years with the railroad, Pearson entered business with L.A. Bristol. Pearson married Florence Walton in 1878, and they had eight children: Jane, Clifton, John, Florence, Lucile, Mary, Eliza, and Claudia. He later partnered with his father-in-law, T.G. Walton, in developing the Glen Alpine Springs Hotel. Known in later years as the “Grand Old Man” of Morganton, Pearson’s large Victorian home stood where First Baptist Church is located today. His parents were Robert Caldwell Pearson and Jane Tate. The History Museum of Burke County submitted this image to Picture Burke.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.