North Carolina

Grant to help renovate 'Jim Crow' rail car in Rowan County

SPENCER, N.C. — North Carolina has received a federal grant to renovate a 1920s rail car that was built to comply with the racist Jim Crow laws of the 20th century.

State officials said the National Park Service awarded a grant of more than $287,000 to renovate the railroad car that's now at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer. The 44-seat coach hasn't been used since 1969.

The car has 22 seats in the rear designated for African Americans so that it complied with segregation laws. It needs extensive renovation, including asbestos removal.

The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said it's one of few such cars held by a museum for public viewing. Another one is at the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.