In the 1920s, German and Dutch investors established the American Bemberg Corporation and North American Rayon Corporation in Elizabethton to produce rayon, and the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad, originally built in the 1880s to transport iron ore from Cranberry, North Carolina, to Johnson City, Tennessee, became a major transportation link for the factories. A passenger and freight station was established on this site in 1929, first as a boxcar set on blocks, and the permanent Bemberg Station opened soon afterward to serve both plants. During World War II, the U.S. government took over operation of the factories, the station was renamed Port Rayon, and it became especially important because most workers in the vital factories were women who needed public transportation during gasoline rationing. Beginning in August 1942, the railroad ran three daily round trips from Johnson City to Shell Creek, Tennessee, and later to Elk Park, North Carolina. The commuter service ended in 1945, but the railroad continued shipping freight to and from the factories for many years. American Bemberg shut down in 1974, while North American Rayon, under various owners, operated until 1997.