At the dawn of the 19th century Shildon was a few houses on a cross road.
The Industrial Revolution and the coming of the railways saw the town grow.
In 1801 the population was recorded at being 100 people.
Their occupations were noted as being in agriculture, coal mining and the growing textiles industry.

In 1818 notice was given in the London Gazette '...that application is intended to be made to Parliament in the next session, for an Act for making and maintaining a 'rail-way or tram-road from the River Tees, at or near Stockton, in the county of Durham', with Shildon listed as one of the towns on the planned route.

John Dixon, assistant to George Stephenson recalled the town before the railways came.

‘I have known Shildon for fifty years when there was not a house of any sort at New Shildon, much less a Mechanics Institute.
When I surveyed the lines of the projected railway in 1821, the site of this New Shildon Works was a wet, swampy field – a likely place to find a snipe, or a flock of peewits.
Dan Adamson's was the nearest house.
A part of Old Shildon existed, but ‘Chapel Row’, a row of miner's houses, was unbuilt or unthought of.’

— John Dixon, Bishop Auckland Herald, 3 September 1863
The volume of coal being produced by coal mining outstripped the capacity of the traditional method of transporting coal, on horse-drawn wagon ways.
Steam power was introduced through the use of static steam engines.
These were, in turn, were superseded by steam locomotives.
Coal would be pulled by static engines over Brusselton Incline into Shildon where the wagons would be attached to a locomotive.

The population grew with this industrial expansion, the population rising from 115 in 1821, to 2,631 in 1841 up to 11,759 by the end of the century.
Records show in 1851 the town had 447 houses that were inhabited and 26 uninhabited.
Two years later the value of property in the town was assessed at £11,269 and 10 Shillings.

Demand led to a passenger service beginning from the town on 27 September 1825.
The first train, Locomotion No.1 began its journey outside the Mason's Arms Public house.
There is an argument that the Mason's Arms could be classified as the world's first railway station.
In the early stages of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, tickets were sold at the bar.
Between 1833 and 1841 the company hired a room in the pub for use as a booking office.

The railway ran from its northern terminus at Shildon along 27 miles of track to its terminus at Stockton.
In 1838 the speed of travel was noted by The Derby Mercury which reported that a servant asked permission to travel to Shildon from Stockton on Christmas Day.
She made her request "a little before four in the afternoon" and was able to return home "by seven o'clock the same evening".

Recruited to the railway by George Stephenson in 1824, Timothy Hackworth went on to become superintendent in 1825.
He was charged with building locomotives for the company.
At the dawn of the 19th century Shildon was a few houses on a cross road. The Industrial Revolution and the coming of the railways saw the town grow. In 1801 the population was recorded at being 100 people. Their occupations were noted as being in agriculture, coal mining and the growing textiles industry.
In 1818 notice was given in the London Gazette '...that application is intended to be made to Parliament in the next session, for an Act for making and maintaining a 'rail-way or tram-road from the River Tees, at or near Stockton, in the county of Durham', with Shildon listed as one of the towns on the planned route.
John Dixon, assistant to George Stephenson recalled the town before the railways came.
‘I have known Shildon for fifty years when there was not a house of any sort at New Shildon, much less a Mechanics Institute. When I surveyed the lines of the projected railway in 1821, the site of this New Shildon Works was a wet, swampy field – a likely place to find a snipe, or a flock of peewits. Dan Adamson's was the nearest house. A part of Old Shildon existed, but ‘Chapel Row’, a row of miner's houses, was unbuilt or unthought of.’
— John Dixon, Bishop Auckland Herald, 3 September 1863
The volume of coal being produced by coal mining outstripped the capacity of the traditional method of transporting coal, on horse-drawn wagon ways. Steam power was introduced through the use of static steam engines. These were, in turn, were superseded by steam locomotives. Coal would be pulled by static engines over Brusselton Incline into Shildon where the wagons would be attached to a locomotive.
The population grew with this industrial expansion, the population rising from 115 in 1821, to 2,631 in 1841 up to 11,759 by the end of the century. Records show in 1851 the town had 447 houses that were inhabited and 26 uninhabited. Two years later the value of property in the town was assessed at £11,269 and 10 Shillings.
Demand led to a passenger service beginning from the town on 27 September 1825. The first train, Locomotion No.1 began its journey outside the Mason's Arms Public house. There is an argument that the Mason's Arms could be classified as the world's first railway station. In the early stages of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, tickets were sold at the bar. Between 1833 and 1841 the company hired a room in the pub for use as a booking office.
The railway ran from its northern terminus at Shildon along 27 miles of track to its terminus at Stockton. In 1838 the speed of travel was noted by The Derby Mercury which reported that a servant asked permission to travel to Shildon from Stockton on Christmas Day. She made her request "a little before four in the afternoon" and was able to return home "by seven o'clock the same evening".
Recruited to the railway by George Stephenson in 1824, Timothy Hackworth went on to become superintendent in 1825. He was charged with building locomotives for the company.
Shildon