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Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011 with funding from
LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation
http://www.archive.org/details/northcarolinaguiOOfede
FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
F. C. Harrington, Commissioner
Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner
Henry G. Alsberg, Director of the Federal Writers' Project
American Guide Series
NORTH CAROLINA
A Guide to the Old North State
Compiled and Written by
THE FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT OF THE
FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
for the State of North Carolina
Sponsored by
NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
The University of North Carolina Press
CHAPEL HILL " MCMXXXIX
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1939
9/7. SL
''3
aRCH £
NE ARTS?
COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT
OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
All rights are reserved, including the rights to reproduce
this book or parts thereof in any form.
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
GOVERNORS OFFICE
RALEIGH
Clyde R. Hoey
GOVERNOR
I am pleased, on behalf of the State, to
present THE NCRTH CAROLINA. GUIDE, which has been
prepared by Federal Writers* Project of the Works
Progress Administration.
This Guide presents a complete view of the
State, her people, the historical background, and
a complete inventory of the resources of North
Carolina, all compiled in one volume. Many of
the facts presented here are not obtainable else-
where in book form.
The procedure employed in the collection of
data for this publication, its selection and the
evaluation of the materials to be used, and the
preparation of manuscript through a wide-spread
force with varying degrees of experience and ca-
pacities, place this volume and others in the
national series in a class by themselves.
As a result of these efforts there has come
a comprehensive product portraying the character-
istics of the people of one of the greatest of
the American States, with liberal references to
their historical heritages and the resources up-
on which they have relied in building a Common-
wealth which is as outstanding as it is American
in ideals and purposes.
h
^
Numerous personal anecdotes and sidelights
of history have been uncovered by research work-
ers of the project and should add materially to
the reader's interest.
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
GOVERNORS OFFICE
RALEIGH
Clyde R. Hoey
GOVERNOR
The people of North Carolina have a great
history and tradition, and those of today are
serving the State in all walks of life in a mag-
nificent way and making a real contribution to
the fame and prestige of this Commonwealth.
North Carolina has made phenomenal progress
notwithstanding many handicaps during the past
forty years, and the State has come a long way.
There is yet much to be done. There is a will
and purpose on the part of her people to work out
the destiny of this State in harmony with her
ideals of government and conceptions of public
service .
North Carolinians who would know more of
their State will find a medium of acquiring such
knowledge in this volume, and the outside travel-
er within her borders or interested in investi-
gating more fully the resources and future of the
State will find THE NORTH CAROLINA GUIDE a store-
house of information and a ready reference
source. I commend this volume and congratulate
those who are responsible for its production.
jspectfully submitted,
July 20, 1939.
PREFACE
EXTENDING FROM the sand bars along the Atlantic to the crest
of the Great Smokies, North Carolina offers a variety of pleas-
ing or impressive scenery, and to the geologist, the botanist, the biol-
ogist, and the folklorist an unusual field for study. The State has an
abundance of historic associations that form an integral part of the
national background. Through its development in a few decades to a
position in 1937 as the fourth largest contributor of revenue to the United
States Treasury (owing chiefly to the tobacco tax), it draws the atten-
tion of the economist. In plain, foothill, and forested mountain, the
hunter or the fisherman, the hiker or the leisurely traveler may find his
heart's desire. A good highway system makes the way easy to any nook
or corner.
In the preservation and publication of its historical records, North
Carolina has taken an advanced position. Its political, military, and
social events have been treated in histories of undisputed value. Lately
a number of excellent works dealing with its natural resources and
economic development have been published either by the State itself
or by the University of North Carolina Press. But among these publi-
cations no single convenient volume gives a coordinated picture of the
State in all its aspects of the past and present. It is such a picture that
this guidebook aims to present.
The Federal Writers' Project of North Carolina was started in Oc-
tober 1935, with headquarters at Asheville, and district offices were
established later in seven ether cities of the State. The project was
primarily designed to provide work for unemployed writers, journalists,
and research workers. Little by little — from books and periodicals, from
chambers of commerce and State departments, out of the memories of
kindly disposed individuals, and by actual travel over all the main high-
ways — the workers collected and sent to State headquarters between
PREFACE
one and two million words of roughly transcribed source material.
By a long and arduous process of sifting, elimination, and condensa-
tion, this enormous mass of material was gradually reduced to the de-
sired essentials. Then followed the no less difficult task of arrangement,
formulation, revision, and thorough checking for accuracy. Out of all
this cooperative effort has emerged the present volume.
Those engaged in this task could not have hoped for success without
the assistance generously granted them by State and Federal depart-
ments, State and city officials, chambers of commerce, county historians,
officials of the National Park Service and the United States Forest Serv-
ice, and public-spirited citizens in many communities. To name all of
the hundreds of volunteer consultants would take many pages, but at
least a few among those who have rendered exceptionally valuable assist-
ance must be mentioned. Of consultants connected with the University
of North Carolina, the list includes: W. C. Coker, Professor of Botany;
H. M. Douty, Assistant Professor of Economics, Woman's College; Sam-
uel H. Hobbs, Jr., Professor of Rural Economics; Guy B. Johnson,
Research Associate; Hugh T. Lefler, Professor of History; Gerald Mac-
Carthy, Assistant Professor of Geology; Z. P. Metcalf, Professor of Ento-
mology, State College of Agriculture and Engineering; Miss Blanche
Tansil, Associate Professor of Institutional Management, Woman's Col-
lege; B. W. Wells, Professor of Botany, State College of Agriculture and
Engineering; and W. A. White, Assistant Professor of Geology. The
editors are also particularly grateful to: C. K. Brown, Professor of Eco-
nomics, Davidson College; H. J. Bryson, State Geologist; C. C. Crit-
tenden, Secretary of the North Carolina Historical Commission; Jona-
than Daniels, Editor of the Raleigh News and Observer; Richard Dillard
Dixon, Clerk of the Superior Court, Chowan County, Edenton; Miss
Adelaide L. Fries, Historian of the Moravian Church, Winston-Salem;
Mrs. Elizabeth Lay Green, Chapel Hill; Miss Louise Hall, Professor of
Fine Arts, Duke University; J. S. Holmes, State Forester; Mrs. Guion
Griffis Johnson, Chapel Hill; Paul Kelly, Assistant Director, Depart-
ment of Conservation and Development; and Coleman W. Roberts,
President of the Carolina Motor Club.
Edwin Bjorkman, State Director
W. C. Hendricks, State Editor
CONTENTS
?AGE
FOREWORD BY GOVERNOR HOEY V
PREFACE : STATE DIRECTOR, FEDERAL WRITERS' PROJECT vii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XV
LIST OF MAPS xix
GENERAL INFORMATION Xxiii
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Xxix
PART I. GENERAL BACKGROUND
Tar Heels All — by Jonathan daniels 3
Natural Setting: 8
Physiography; Climate; Flora; Fauna; Natural Resources
The Indians 25
History: 31
First Settlements; Proprietary Regime; The Royal Period; Revolu-
tion and Independence; Ante-Bellum Days; War between the States
and Reconstruction; Recovery and Progress
The Negroes 51
Agriculture ^8
Modes of Travel 64
Industry and Labor 71
Public Education 79
Religion 84
Sports and Recreation 90
Folkways and Folklore 94
Eating and Drinking ioi
CONTENTS
PAGE
107
The Arts:
Literature; Theater; Music; Painting and Sculpture; Handicrafts
Architecture 122
137
149
PART II. CITIES AND TOWNS
ASHEVILLE
C h apel Hill
Charlotte 158
Durham 169
Eden ton 181
Elizabeth City 190
Fayetteville 196
Greensboro 203
High Point 214
New Bern 221
Raleigh 233
Wilmington 247
Winston-Salem 258
PART III. TOURS
tour 1 (Portsmouth, Va.) — Elizabeth City — Edenton — Wil-
liamston ■ — Washington — New Bern — Wilmington —
(Myrtle Beach, S. C.) (US 17) 275
Section a. Virginia Line to Williamston
Section b. Williamston to South Carolina Line
1 a Elizabeth City — Kitty Hawk — Nags Head — Manteo— Fort
Raleigh — Oregon Inlet — Hatteras Inlet (State 30, 34, 345) 291
ib Elizabeth City — Weeksville — Halls Creek (State 170) 304
ic Junction with US 17 — Orton — Old Brunswick — South-
port (Old River Road) 306
CONTENTS XI
PAGE
2 Junction with US 158 — Tarboro — Kinston — Junction with
US 17 (US 258) 309
3 (Emporia, Va.) — Rocky Mount — Fayetteville — Lumber-
ton — (Florence, S. C.) (US 301) 315
Section a. Virginia Line to Wilson
Section b. Wilson to South Carolina Line
3A Fayetteville — Fort Bragg — Manchester — Spout Springs
(State 24) 326
4 Junction with US 301 — Goldsboro — Warsaw — Junction
with US 421 (US 117) 328
5 Junction with US 301 — Clinton — Whiteville — (Conway,
S. C.) (US 701) 334
5A Junction with US 701 — Old Dock — Crusoe Island (State
!3°) 33 8
6 Junction with US 158 — Nashville — Wilson — Junction
with State 102 (State 58) 340
7 (South Hill, Va.) — Henderson — Raleigh — Southern
Pines — Rockingham — (Cheraw, S. C.) (US 1) 342
Section a. Virginia Line to Raleigh
Section b. Raleigh to South Carolina Line
7A Southern Pines — Pinehurst (State 2) 352
8 (Clarksville, Va.)— Oxford— Durham (US 15) 354
9 Creedmoor — Raleigh — Fayetteville — Laurinburg — (Ben-
nettsville, S. C.) (US 15A, 15) 356
10 (South Boston, Va.) — Roxboro — Durham — Junction with
US 1 (US 501) 361
1 1 (Danville, Va.) — Yancey ville — Hillsboro — Chapel Hill
(State 14) 365
12 (Danville, Va.) — Reidsville — Greensboro — Salisbury —
Charlotte (US 29, 29A, 29) 372
13 (Ridgeway, Va.) — Greensboro — Asheboro — Rockingham
(US 220) 382
14 Madison — Winston-Salem — High Point — Junction with
US 220 (US 311) 388
Xll CONTENTS
PACE
14A Junction with US 311 — Danbury — Piedmont Springs
(State 89) 392
15 (Hillsville, Va.) — Winston-Salem — Salisbury — Albemarle
(Cheraw, S. C.) (US 52) 394
Section a. Virginia Line to Lexington
Section b. Salisbury to South Carolina Line
16 (Independence, Va.) — Sparta — Statesville — Charlotte —
(Chester, S. C.) (US 21) 401
17 Sparta — Wilkesboro — Taylorsville — Conover (State 18,
16) 408
18 Twin Oaks — Blowing Rock — Marion — Rutherfordton —
(Chesnee, S. C.) (US 221) 412
19 Blowing Rock — Hickory — Lincolnton — Gastonia — (York,
S. C.) (US 321) 419
Section a. Blowing Rock to Hickory
Section b. Conover to South Carolina Line
19A Lincolnton — Mount Holly — Junction with US 74 (State
27) 426
20 (Elizabethton, Tenn.) — Elk Park — Spruce Pine — Burns-
ville — Junction with US 19-23 (US 19E) 428
20A Spruce Pine — Penland — Bakersville — Sioux (State 26) 433
20B Spruce Pine — Little Switzerland — Woodlawn (State 26) 435
21 (Erwin, Tenn.) — Asheville — Sylva — Murphy — (Blairs-
ville, Ga.) (US 19W, 19) 437
Section a. Tennessee Line to Asheville
Section b. Asheville to Georgia Line
21 a Junction with US 19 — Mt. Pisgah — Pink Beds — Junction
with US 64 (Candler Rd., Pisgah Motor Rd., State 284) 446
21B Waynesville — Dellwood — Soco Gap (State 284, 293) 449
21c Waynesville — Dellwood — Mt. Sterling — Davenport Gap
(State 284) 451
21D Sylva — Cullowhee — Tuckaseigee — Cashiers (State 106) 453
CONTENTS Xlll
PAGE
21E Junction with US 19 — Cherokee — Newfound Gap — Gatlin-
burg, Tenn. — Maryville, Tenn. — Tapoco — Robbinsville
— Topton (State 107E, 107; Tenn. 71, 73; US 129) 455
22 (Newport, Tenn.) — Marshall — Asheville — Hendersonville
— (Greenville, S. C.) (US 70-25, 25) 461
Section a. Tennessee Line to Asheville
Section b. Asheville to South Carolina Line
22A Junction with US 70-25 — Devils Fork Gap — Junction with
US 23-1 9W (State 208, 212) 467
22B Hendersonville — Saluda — Tryon — South Carolina Line
(US 176) 469
23 Dillsboro — Franklin — (Clayton, Ga.) (US 23) 472
24 (Franklin, Va.) — Murfreesboro — Roxboro — Winston-
Salem— Mocksville (US 158). 474
Section a. Virginia Line to Roxboro
Section b. Roxboro to Mocksville
24A Warrenton — Louisburg (State 59) 480
25 Durham — Winston-Salem — Wilkesboro — (Mountain
City, Tenn.) (US 70; State 62, 54; US 421) 482
26 Fort Landing — Raleigh — Hickory — Hendersonville —
Franklin — (Ducktown, Tenn.) (US 64, 70-64, 64) 492
Section a. Fort Landing to Raleigh
Section b. Raleigh to Statesville
Section c. Statesville to Tennessee Line
27 Chocowinity — Greenville — Wilson — Zebulon (US 264) 511
28 Durham — Raleigh — Goldsboro — New Bern — Atlantic
(US 70) 513
28A Atlantic — Cedar Island — Portsmouth — Ocracoke (Mail or
chartered passenger boat) 523
29 Greensboro — Sanford — Clinton — Wilmington — Fort
Fisher (US 421) 525
30 Old Fort— Black Mountain— Asheville (US 70) 530
30A Junction with US 70 — Camp Alice (Mt. Mitchell Toll Rd.) 534
XIV CONTENTS
31 Junction with US 17 — Lumberton — Laurinburg — Char-
lotte — Asheville (US 74)
Section a. Junction with US 17 to Laurinburg
Section b. Laurinburg to Charlotte
Section c. Charlotte to Asheville
32 Junction with US 1 — Troy — Albemarle — Charlotte (US
15-501, State 27)
33 Washington — Belhaven — Swanquarter — Engelhard (US
264)
33A Junction with US 264 — Bath — Bayview (State 92)
PART IV. NATIONAL PARK AND FORESTS
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
National Forests
PART V. APPENDICES
Chronology
Suggested Readings
Index
LIST OF
ILLUSTRATIONS
Photographs not otherwise credited have as a ride been furnished by
the North Carolina Department of Conservation and Development.
HATTERAS TO NANTAHALA
Jockey's Ridge, Nags Head
Old Hatteras Light at Dawn
Yaupon Tree and Banks Pony
Frisco on the Banks
Wootten
Disappearing Road, Smith Island
Long-leaf Pine and Dogwood, near
Pinehurst
Linville Falls, Linville
Wootten
Big Pinnacle, Pilot Mountain
between 12 and 13
Lake Lure from Chimney Rock
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Pisgah and the Rat from Asheville
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Grandfather Mountain from Linville
Mount Mitchell Framed in Rhodo-
dendron
Mountain Farm, Haywood County
Dawn in Nantahala Gorge
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
HISTORICAL
Cherokee Types
Tuscarora Graves, Louisburg
Cherokee Gorget
B. S. Colburn Collection
Indian Mound, Mt. Gilead
Cherokee Ball Game
Cherokee Bear Dance
Blockhouse at Fort Raleigh
Highton
Cornwallis' Headquarters, Wilming-
ton
Highton
Statue of General Greene, Guilford
Courthouse Military Park
Art Shop, Greensboro
Birthplace of Andrew Johnson,
Raleigh
between 44 and 45
Birthplace of Gov. Zebulon B. Vance
Glider Flight by Wright Brothers,
Kill Devil Hill
Wright Brothers' Monument, Nags
Head
Albert Burden
Old Stone House near Salisbury
Salisbury Chamber of Commerce
Nancy Jones House, Cary
Cupola House, Edenton
Highton
Old Market House, Fayetteville
Wootten
John Wright Stanly House, New Bern
Highton
ARCHITECTURAL
Marsh House, Bath
Wootten
Interior, Smallwood-Ward
New Bern
Highton
House,
between 124 and 125
Spiral Stairway, Powell House, near
Tarboro
Highton
Orton Plantation, near Wilmington
Wootten
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Bellamy Mansion, Wilmington
Highton
Brothers' House, Winston-Salem
Fran\ ]ones
Library, Biltmore House, Asheville
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Entrance, Biltmore House, Asheville
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
State Capitol, Raleigh (interior view)
State Capitol, Raleigh (exterior de-
tail)
RELIGIOUS
"Ecce Homo," St. James Church,
Wilmington
Wilmington Chamber of Com-
merce
St. Thomas, Bath
St. Paul's, Edenton
Highton
Interior of St. Thomas Church, Bath
Wootten
Old Bethabara Church, Old Town,
near Winston-Salem
Moravian Churchyard, Winston-
Salem
Home Moravian Church and Salem
College, Winston-Salem
Wootten
Christ Church, Raleigh
Presbyterian Church, New Bern
Highton
State Capitol, Raleigh
Albert Barden
Chowan County Courthouse, Eden-
ton
Highton
Burke County Courthouse, Morgan-
ton
Morganton Chamber of Com-
merce
City Hall, Charlotte
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
between 140 and 141
St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Ashe-
ville
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Cedar Grove Cemetery, New Bern
Highton
St. John's-in-the-Wilderness, Flat Rock
Historical American Building
Survey
St. Peter's Church, Washington
Washington Chamber of Com-
merce
First Presbyterian Church, Greens-
boro
Art Shop, Greensboro
Country Church on US 70, near
Morrisville
Highton
EDUCATIONAL AND INDUSTRIAL
Old East and the Well, Chapel Hill
Chas. A. Farrell
Playmakers Theater, Chapel Hill
Wootten
Carillon Tower, Duke University
East Campus, Duke University
Highton
Wait Hall, Wake Forest College
Aycock Auditorium, Woman's Col-
lege, Greensboro
Greensboro Chamber of Com-
merce
Chambers Building, Davidson Col-
lege
Fran\ Jones
Performance in Forest Theater,
Chapel Hill
Wootten
Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte
Highton
between IJ2 and ijj
Jefferson Standard Building, Greens-
boro
Greensboro Chamber of Com-
merce
Office Building, R. J. Reynolds To-
bacco Co., Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem Chamber of
Commerce
Cotton Mills on Tar River, Rocky
Mount
Roc\y Mount Chamber of Com-
merce
Tryon Street, Looking North, Char-
lotte
Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
Custom House, Wilmington
Asheville from Beaucatcher Moun-
tain
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
XV11
INDUSTRIAL AND AGRICULTURAL
Negro Field Hand
Wootten
Negro Field Hand
Wootten
Cotton Pickers at Work
Unloading Cotton at Gin, Smith-
field
Farm Security Administration
Power Loom in Cotton Mill
U. S. Department of Labor
Tobacco Auction
Farm Security Administration
Cigarette Machine, Reidsville
Weaving on Old-Fashioned Loom,
Burgess
WILD LIFE AND SPORTS
Fawn Rearing in Pisgah National
Forest
Raccoon on the Hunt
Bruin as Tree Climber
Mama Opossum with Brood
Rhododendron Blossoms
Shortia Galacifolia, found only in
this State
Moth Boat Race, Edenton
Skiing at Banner Elk
Famous No. i Course, Pinehurst
John G. Hemmer
iMISCELLANEOUS
Tulip Festival, Washington
Rhododendron Festival Parade, Ashe-
ville
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Swing Your Mountain Gal, Soco
Gap
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Performance of "The Lost Colony,"
Roanoke Island
Ox Team on Mountain Road
Motor Boats at Engelhard
Wootten
Old Ways on New Roads, near
Raleigh
Highton
Nash Street, Wilson
Wilson Chamber of Commerce
between 268 and 269
Potter at Work, Jugtown
Cheoah Dam, Tapoco
Old Mill Wheel, Dillingham
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Saw Mill on Dismal Swamp Canal
Wootteti
Net Fishing at Vandemere
Well on Tenant Farm
Farm Security Administration
Old Plantation Barn, Pettigrew Park
Cutting Crimson Clover
Highton
Strawberry Sale, Wallace
between 444 and 445
Fox Hunt, Southern Pines
Eddy's Studio
Typical Road at Pinehurst
John G. Hemmer
Quail Hunting, Pinehurst
John G. Hemmer
Trout Fishing, Upper Davidson
River
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Bringing in the Game
Camping Deer Hunters
between 556 and 55J
US 74 at Hickory Nut Gap
Asheville Chamber of Commerce
Chowan River Bridge, Edenton
New Bridge Across Albemarle
Sound
Highton
Typical Wreck near Hatteras
Only Negro Coast Guard Crew, Pea
Island Station
Southport Fisherman
Wootten
Eastern Farmer
Wootten
Darkies Shelling Corn
Wootten
MAPS
STATE MAP back pocket
TRANSPORTATION {reverse of State Map) back pocket
TOUR KEY MAP front end paper
ASHEVILLE 142-43
CHAPEL HILL 152
CHARLOTTE 164-65
DURHAM 174-75
DUKE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS 178
EDENTON 184
ELIZABETH CITY 192
FAYETTEVILLE 198
GREENSBORO 208-9
HIGH POINT 218-19
NEW BERN 224
RALEIGH 238-39
WILMINGTON 252-53
WINSTON-SALEM 264-65
NORTH CAROLINA
A Guide to the Old North State
General Information
Railroads: Three trunk-line railroads, the Southern, Seaboard Air
Line, and the Atlantic Coast Line, traverse North Carolina in a
general northerly-southerly direction. Each operates subsidiary lines.
The Southern Ry. and the Norfolk Southern R.R., with subsidiaries,
cross the State in an easterly-westerly direction. Other independently
operated lines are: Aberdeen & Rockfish R.R.; Atlantic & Western
Ry.; Atlantic & Yadkin Ry.; Clinchfield R.R.; Cape Fear Ry.; Caro-
lina & Northwestern Ry.; Durham & Southern Ry.; East Tennessee &
Western North Carolina R.R.; High Point, Randleman, Asheboro &
Southern R.R.; Laurinburg & Southern R.R.; Linville River Ry.;
Louisville & Nashville R.R.; Moore Central Ry.; Norfolk & Western
Ry.; Piedmont & Northern (electric) Ry.; Rockingham R.R.; Ten-
nessee & North Carolina Ry.; Virginia & Carolina Southern R.R.;
Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern R.R.; Winston-Salem South-
bound Ry.
Bus Lines, Interstate and Intrastate: Atlantic Greyhound Corpora-
tion, Carolina Coach Co., Carolina Scenic Coach Lines, Cox &
Eggleston, ET&WNC Motor Transportation Co., Independence Bus
Co., Leaksville-Danville Bus Line, Norfolk Southern Bus Corporation,
Pan-American Bus Line, Queen City Coach Co., Smoky Mountain
Trailways, Virginia Carolina Coach Co., Virginia Dare Transporta-
tion Co., Virginia Stage Lines, Inc. Intrastate Only: City Coach Co.,
Engelhard-Washington Bus Co., Lincolnton Bus Co., Mars Hill Bus
Line, Mount Airy Transportation Co., Oteen Bus Line, Southerland
Brothers, Seashore Transportation Co., Yadkin Coach Co.
Steamship Lines: Belhaven Boat Line — Belhaven to Norfolk, Va.;
Cashie River Line — Plymouth, Windsor, Sans Souci, Howard; Eastern
Carolina Transportation Co. — Elizabeth City, Mill Creek, Nags Head,
Mashoes, Manteo; Guthrie Steamboat Line — Engelhard, Elizabeth
City, Norfolk, Va.; Manteo & Hatteras Transportation Co. — Manteo,
Rodanthe, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras; Mooney Lines —
Dismal Swamp Canal, Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds, Elizabeth
City and Norfolk, Va., Engelhard and Coinjock; Ocracoke-Morehead
City Mail Line — Morehead City, Beaufort, Davis, Sealevel, Atlantic,
XXIV GENERAL INFORMATION
Ocracoke, and other points; Roanoke River Steamboat Co. — Hymans
Ferry, Hamilton, Quitsna, Williamston, Jamesville, Canal Landing,
and other points on Roanoke River; Salmon Creek Line — Avoca, Star
Landing, and other landings on Salmon Creek; Wanchese Line —
Elizabeth City, Wanchese, Manns Harbor, Stumpy Point.
Air Lines: Eastern Air Lines, Inc., New York to Miami, stopping
at Raleigh; New York to New Orleans, stopping at Greensboro-High
Point, and Charlotte (see transportation map).
Highways: 32 U. S. highways serve the State, of which 26 are
interstate. Of approximately 59,000 m., 10,762 are included in the
major State system; all roads are maintained by the State; no State
border inspection; State highway patrol. Water and gasoline may be
obtained in all parts of State. Gas tax: State, 6^; Fed. 1^. (For high-
ways routes see state map.)
Motor Vehicle Laws (digest) : Unlawful to drive at speed greater
than is reasonable and prudent under conditions then existing, and
speed greater than the following limits is prima facie evidence of
unlawful driving: 20 mph. in any business district; 25 mph. in any
residential district; elsewhere, 45 mph. for passenger vehicles, 35 mph.
for trucks, and 30 mph. for trucks or tractors with trailers. Local and
temporary exceptions are indicated by signs. Traffic in cities and towns
is regulated by local ordinance.
National uniform code applies for operation of motorcars on State
highways. Comity rule prevails for operation of cars carrying licenses
obtained outside of North Carolina, every holder of an out-of-state
license receiving the same courtesy that the State issuing the license
grants to the holder of a North Carolina license. Drivers' licenses are
required. A person who engages in any gainful employment or who
establishes a residence in North Carolina must procure license for
all vehicles registered in his or her name at the time employment is
accepted or residence established. Minimum age 16 yrs. if application
is signed by parent or guardian, otherwise 18. Hand signals must be
used; spotlights are permitted; accidents must be reported to some
civil authority.
Prohibited: Coasting in neutral, parking on highways, use of stick-
ers on windshields or windows, passing school bus when loading or
unloading.
lntracoastal Waterway: A series of canals connecting rivers, sounds,
bays, and creeks along the North Carolina coast affording sheltered
inland route, north and south, from Virginia Line to South Carolina
Line. Average channel depth 9 to 12 ft. at mean low water. Among
principal waterways comprising the route are Currituck, Albemarle,
Pamlico, and Bogue Sounds; Albemarle & Chesapeake, Dismal
GENERAL INFORMATION XXV
Swamp Canals; Alligator, Pungo, Newport, Bay Rivers; Pamlico,
Neuse, Cape Fear River estuaries. Description: The Intracoastal
Waterway, compiled by Federal Writers' Project of the Works Prog-
ress Administration, United States Government Printing Office, Wash-
ington, D. C; p. 250. Pilot: Inside Route Pilot, Intracoastal Waterway,
New Yort^ to Key West, available from U. S. Coast and Geodetic
Survey, Washington, D. C, and its sales agents; p. 50^.
Navigable Rivers {year-round navigation 7 ft. or more, 15-25 m.
from mouth): Black, Cashie, Cape Fear, Northeast Cape Fear,
Chowan, Meherrin, Neuse, Pamlico, Perquimans, Roanoke, Scupper-
nong, Trent.
Accommodations: Hotels in larger cities and towns. In western and
central North Carolina are numerous tourists' camps; fewer in eastern
part of State, but many homes take in paying guests; several dude
ranches in the mountains.
Liquor Regulations: Several of the counties have established pack-
age liquor stores under county option. Except in a few localities it
is lawful to sell beer and ale not exceeding 5% alcoholic content by
weight, and both natural and fortified wine, the latter not exceeding
24% alcoholic content by volume.
Climate and Traveling Equipment: Travelers in the mountains in
summer should have medium-weight topcoats or sweaters, as evenings
are generally cool. Though extremely warm days are unusual it is well
to have light clothing. Sun glasses are needed for trips along the coast.
The Sandhill region has several winter resorts where only medium-
weight clothing is necessary.
Poisonous Plants and Venomous Snakes: Poison-ivy grows in
wooded areas, along fences and streams; poison sumac occurs in wet
swampy lands. Rattlesnakes and copperheads occur in remote sections.
Cottonmouth moccasins and coral snakes are found only in eastern
and southeastern sections.
Recreational Areas: Coast — North Carolina has a coast line of 320
miles with many beaches and resorts offering facilities for water sports.
Sandhill — Sports facilities available at Southern Pines and Pinehurst.
Piedmont — Artificial lakes along the Yadkin and Catawba Rivers.
Mountain — Hiking and bridle trails lead to mountain peaks, many of
which are more than a mile high; camping grounds, trout streams,
artificial lakes, wild game.
State La\es {facilities for swimming, fishing, boating, and other
water sports) : White, Jones {for Negroes) , Salters, and Singletary
in Bladen County {see tour 5) ; Waccamaw in Columbus County {see
tour 31a) ; Phelps in Washington County {see tour 26a) ; Matta-
muskeet and Alligator in Hyde County {see tour jj) .
XXVI GENERAL INFORMATION
Power Development La\es {opportunities for water sports) : Yadkin
River — High Rock in Davidson County {see tour 12) ; Badin in
Montgomery and Stanly Counties {see tour 75) ; Tillery in Mont-
gomery and Stanly Counties {see tour 32) ; Blewett Falls in Richmond
and Anson Counties {see tour 31b). Catawba River — James in Burke
and McDowell Counties {see tour 26c) ; Rhodhiss in Burke and
Caldwell Counties {see tour 26c) ; Mountain Island in Mecklenburg
and Gaston Counties {see tour 19 A). Cheoah River — Lake Santeetlah
in Graham County; Little Tennessee River — Lake Cheoah in Graham
County {see tour 21E).
Rivers Suitable for Water Sports {east to west) : Pasquotank, Roa-
noke, Pamlico, Neuse, Cape Fear, Yadkin, Catawba, Broad, New,
Watauga, Little Tennessee, and Hiwassee.
State Parkj: Fort Macon State Park, near Morehead City — close to
good fishing grounds and bathing centers {see tour 28). Cape Hat-
teras (Phipps) State Park, Dare County — bathing, fishing, and boating
{see tour iA). Morrow Mountain State Park near Albemarle in
Stanly County — swimming, hiking, horseback riding, cabins, and pic-
nic sites {see tour 32). Hanging Rock in Stokes County — water
sports, camping sites, foot and bridle paths, trout fishing {see tour
14). Rendezvous Mountain Park near Wilkesboro — picnicking and
hiking {see tour 25). Mount Mitchell State Park in Yancey County —
trails, paths, cottages {see tour 30 A). Crabtree Creek State Recrea-
tion Area near Raleigh {see tour 9).
National Forests: Three national forests and one purchase unit pro-
vide camping grounds with provisions for outdoor cooking: Croatan
National Forest in the southeastern, Pisgah in the western, Nantahala
in the southwestern, and the Uharie Purchase Unit in the south
central part of the State. The Pisgah has four divisions — Grandfather,
Pisgah, Mount Mitchell, and French Broad {see national forests).
National Par\s: Great Smoky Mountains National Park provides a
variety of recreational interests {see great smoky mountains national
park). Military Par\s: Moores Creek {see tour 29) and Guilford
Courthouse {see tour /■?) have limited recreational equipment.
Appalachian Trail {roughly following the North Carolina-Tennessee
boundary between TJna\a Mountain and Davenport Gap, thence in a
southeasterly direction to the Georgia Line) : Primary (4-ft. graded for
horses); Secondary (4-ft. cleared); Manway (unimproved). Log:
Guide to the Southern Appalachians, Pub. No. 8, Appalachian Trail
Conference, 901 Union Trust Bldg., Washington, D. C, p. $1. Maps:
Quadrangles of the U. S. Geological Survey, Department of the In-
terior, Washington, D. C, while obsolete as to highways and trails,
are the most detailed topographic maps available; recent topographic
GENERAL INFORMATION XXV11
maps available in two sections for Great Smoky Mountains National
Park; for the Appalachian Trail, the following quadrangles are avail-
able: Roan Mountain, Mount Mitchell, Asheville, Greeneville, Mt.
Guyot; between Deals Gap and Georgia Line, Nantahala, Cowee,
Walhalla, Dahlonega, 10^ ea., U. S. Forest Service maps (not con-
tour), available free, for four divisions of Pisgah National Forest,
U. S. Forest Service, Asheville; Nantahala National Forest, U. S. For-
est Service, Franklin; booklets and folders available from same sources.
Information: The following organizations are responsible for the vari-
ous sections of the trail: between Unaka Mountain and Davenport
Gap, Carolina Mountain Club, Asheville; Smoky Mountains National
Park, Park Service, Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Bryson City; between
Wesser and Georgia Line, Nantahala National Forest, Franklin, and
Nantahala Appalachian Trail Club, Almond.
State Game Refuges: Western North Carolina — Pisgah, Mount
Mitchell, Daniel Boone, Wayah Bald. Other refuges: Holly Shelter,
Gates County, Robeson County, Union County, Guilford County.
Holly Shelter harbors bear, deer, wild turkey, and small game {see
tour 4). Certain sections of Lake Mattamuskeet, State-controlled, are
noted for ducks and geese {see tour jj). The territory surrounding
these refuges usually furnishes good hunting. Arrangements for hunt-
ing on State-administered public grounds may be made through
the division of game and inland fisheries of the North Carolina Dept.
of Conservation and Development, Raleigh.
Federal Game Refuges: Swanquarter and parts of Lake Matta-
muskeet in Hyde County and Lake Tillery in Stanly and Mont-
gomery Counties are sanctuaries for migratory waterfowl. Fishing,
under permit, allowed on refuges. Limited hunting and fishing are
permitted at irregular intervals in Pisgah National Forest under U. S.
Forest Service regulations {see national forests).
Fish and Game: 345 species of identified fish, including mountain
trout, warm-water game fish, migratory fish, and salt-water species.
Coastal waters and many inland bodies afford fishing opportunities.
Game occurs throughout the State, including migratory wild fowl,
upland game birds, deer, bear, fox, squirrel, rabbit, opossum, and
raccoon.
Fishing Licenses: Issued by clerks of the superior courts and vari-
ous other persons. Nonresident, $5.10; nonresident daily permit, $1.10;
State-resident, $2.10; State-resident daily permit, 60^; county-resident,
$1.10 (most of the western counties require licenses of county resi-
dents — see local authorities) . • License requirements extend to both
sexes above age of 16. Licenses are not required to fish in Atlantic
Ocean, the sounds, or other large bodies of water near the seacoast
XXV111 GENERAL INFORMATION
which do not need to be stocked or protected (inquire locally). Land-
owners and minor members of their families may fish on their own
lands without licenses. For size and bag limits see State hunting and
fishing laws.
Hunting Licenses: Issued by clerks of the superior courts and vari-
ous other persons. Nonresident, $15.25; State-resident, $2.10; county-
resident, $1.10; combination State-resident hunting and fishing, $3.10;
guide, $5.25 (subject to change); nonresident trapper, $25.25; State-
resident trapper, $3.25; county-resident trapper, $2.25. Persons who
have lived in the State for six months preceding application for
license are regarded as residents. A nonresident who owns land in
the State consisting of 100 acres or more may hunt thereon without
license. Other nonresident owners of lands in the State may obtain
licenses to hunt on their own lands for $5.25. No license is required
of a resident owner of land, or a dependent minor member of his
family, to hunt upon such land. The lessee of a farm for cultivation
may hunt thereon without license. A member of the family of a
resident, under 16 years of age, may hunt under the license of his
parent or guardian. A nonresident minor child of a resident may
secure and use a resident license when visiting such resident parent.
For size and bag limits see State hunting and fishing laws.
General Service Bureaus for Tourists: North Carolina Dept. of Con-
servation and Development, Raleigh. U. S. Forest Supervisors: Pisgah,
Asheville; Nantahala, Franklin; Croatan, Columbia, S. C, or U. S.
Forest Service, Washington, D. C; Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, Bryson City.
Calendar of Events
(nfd means no fixed date)
Jan. 5th
6th
7th
9th to 13th
4th wk.
Rodanthe
Wilmington
St. Helena
Pinehurst
Greensboro
nfd
Charlotte
nfd
Southern Pir
Feb. 3rd Mon.
4th wk.
Gatesville
High Point
nfd
High Point
nfd
Raleigh
nfd
Raleigh
March
Old Christmas Celebration
Old Christmas Celebration
Old Christmas Celebration
Pinehurst Club Field Trials
Carolina A.A.U. Wrestling
Tournament
Golden Gloves Boxing
Tournament
February Fishermen's Court
Carolina A.A.U. Basketball
Tournament
Southern Furniture Exposi-
tion (trade only)
Carolinas-Virginia Boxing
Tournament
East Carolina Golden Gloves
Boxing Tournament
1st wk.
Raleigh
Southern Conference Basket-
ball Tournament
2nd wk.
Pinehurst
Seniors Golf Tournament
3rd wk.
Southern Pines
Spring Tennis Tournament
3rd Sat.
Pinehurst
Sandhills Steeplechase and
22nd to 24th
Southern Pines
Racing Assn. Meet
Women's Mid-South Golf
4th wk.
Pinehurst
Championship
United North and South Open
4th wk.
Greensboro and
Golf Championship
Greater Greensboro Open
Sedgefield
Golf Tournament
XXX
28th to 29th Pinehurst
Last wk. Pinehurst
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
(nfd means no fixed date)
Horse Show
nfd
Chapel Hill
Easter Sun.
Winston-Salem
Easter Sun.
Asheville
Easter Mon.
Winston-Salem
Apr. 1 st wk.
Pinehurst
4th to 6th
Asheville
6th
Fort Bragg
10th
Asheville
2nd wk.
Washington
12th
State-wide
3rd wk.
Pinehurst
3rd wk.
Greensboro
3rd wk.
High Point
3rd wk.
Asheville
4th wk.
Sedgefield
4th wk.
Southern Pines
nfd
Try on
nfd
Charlotte
nfd
Chapel Hill
nfd
Pinehurst
nfd
Wilmington
nfd
Durham
nfd
Southern Pines
North and South Invitation
Golf Championship for
Women
Dramatic Festival and
Tournament
Moravian Easter Sunrise
Service
Union Easter Sunrise Service
Morning German and Dance
North and South Invitation
Amateur Golf Championship
Land of the Sky Open Golf
Tournament
Army Day
Men's Amateur Golf Tourna-
ment
Tulip Festival
Halifax Day
North and South Professional
Tennis Tournament
North Carolina High School
Music Contest
South Atlantic Interscholastic
Golf Championship
Women's Spring Golf Tour-
nament
Senior State Golf Champion-
ship Tournament
Dogwood Tennis Tourna-
ment
Gymkhana; horse and hound
show
Kennel Club Show
High School Week; debating,
track, and tennis tournaments
Kennel Club Show
Airlie Azalea Gardens
Kennel Club Show
Horse Show
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
XXXI
nfd
State-wide
Garden Fortnight and Pil-
grimage
nfd
Beaufort
Gladiolus Festival
May i st wk.
State-wide
May Day Celebration
i st wk.
Tryon
Flower Show
ist wk.
Rocky Mount
Gallopade
ioth
State-wide
Confederate Memorial Day
ioth of May, June,
July, Aug.
Cape Lookout
Banker Pony Roundup
about 15th
Greensboro
Garden Club Show
20th
State-wide
Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence Day
20th
Wrightsville
Wilmington Light Infantry
Beach
Celebration
3rd or
Sedgefield
Left-handed Golf Champion-
4th wk.
ship of the Carolinas Tourna-
ment
nfd
Durham
Flower Show
nfd
Elizabeth City
National Show of Racing
Pigeon Club
nfd
Charlotte
Garden Club Show
nfd
Raleigh
Garden Club Show
nfd
Kannapolis
Open Rifle Tournament
June ist wk. Wallace
ist wk. Chadbourn
2nd or 3rd wk. Asheville
2nd wk. Gastonia
2nd Fri. Rocky Mount
2nd Sat. Rocky Mount
4th wk. Banner Elk
4th Sun.
June, July, Aug.
(full moon)
July ist wk. to
Sept.
2nd wk.
4th
Near Linville
Ocracoke
Fort Raleigh
Roanoke Island
Asheville
Linville
Strawberry Festival
Strawberry Festival
Rhododendron Festival
Cotton Festival
June German
Negro June German
Trout Fishing Derby and Fly-
Casting Tournament
Tri-State Singing Convention
Channel Bass Derbies
The Lost Colony Pageant
(Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., and
Sun. nights)
North Carolina Open Tennis
Tournament
Men's Handicap Golf Tour-
nament
XXX11
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
(nfd means no fixed date)
4th
Ocracoke
Banker Pony Roundup
2nd wk.
Fort Bragg
North Carolina Rifle and
Pistol Championship
2nd wk.
Wenona
Blackland Station Farmers
Field Day
3rd wk.
Oxford
Tobacco Station Field Day
4th wk.
Raleigh
Joint Farmers and 4-H Clubs
Convention
4th wk.
Asheville
Women's Invitation Golf
Tournament
28th to 29th
High Point
Carolina A.A.U. Swimming
Meet
nfd
Linville
Skeet Tournament
nfd
Wilmington
New Hanover Fishing Club
Casting Tournament
nfd
High Point
Southern Furniture Exposi-
tion (trade only)
nfd
Beaufort and
Cape Lookout
Goggle Fishing Tournament
nfd
Beaufort-More-
head City
Gulf Stream Dolphin Derby
Aug. 1st wk.
Asheville
Mountain Folk Music and
Dance Festival
1 st wk.
Rocky Mount
Upper Coastal Plain Test
Farm Field Day
1st wk.
Hendersonville
Horse Show
1 st wk.
Blowing Rock
Horse Show
2nd wk.
Lincoln County
Rock Springs (Methodist)
Camp Meeting
2nd wk.
Wilmington
South Atlantic Yachting
Assn. Meet
2nd wk.
Blowing Rock
Men's Golf Tournament
2nd wk.
Asheville
Men's Invitation Golf Tour-
nament
15th
Wrightsville
Beach
Water Carnival
3rd wk.
Wilson
Tobacco Festival
3rd wk.
Asheville
Men's Invitation Golf Tour-
nament
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
XXX111
18th
23rd
Fort Raleigh
Roanoke Island
Fayetteville
3rd wk.
Blowing Rock
nfd
Swannanoa
nfd
Near Charlotte
nfd
Falcon
nfd
Linville
nfd
Linville
nfd
Morehead City
nfd
Newton
nfd
Beaufort
Sept. Labor Day
New Bern
Labor Day
Linville
2nd wk.
Willard
2nd wk.
2nd wk.
4th wk.
Sedgefield
Sedgefield
Mount Olive
nfd
Charlotte
nfd
nfd
Raleigh
Durham
nfd
nfd
Spruce Pine
Asheville
Oct. ist or
2nd wk.
Sedgefield
1 2th
3rd wk.
about 15th
Chapel Hill
Raleigh
Elizabeth City
nfd
Cherokee
Joint Celebration of the Birth
of Virginia Dare and Found-
ing of the First English Col-
ony in America
Fayetteville Independent
Light Infantry Anniversary
Women's Golf Tournament
Mountain Test Farm Field
Day
Steel Creek Singing Conven-
tion
Camp Meeting (Holiness)
Horse Show
Men's and Women's Invita-
tion Golf Tournaments
Mid-Carolina Coast Water
Carnival
Reunion of Veterans of All
Wars
Channel Bass Derby
Boat Races on the Neuse
River
Men's Handicap Golf Tour-
nament
Coastal Plain Experiment Sta-
tion Farmers Field Day
Men's Golf Championship
Women's Golf Championship
Farmers Festival
Food Show
Debutante Ball
Horse Show
Mayland Fair
Western North Carolina Ne-
gro Agricultural Fair
Mixed Foursome Golf Cham-
pionship of the Carolinas
University Day
North Carolina State Fair
International Moth Boat
Races
Cherokee Indian Fair
XXXIV
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
{Nfd means no fixed date)
nfd
Durham
Open Rifle and Pistol Tour-
nament
nfd
Durham
Dahlia Show
nfd
Greensboro
Kennel Club Show
nfd
Asheville
Kennel Club Show
Nov.
and Dec.
near Asheville
Big Game Hunts
Nov.
3rd wk.
Pinehurst
Mid-South Professional Golf
Tournament
Thanksgiv-
ing wk.
29th to 30th
Wilmington
Pinehurst
Turkey Shoot
Continental Field Trial Club
Events
nfd
Asheboro
North Carolina Fox Hunters
Assn. Meet and Field Trials
Dec.
1 st to 3rd
Pinehurst
Pointer Club of America
Membership Field Trials
5th to 9th
Pinehurst
Pointer Club of America
Open Field Trials
1 st Sat.
Charlotte
North Carolina-South Caro-
lina High School Football
Game
15th through
Pinehurst and
Golf and Tennis Tourna-
winter sea-
Southern Pines
ments, Gymkhanas, Polo,
son
Field Trials, Fox Hunts,
17th
Kill Devil Hill
Horse Racing, Archery, etc.
Wright Flight Anniversary
Observance
about
20th
Winston-Salem
Tobacco Market Christmas
24th
24th
Wilmington
Winston-Salem
Party
Community Christmas Tree
Moravian Love Feast and
Candle Service
31st
Winston-Salem
Moravian Watch Night
Varial
nfd
Die Dates
Elizabeth City
Hampstead
National Show of Racing
Pigeon Club
Fiddlers Convention
Variable Dates
Charlotte
Textile Show
Part I
GENERAL
BACKGROUND
TAR HEELS ALL
By Jonathan Daniels
AS OLD William Byrd of Virginia told it, the line between North
*Jk Carolina and Virginia was drawn across the map with much
JL JL bickering and boozing. And when the line between the two
Carolinas was drawn, legend insists that the South Carolina commis-
sioners, being low-country gentlemen, were concerned with little more
than keeping Charleston in South Carolina. Between the lines, between
William Byrd's aristocratic contempt and the Charleston gentlemen's
aristocratic unconcern, was left an area which for years on end rejoiced
in the generalization that it was a vale of humility between two moun-
tains of conceit. The generalization is useful, as most generalizations
are. A modicum of truth lies in it, a persisting modicum, borne out in
the report of a modern North Carolinian that among his State's neigh-
bors there were only two classes of people, those who never had worn
shoes and those who made you feel that you never had. His report is
important as reflecting, in a North Carolina recently more proud than
humble, a continuing conviction that one man is as good as another
and that if you don't believe it he'll show you he's a damn sight better.
Such generalization may aid the mechanically and mentally hurrying
traveler, but it also may lead him into error in a State 500 miles long
in which on the same day the winds may whisper in the palms at Smith
Island and the snow cover trees common to Canada in the altitudes of
Clingmans Dome. Such a generalization certainly can indicate nothing
about the fact that between the fishermen of Manteo and the men in
the coves beyond Murphy there are at least three areas, different not only
in the geography of Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Mountain Regions,
but different in the men and their preoccupations within them. Over
roads and taxes, representation and offices, they have fought and quar-
reled and still fight and quarrel. The East, which once angrily insisted
on political preference because it paid most of the taxes, now resists the
Piedmont, which today does most of the paying. The greater part of
the tobacco crop is raised in the East but all tobacco is manufactured in
3
4 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
the Piedmont, and growers have shouted in anger both at tobacco prices
and corporation politics. The East, conventional old agricultural plan-
tation South of cash crops, Negro labor, and a straight Democratic
ticket, remains socially conservative while it grows politically liberal.
The Piedmont is the New South, up-and-coming, in which the cleavages
of industry have flung up, out of the same small farmer class, the class-
conscious worker and the property-conscious millionaire. And beyond
them both the Mountain Region, still politically divided in memory of
Union and Confederate division in the War between the States, remains
more divided too in its desire for industry like the Piedmont's and pre-
occupation with its precipitate earth — rich, if sometimes difficult, for
farming for living, and magnificent in its appeal to those able to come up
from the physically undramatic lowlands.
So the North Carolinian is three North Carolinians, at least three.
But from Tidewater to Tennessee he is the native American. The North
Carolinian has been where he is a long time, as America counts. Largely
English, with lesser infusions of German and a large element of Scotch,
the white North Carolinian, through time and a difference in environ-
ment, has become three different men; and, in addition, nearly one-third
of the population is Negro.
The East remains expansive, leisurely, interminably and excellently
conversational, concerned with good living, devoted to pleasure, politic-
ally fixed but also politically philosophical. Perhaps the absence of any
large cities has contributed to the fact that the easterner's neighborliness
is little short of Gargantuan. Gregarious in an area not thickly settled,
he finds it a trifle to go a hundred miles for a dance — and found it a trifle
even when traveling meant trains and not the simplicity of automobile
movement. His social life is restricted to no county or town. His "social
set" is a whole population. And the famous June Germans of Rocky
Mount, where the hugest tobacco warehouse is required for the dancing
multitude, are perhaps the best example of his — and her — gregarious,
nonexclusive ideal of pleasure.
The Piedmont is another land. It has always been a more serious-
minded land. Somehow, the Episcopalians, though they are relatively
few in number, seem to have marked the East, not as a church but as a
people. In contrast, the Piedmont seems more directly to have grown
from the stern spirits of the Quakers of Guilford, the Moravians of For-
syth, the Calvinists of Mecklenburg, the ubiquitous Baptists, and that
practical Methodism from which the Dukes emerged. The plantation
disappeared at the fall line. Labor became increasingly white. Leisure
was less highly regarded, and practical concerns were paramount above
philosophy, even above pleasure. Furthermore, where there was little
Negro labor, there was water falling in the streams. And, long before the
TAR HEELS ALL
hydroelectric plants of Duke, it did not fall in vain. Hard-working, hard-
headed men, with no foreknowledge of the inevitable change in rela-
tionship from money and land to money and machinery, attached them-
selves and their region to the change. Doing so long ago, they took the
Carolina Piedmont into the direct stream of modern mechanical America
and built the Piedmont in North Carolina into an area less distinguished
for its differences from than its similarities to American industrial areas
elsewhere. Its people are stirring or struggling. Wealth here has more
sharply stratified society than in the older and more aristocratic East.
But unlike some other industrial areas, its people are homogeneous.
There are more foreign corporations than there are foreign workers.
The stock ticker has come and also the labor union. The region has seen
both the efficiency expert and the "flying squadron." It has seen a great
deal of industrial money and some industrial murder. It is modern and
American in almost every familiar connotation of those terms.
Perhaps the mountains meet the Piedmont in those towns where folk
have come from the difficulties of scratching a living out of the steep
sides of tough hills to the promised ease and regularity and generosity of
the mills. The meeting has not always been a happy one. Sometimes it
has been as violent as might be expected in the collision of the Eliza-
bethan and electricity. The mountain man is by no means so quaint as
some of the novelists have made him. His isolation is seldom so com-
plete as it has been pictured; indeed, some sentimentalists spend them-
selves weeping over its disappearance. There are movies in every moun-
tain town. Good roads run into a great many mountain coves. The boys
and girls have gone out of the valleys to the schools. And now a good
many simple mountaineers are waiting in hopefulness for some simple
tourists. But the characteristics of the mountaineer remain. An individual
may emerge from isolation swiftly, but a people does not immediately
lose the characteristics created by long dwelling apart. The tourist is now
to be welcomed, but to come to trust the stranger wholly is a more
gradual process. By no means have all the strangers who have gone into
the mountains in the past been worthy of trust. And though the battles
were not of the proportions to reach the history books, the divided moun-
taineers in the War between the States received the undivided and in-
distinguishable attentions of undisciplined bands of soldiers on both
sides. Furthermore, the antagonism in the sixties in the mountains was
more personal and immediate than elsewhere. There the division be-
tween the Union and the Confederacy might be no wider than the creek
between two men's houses. A man learned to trust in himself, to share
his deeper thinking slowly, to welcome warily, to mind his own busi-
ness, and to vote as his granddaddy fought. He still does.
But to reduce the North Carolinian to three North Carolinians is only
O NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
the first step in the reduction of generalization to particular fact. There
are diverse men among mountaineers. Certainly there are plenty of dif-
ferent types and classes and people in the Piedmont. In the East they
are a different folk who fish on Harkers Island from those who plant
peanuts in Bertie. And in each area there are those indistinguishable
men, worn to an identity of shape and coloration by the processes of
education. They are everywhere, able, active, or otherwise, but unob-
trusive, unimpressive in determining the quality or character of a native
civilization.
There are, however, in North Carolina interesting groups which, with-
out losing the characteristics of section, yet create a unity that — beyond
the uniformity of taxes and laws — may very well be called North Caro-
lina. Strongest of all, perhaps, is the alumni of the University of North
Carolina. This of course does not mean the body of enthusiasts articulate
over football. Far more importantly it means a group of men in every
section of the State who have something more than a provincial's sense
of the meaning of his native land. From Battle and Winston through
Alderman and Venable and Graham and Chase to another Graham, a
series of able presidents has made the institution in a very real sense the
center for an aristocracy of intelligence that in half a century has trans-
formed the State. In no sense are these men everywhere in North Caro-
lina steadily agreed on the directions that the State should take. Personal
and sectional interests move them as they do other men. But in a broad
and diverse State they know each other and have together a sense of the
importance of their university and the schools that lead to its doors.
They were chiefly responsible for North Carolina's educational advance.
They are responsible now for their university's high integrity in free-
dom. And that institution, more than the capital at Raleigh, is the center
for the progressive idealism of the State.
The university at Chapel Hill serves as a symbol for unity in aspira-
tion as do few other institutions in the country. Sometimes regarded with
suspicion, sometimes attacked with bitterness, the university neverthe-
less is more often held in an almost pathetic affection by the State. North
Carolina was so long in ignorance, so long in poverty! Its people today
are restless in the consciousness of their former stagnation. Chapel Hill,
no longer remote, embodies their aspiration that the vale may become
the mountain (if, indeed, already it has not!) — that the inconsiderable
people between the two aristocracies may yet accomplish a greater des-
tiny than either.
North Carolina, which has never been very long on history, neverthe-
less remembers that when it followed the aristocracies into the War be-
tween the States it provided certainly more privates and probably fewer
generals than any other Southern State. It still is a State of privates ready
TAR HEELS ALL
to show scant respect to any who rise pretentiously among them. It even
laughs sometimes at its own millionaires and is sometimes glad to get
rid of the public officials it has elected. The North Carolinian is, as he
has always been, an equalitarian individualist. And he believes in the
possibility that he and his fellows may advance. He is no longer hum-
bled, if he ever was, by the aristocracy of his neighbors. He learned in
the third decade of the century to boast easily and often, and he had
something to boast about, not only in the material progress of road
building and accelerated industrial growth, but also in improved race
relations, better care for the unfortunate, better schools, and a greater
university. But a depression placed in neat relation to his progress taught
him much. He is now less proud of the distance he has gone than aware
of the distance he must go. He knows that he has "the greatest State on
earth" and that he is as good as anybody in it. But he is by no means
sure that this is good enough.
NATURAL SETTING
NORTH CAROLINA, one of the Thirteen Colonies that formed
the original United States of America, is bounded on the north
by Virginia, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by
South Carolina and Georgia, and on the west by Tennessee. Except for
the North Carolina-Virginia boundary, which, with but slight varia-
tions, runs due east and west, the State's boundaries are irregular. Situ-
ated between latitudes 33 ° 27' 37" N. and 36 ° 34' 25" N., and longitudes
75 27' W. and 84 ° 20' W., the State lies entirely within the warmer part
of the north temperate zone.
The extreme length of the State from east to west is 503.25 miles, and
from north to south 187.5 m il es - The average length from east to west
is approximately 410 miles, and from north to south approximately 115
miles. The State's total area is 52,286 square miles, with 48,666 square
miles of land and 3,620 square miles of water.
The population in 1930 (U. S. Census) was 3,170,276, of whom 2,234,-
948 were white, 918,647 Negro, and 16,579 Indian. North Carolina
ranked twelfth in population among the States. Of its inhabitants
2,360,429 were classified as rural and 809,847 as urban. The population of
the largest city (Charlotte) was 82,675.
North Carolina is popularly known as the Old North State to distin-
guish it from its southern neighbor, and as the Tar Heel State from a
designation attributed to Cornwallis' soldiers, who crossed a river into
which tar had been poured, emerging with the substance adhering to
their heels.
Physiography
Sloping down from the crest of the Appalachian system to the Atlantic
seaboard, North Carolina lies wholly within the Atlantic border region,
with its three great natural divisions: the Mountain Region, the Pied-
mont Plateau, and the Coastal Plain.
Nearly half of the State's area lies in the Coastal Plain, the broad
almost level, forested or agricultural "low country" extending from the
seacoast inland to the fall line. Its extreme eastern boundary is a long
NATURAL SETTING
chain of islands known as "banks," a narrow barrier against the At-
lantic. The banks are constantly shifting sand dunes, which in places
are only one or two feet above tide level, but which at Kill Devil Hills
in Dare County reach a height of ioo feet. From the banks three famous
capes project into the Atlantic: treacherous Hatteras, "graveyard of the
Atlantic," and Lookout and Fear guarding the entrances to the State's
chief port towns, Morehead City-Beaufort and Wilmington. Between
the banks and the shore a chain of sounds, including Pamlico and Albe-
marle, stretches along the State's entire 320 miles of sea front. Notable
among the numerous islands lying within the sounds are Roanoke and
Harkers.
Bordering the sounds on the mainland is the Tidewater area, a belt
from 30 to 80 miles wide, where the land is level and sometimes swampy.
To the north a part of the Great Dismal Swamp spreads across the bor-
der of Virginia into North Carolina; and farther south, swamps in
Hyde, Tyrrell, and Dare Counties cover some 300 square miles. These
swamplands, locally known as "dismals" and "pocosins," occur on the
divides or watersheds between the rivers and sounds. In this region are
15 natural lakes, largest of which is Lake Mattamuskeet, near the coast
in Hyde County. Characteristic of the southeast is the savanna, a treeless
prairieland with a thick growth of grass and wild flowers. The savannas,
the largest of which covers some 3,000 acres, have been created by a lack
of drainage and a close impervious soil.
Many of the largest rivers of the Coastal Plain rise in the western
Piedmont and join the sounds as broad estuaries. To the north are the
Roanoke, rising in Piedmont Virginia, and the Chowan, formed by two
rivers which rise in eastern Virginia. Draining the central portion of the
plain are the Tar-Pamlico and the Neuse; to the south is the Cape Fear.
The larger rivers are navigable almost to the border of the Piedmont.
In a series of terraces, the Coastal Plain rises gradually from sea level to
a height of about 500 feet at its western margin.
The fall line, at the head of river navigation, marks the western edge
of the Coastal Plain. Running from Northampton and Halifax Coun-
ties on the Virginia border, the line extends in a southwesterly direction
through Anson County on the South Carolina border.
The Piedmont Plateau, extending from the fall line west to the Blue
Ridge, consists of rolling hill country, with stiff clay soils and numerous
swift streams capable of producing great power for industrial and urban
development. In this region, the most densely populated in the State,
the Broad, the Catawba, and the Yadkin Rivers, which have their
sources on the southeastern slopes of the Blue Ridge, pursue easterly
courses until, after cutting gaps through the ridges, they turn southward
and flow into South Carolina, where the Catawba becomes the Wateree.
10 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
At its western edge the Piedmont Plateau rises from 1,200 to 1,500 feet
above sea level. Spurs from the Blue Ridge reach out eastward and south-
ward, and a few straggling irregular ranges cross the breadth of the
plateau.
The Blue Ridge, or eastern Appalachian chain, is a steep, ragged
escarpment rising suddenly above the Piedmont. It is followed by a
downward fold with wide bottom that forms a plateau of more than
6,000 square miles, with an elevation of 2,000 to 3,000 feet. This plateau
is bordered on the north and west by the Iron, Stone, Unaka, Bald,
Great Smoky, and Unicoi Mountains, all of which are part of the western
Appalachian chain. Several cross chains, higher and more massive than
the principal ranges, cut the great plateau into a checkerboard of small
mountain-framed areas with independent drainage systems.
Both the Blue Ridge and the Great Smoky Ranges reach their cul-
minating heights in western North Carolina, and together they consti-
tute the greatest mass of mountains in the eastern half of the United
States. More than 40 peaks rise 6,000 feet or more above sea level. Among
these, Mount Mitchell, on the Black Mountain spur of the Blue Ridge,
attains a height of 6,684 feet, the highest elevation east of the Mississippi.
Some 80 peaks are from 5,000 to 6,000 feet high, while hundreds are from
4,000 to 5,000 feet.
The Blue Ridge, a straggling irregular mountain chain, crosses the
State in a northeast-southwest direction. Near the South Carolina border
it turns westward and for a considerable distance forms the bound-
ary between the two Carolinas. By a southwestern projection into
Georgia, the range unites again with the western Appalachian chain,
to which it approaches closely at its entry into North Carolina from
Virginia.
The Great Smoky Mountains bound the plateau with marked definite-
ness on the west, the main chain forming the boundary between North
Carolina and Tennessee. The mean altitude of the range is higher than
that of the Blue Ridge, and some of its peaks rise higher above their
bases than any others in eastern America.
The crest of the Blue Ridge is the principal watershed within the
State. Rainfall on the eastern slope flows into the Atlantic; from the
western slope it reaches the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi
River. Fed by many tributaries, the Hiwassee, the Little Tennessee, and
the French Broad Rivers flow westerly and northwesterly from the Blue
Ridge into Tennessee. Farther north the New River flows through Vir-
ginia and into the Ohio River. Within Tennessee, the Nolichucky and
Pigeon Rivers empty into the French Broad. The Elk and the Watauga
are important tributaries of the Holston River in Tennessee.
Most of the valleys formed by the streams of the Mountain Region are
NATURAL SETTING
deep and narrow. The gorge of the Little Tennessee at the foot of the
Great Smoky Mountains is from 200 to 500- feet deep. Large and small
streams have many waterfalls.
Climate
The climate of North Carolina is considered exceptionally attractive.
It is that of the warm temperate zone modified by the widely varied
topography, with elevations ranging from sea level to 6,684 ^ eet - Periods
of extreme heat or cold are infrequent and do not last long when they
occur. In the coastal district, the proximity of the ocean has a stabilizing
influence both in diurnal and seasonal changes of temperature, while it
also tends to increase precipitation. In the western part of the State, the
higher altitudes are associated with a lower temperature all the year
around, but the mountains also act as a partial barrier against cold waves
from the inland sections of the country.
The mean annual temperature for the State is 59 °F., but it ranges
from 48.4 at Linville in the northwest to 64.1 ° at Southport in the
southeastern corner. The mean temperature for winter is 42 ° and for
summer 75 °. The Coastal Plain has an annual mean of 62 °, the Pied-
mont of 60 °, and the Mountain Region of 55 °. The lowest temperature
recorded in several decades was — 20 ° in Ashe County, and the highest
was 107 at Southern Pines. The length of the growing season ranges
from 174 days in the extreme west and northwest to 295 at Hatteras, with
numerous local variations.
Rainfall is abundant and well distributed, but with sharp local vari-
ations, especially in the west. Annual precipitation averages are 48.47
inches for the northeastern section, 47.26 inches for the central and south-
eastern sections, and 58 inches for the Piedmont and Mountain Region.
The highest rainfall in the State is near Highlands in Macon County,
where the average for many decades is 82.41 inches, and where as much
as 1 1 1.20 inches have been recorded in a single year. Yet the lowest rain-
fall in the State is recorded only 50 miles away, at Marshall, where the
average annual is 39.08. The snowfall in the western half of the State
varies from 4 inches at Monroe to 47 inches near the Tennessee border
in Ashe County.
Flora
Because of its widely diversified topography and climate, North Caro-
lina contains examples of nearly all the major types of vegetation found
in the eastern United States. No farther apart than a day's motor drive
12 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
are the subtropical palmetto, wild olive, and live oak of the coast and
the balsam-spruce forests of the high mountaintops.
In contrast to the rocky shore of New England is the unbroken stretch
of shifting dunes along the North Carolina coast, where the trees and
grasses must resist wind and moving sand. Characteristic of these dunes
is the sea oat, a tall and slender grass, ripening in August to golden
plumes; the sea elder, a low shrub which grows in bright green clumps,
and the seakale, with fleshy leaves from which water may be squeezed.
On the landward side of the dunes grow the short wiry saltgrass, sea-
beach grass, seaside evening-primrose, and dune groundcherry. About
the seacoast towns, growing like weeds, are the gaillardia, Mexican-
poppy, and other foreign plants brought over in ballast earth. On Smith
Island, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, the seaside forest is at its best.
Most beautiful is the live oak, with its bent and twisted trunk and
branches, and its small evergreen leaves. Beneath the oaks grow dog-
wood, redbay, wild olive, and the yaupon, a holly with shiny boxlike
leaves and clusters of red berries. Here, too, grows the palmetto, which
journeyed up the coast from Florida in ages past.
The vast salt marshes on the eastern seaboard are covered with nar-
row-leaved grasses that give them the appearance of prairie lands. Here
grow the marsh morning-glory and aster, sea-lavender, sea-oxeye, and
samphire, a leafless plant decorated with brilliant red in the fall.
The plants of the fresh-water marshes vary with the depth of the
water. Cattails, arrowheads, ricegrass, parrotfeathers, and lizardtails
dominate the landscape, and scattered communities of wild flowers touch
the marshes with brilliant hues. Along the borders grow bluebells,
clematis, and the marsh dayflower, of a sky-blue color.
The swamp forests are a distinctly southern plant community. Most
picturesque is the somber cypress, with its hanging moss and its knobby
root projections, or "knees," which actually are lungs that carry oxygen
to the roots below the water. Along with the cypress, gum and white
cedar dominate the swamp forests, in which also grow the swamp red-
maple, pumpkin and pop ashes, and swamp hickory. On the margins
the sweetgum, dogwood, and possumhaw are common.
The lakes, ponds, and fresh-water sounds of eastern North Carolina
are rich in aquatic vegetation. A common plant on the Coastal Plain
rivers and ponds is the spatterdock, which has arrow-shaped leaves and
greenish-yellow flowers that float on the surface of the water, and shape-
less lettucelike leaves below. The tapegrass sends its seedbearing flower
above the water and produces below the surface its staminate flower,
which is cut loose when mature. Dwarf duckweed, smallest of all
flowering plants, floats on the water. Common are the many species of
bladderwort, which has a trap door to entice small forms of animal life.
JOCKEY S RIDGE, NAGS HEAD
OLD HATTERAS LIGHT AT DAWN
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YAUPON TREE AND BANKS PONY
FRISCO ON THE BANKS
J. >■__!,
sw< 'jr
m-
DISAPPEARING ROAD, SMITH ISLAND
LONG-LEAF PINE AND DOGWOOD, NEAR PINEHURST
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LAKE LURE FROM CHIMNEY ROCK
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GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN FROM LINVILLE
MOUNT MITCHELL FRAMED IN RHODODENDRON
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MOUNTAIN FARM, HAYWOOD COUNTY
DAWN IN NANTAHALA GORGE
NATURAL SETTING 13
The abundance of pondweed, a favorite duck food, has made certain
North Carolina waters, particularly Currituck Sound, the haunt of great
numbers of wild fowl.
The evergreen-shrub bogs of eastern North Carolina, known also as
"pocosins" and "bays," are even in midwinter a dense tangle of green-
ery. Broad-leaved bushes stand waist-high in the soggy soil, and reeds
and cane form thick brakes. One of the most common bog plants is the
gallberry, closely related to the Christmas holly, and valuable for its nec-
tar. Most beautiful of the small trees in the State, and one of the few
large woody plants in the bog, is the loblolly-bay, with evergreen leaves
and large white scented flowers that suggest the magnolia. Best known,
perhaps, is the sweetbay, a true magnolia, whose flowers have a penetrat-
ing fragrance. Among the beautiful bog flowers is the honeycup, with
its pendant bells.
On the lower Coastal Plain are the great savannas, or sedge bogs,
famous for the beauty and variety of their wild flowers, and offering a
pageant of bloom for every month in the year but January. In the stiqky
black soil of these bogs grow the insectivorous trumpet, pitcherplant, and
sundew. Most famous of these plants is the Venus's-flytrap, which is
fairly abundant within a radius of 75 miles of the city of Wilmington.
It is not known to grow wild in any part of the world except the seacoast
Carolinas.
On the dry and coarse sand uplands of the southern half of the Coastal
Plain once stood magnificent forests of longleaf pine that furnished resin
and turpentine for the great naval-stores industry of former days. Since
the reduction of the pine by lumbering, turpentining, and fire, the Sand-
hills are dominated by the turkey oak and the slender stiff-leaved wire-
grass. Among the common wild flowers of the Sandhills are violets, iris,
pyxie moss, moss pinks (a favorite rock-garden plant), and the spider-
wort, with its three-petaled rose-colored blossoms.
Old-field plant communities, nature's attempt to revegetate waste-
lands, are a common sight where farmers have left old fields for new.
Crabgrass, ragweed, goldenrod, and horseweed spread in succession
across abandoned fields, to be followed and conquered by the ubiquitous
broomsedge. In the Piedmont and Mountain Regions the paintbrush,
wild carrot, yellow lily, evening-primrose, daisy, and aster make the
fields colorful. After the weeds come the pines, which have taken pos-
session of so many of the old fields in the State.
Greatest of all plant communities in the State in size, diversity of
structure, and number of species is the upland forest of broad-leaved and
coniferous trees. Once forests dominated the whole State; today most
of the virgin timber that remains is in Great Smoky Mountains National
Park and the Nantahala National Forest. Magnificent spruce and balsam
14 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
forests have been cut away, and the once-abundant chestnut has been
almost destroyed by blight; but on the vast slopes of the Smokies still
are forests like those the pioneers knew. Within the park are 143 species
of trees, with a splendid stand of spruce covering 50,000 acres. The domi-
nant hardwoods are red and white oak, yellow poplar, hickory, maple,
and basswood. The redbud and dogwood, both flowering trees, are
widely distributed. Most beautiful of the mountain shrubs are the flame
azalea, ranging in color tones from pure white through orange to
deepest red, the laurel, with its polka-dot flowers, and the great rhodo-
dendron.
The largest areas of boreal forest in the southern Appalachians lie
within the boundaries of North Carolina. In these high forests grow
the balsam and red spruce, and beneath them the forest floor is covered
with a thick mat of tree moss, brightened in summer with flowers of
the pink oxalis. Widely scattered over the high mountain ridges are the
"balds" — strange treeless areas, some of them dominated by the beauti-
ful rose-colored rhododendron, the laurel, and the azalea, others by only
grass or sedge.
Fauna
Just as botanists were early attracted by the great variety of both
northern and southern species of plants within the borders of North
Carolina, many scientists, including the Swiss-American Agassiz, found
the animal life of the State no less varied and interesting.
As late as the middle of the 18th century wild game was abundant in
the State. In 1760 the Moravians recorded many bears and wolves about
their settlement in the Piedmont section and "a roosting place of wild
pigeons of which they killed 1200."
Today there is no longer the abundance of wildlife described by the
early settlers. Gone like the primeval forests are the bison, elk, and wolf.
Only two large quadrupeds survive in any numbers, the black or hog
bear and the Virginia deer. The former is found in the wilder mountain
areas, and in the heavy swamps of the low country. The latter is still
abundant in parts of the low country and in some parts of the moun-
tains.
Of small animals, rabbits are the most numerous. In the high moun-
tains lives the New England cottontail, and in the low country the
eastern cottontail. On the coast and along the river swamps is the marsh
rabbit, which takes to the water when necessary.
The rice rat of the coastal marshes and river bottoms looks like a
young house rat but has aquatic habits. Florida wood rats live in small
colonies among the river swamps in the southern part of the coast coun-
NATURAL SETTING 15
try. The muskrat is to be found in the northeast and in many inland
localities. Outnumbering all of these are the heavy-set gray gopher rats
of the hedges and fields. In the high mountains live the Cloudland
white-footed or deer mouse, the Carolina red-backed vole, and the rarer
lemming. The common gray or cat squirrel and the flying squirrel range
from one end of the State to the other. The red squirrel or "boomer"
lives only in the mountains. The swamp ridges and coastal islands are
the home of the handsome southern fox squirrel.
Among fur-bearing animals of the State are the opossum, raccoon,
mink, gray fox, and red fox. Wildcats are still numerous in the moun-
tains. Both the weasel and the common skunk are found from the Moun-
tain Region to the Coastal Plain, but they are rare. The otter is even
less common, and needs protection if it is to be saved.
Of all Carolina marine mammals, the bottle-nosed dolphin is best
known. This "porpoise," as he is called by the native Carolinian, is often
to be seen rolling along just beyond the surf, usually in company with
others of his kind. A whale of any size in Carolina waters now attracts
considerable notice, but the common dolphins and larger pilot whales
are often seen. Sometimes a whole school of pilot whales is trapped in
shoal water and washed ashore.
Off the shores of the low country, both within the sounds and outside
the great barrier reef, are many varieties of fish. Cape Hatteras, where the
warm Gulf Stream leaves the Atlantic coast and turns northeast, marks
the dividing line in coastal waters between the habitat of cold-water
fishes such as the common mackerel, sea herring, cod, and haddock,
and that of the warm-water fishes such as snapper, Spanish mackerel,
and great barracuda. In the northern sounds, Currituck and Albe-
marle, which are almost entirely fresh-water, live the perches and the
large -mouthed bass, and here the rockfish, shad, and alewife come to
spawn. Pamlico, a salt sound, has an abundance of ocean fishes, includ-
ing the weakfish, menhaden, croaker, and bluefish. Off Cape Lookout
are many sharks, rays, sailfish, large and small barracuda, and devilfish.
In the fresh-water streams and lakes of the mountains, the brook or
speckled trout is native. At lower altitudes rainbow and brown trout
are found. A favorite game fish is the large-mouthed black bass. Pe-
culiar to North Carolina waters is the striped catfish, or "penitentiary
cat."
Among the reptiles of North Carolina are many turtles. The logger-
head, which weighs from 250 to 500 pounds when mature, lives in the
sea and lays its eggs on the beach. The diamondbacked terrapin is found
only in the coast marshes; while the familiar box turtle makes its home
in the damp woods. The only snapping turtle of North Carolina lives in
fresh water and sometimes reaches a weight of 25 pounds. It is palatable,
l6 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
but difficult to catch. Two other fresh-water turtles are the mud turtle
and the musk turtle. In the low country are a few alligators and, among
the smaller saurians, the American chameleon and the red-headed lizard,
known locally as the "scorpion." The many members of the snake family
include some that are venomous: the diamondbacked, timber, and
ground rattlers; the copperhead, and the cottonmouth moccasin. Most
deadly is the coral snake, found only in the southeastern corner of the
State, and sometimes turned up in plowing fields. This beautiful reptile,
striped with black, red, and yellow, is capable of retaining its hold after
it strikes. Valuable as a killer of pests is the harmless king snake, which
seems immune to the venom of other snakes.
The birds of North Carolina are still numerous, although many spe-
cies noted by early travelers and naturalists are now rare; and some, like
the Carolina paroquet and the great ivory-billed woodpecker, are seen
no more. Captain Barlow, in 1584, saw the herons rise from Roanoke
Island in such numbers that their cries sounded "as if an army of men
had shouted together." Thomas Harriot, in 1586, saw "turkey cocks and
turkey hens, stock doves, partridges, cranes and herons, and in winter
great store of swan and geese . . . also parrots, falcons and merlinbaws."
Today the coast has numerous winter and summer bird residents.
Among summer birds are the little blue heron and the Louisiana heron,
known for its grace as the "lady of the waters." The Florida cormorants,
which feed on eels, like to build in cypress trees that stand out in lakes,
or in pines along the shore. Fish crows often build near heron and cor-
morant colonies, depending for food not only on fish and crabs but also
on eggs and young from the nests.
Ospreys, or fish hawks, have favorite breeding places at Great Lake
in Craven County and at Orton Plantation in Brunswick County. In
the tops of cypress trees growing far out in the water they build enor-
mous nests, which they enlarge from year to year until some of the nests
appear big enough to fill a farm cart. Currituck Sound swarms with
ducks, geese, and swans. Among the latter is the beautiful whistling
swan, seen in few other places on the American coast.
The rare egret still breeds in a few protected places along the coast,
building its nest high in cypress trees. This beautiful bird was almost
entirely sacrificed in the interest of the millinery trade, which once val-
ued its plumes.
King of the sand beaches is the conspicuous oyster-catcher, known in
Carolina as the "clam bird," brown-black and white in plumage, with
brilliant vermilion bill, red eyelids, and large yellow eyes. Among other
typical coast residents is Marion's marsh wren, which builds in rushes
and cattails. The loud rattling call of the clapperrail and the musical
note of the piping plover, a small bird with protective coloring like that
NATURAL SETTING V]
of the shells and sand, are familiar sounds along the shore. Like the cries
of a pack of hunting hounds are those of a flock of black skimmers, flying
over the water and cutting it with knifelike bills whenever they find fish.
Up and down the length of the coast range the boat-tailed grackles,
known in North Carolina as "jackdaws." They eat small shrimps and
crabs washed up on the beaches. Another summer shore bird is the willet,
a large sandpiper that likes the mud flats. The eggs of the willet being
used for food by coast dwellers, this bird is becoming rare.
Seen only in Brunswick County, in the southeastern corner of the
State, is the water turkey. This great bird is glossy black in color, with
greenish tinges. He builds his nest of sticks and twigs and lines it with
moss, but he has rarely been known to breed in this State.
Gay summer visitor to the coast is the painted bunting, or nonpareil,
which ranges from Beaufort south. The beautiful prothonotary warbler,
rich orange and yellow in color, loves the water and chooses to live in
cypress swamps or by sluggish streams, where he nests in holes in trees
and stumps. He, too, is a summer visitor, as is also Swainson's warbler,
a cinnamon-brown bird of the canebrakes.
Among the birds of the inland Coastal Plain, chuck-will's-widow is
familiar over the whole eastern part of the State. Just as familiar is the
red-cockaded woodpecker of the Coastal Plain pine woods, often found
in small flocks. He has black and white bars on his back, and (in the
male) a little red patch on each side of the head.
Many birds common to the inland Coastal Plain are found also in the
central part of the State: Bachman's sparrow, summer tanager or "sum-
mer redbird" (a sweet singer and lover of groves), brown-headed nut-
hatch, orchard oriole, blue grosbeak, black vulture, pine warbler, prairie
warbler, and yellow-throated warbler.
The mockingbird is common throughout the State and lives in the cen-
tral and eastern sections the year around. A master singer, he can imi-
tate the notes of other birds to perfection. The yellow warbler, redstart,
goldfinch, and nocturnal whippoorwill are seldom seen in the east in
summer, but range over the Piedmont and west of it. The yellow warbler,
lover of orchards and upland groves, comes from the south in the middle
of April and builds a warm nest, often lining it with horsehair. The
goldfinch — also called lettuce bird, wild canary, and thistlebird — is a
winter visitor in the eastern part of the State, and a common summer
resident of the central portion.
The Carolina wren, sometimes called the "mocking wren," is one of
the best-known birds at all seasons and in all parts of the State. Its loud
ringing song, heard the year around, is sometimes translated "jo-reeper,
jo-reeper, jo-ree," sometimes "freedom, freedom, freedom." The Caro-
lina chickadee or "tomtit," like the wren, is seen at all seasons through-
l8 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
out the State, except on the summits of high mountains. It is one of the
best insect destroyers and among the liveliest of birds.
The southern hairy woodpecker and the slightly smaller southern
downy woodpecker live the year around in the higher mountains and are
great insect catchers. The flicker, or golden-winged woodpecker, likes
to feed on the ground; ants form a large part of his diet. The worm-eat-
ing warbler, Kentucky warbler, hooded warbler, and Louisiana water
thrush are all found in the Mountain Region, although not above eleva-
tions of 4,000 feet.
Among the characteristic breeding birds of elevations above 2,500 feet
and below 4,500 is Wilson's thrush (the veery), whose late evening songs
are especially beautiful. Bewick's wren, a small bird with a long black
tail, is a common mountain visitor and likes human habitations. Its
musical song is somewhat like that of the song sparrow. Cairns' war-
bler has been known to nest as high as 6,000 feet. Among the character-
istic warblers are the black-throated green warbler, chestnut-sided
warbler, blackburnian warbler, golden-winged warbler, and Canadian
warbler.
Many birds spend the breeding season on the tops of the higher moun-
tains, above an elevation of 4,000 feet. The golden-crowned kinglet is a
summer visitor that builds its nest of moss and lichens among the spruce
twigs. The red-breasted nuthatch goes in small flocks, and builds in dead
trees, lining its nest with grass. The black-capped chickadee supplants
the Carolina chickadee on the higher mountaintops. The brown creeper
is found over the whole State in winter, but breeds on the higher moun-
tains. The winter wren, deep reddish-brown in color, is an alert little
bird with a stumpy tail that sticks up at a right angle. The pine siskin
has plumage streaked with brown and suffused with yellow during the
breeding season. It breeds in the high mountains, going in flocks and
feeding on seeds and berries. The crossbills also travel in flocks and feed
on berries. The male is brick red, the female brownish washed with yel-
low; they nest while snow is on the ground, building in coniferous trees.
The raven, once known to the coast, is now found only in the moun-
tains, where it builds among inaccessible cliffs, using the small nest for
years. It feeds on carrion, small mammals, snails, and young birds.
Golden eagles have been found on the coast but are more often seen in
the high mountains. Above an elevation of about 3,700 feet lives the
Carolina junco, or snowbird, common in the streets and gardens of
mountain towns and found all over the State in winter.
Many birds that were nearing extinction have been saved by State
protection. The wild turkey and ruffed grouse are increasing, and quail
have become numerous again. Migratory waterfowl in great numbers
visit the feeding grounds provided among the sounds and about the
NATURAL SETTING 19
lakes of eastern North Carolina. This State, like others, is attempting
by means of game refuges and national forests to restore the wildlife of
which man has been thus far so careless.
Natural Resources
When in 1629 Charles I granted to Sir Robert Heath the territory out
of which later the State of North Carolina was formed, his vision of the
rich resources of that land were embodied in the patent itself, for he gave
to Sir Robert not only the land but "the ports & stations of shippes & the
Creeks of the sea belonging to the Rivers, Islands & lands aforesaid;
with the fishings of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeons & of other Royal-
ties in the sea or in the rivers moreover all veines, mines or pits either
upon or conceald of Gold, Silver Jewells & precious stones & all other
things whatsoever, whether of stones or metalls or any other thing or
matter found ... in the Region."
The years have proved that the greatest resources of North Carolina
were not those "conceald" below ground, but the fertile soil, the timber,
the streams that offered water power, the abundant wild game, and the
"Royaltyes in the sea." Chiefly an agricultural State, North Carolina has
the advantages of a long growing season, an abundant rainfall, and al-
most every variety of soil. The full possibilities for diversified farming
have not yet been realized, although the State ranks high in value of
farm products.
Forests. The forests of North Carolina contain more kinds of trees
than grow in the whole of Europe. Not only were the vast original for-
ests of interest to science, but their commercial value led early to exploi-
tation with little regard for the future. The State geologist pointed out in
1875 that people had accustomed themselves for generations to "treat
the forests as a natural enemy, to be extirpated, like their original deni-
zens, human and feral, by all means and at any cost." Only recently has
the State seriously considered its forests as valuable resources.
In the Coastal Plain, and extending into the Piedmont, is the southern
forest belt, covering 12 million acres, where the dominant species are
second-growth longleaf and loblolly pine. Loblolly or "old-field" pine is
the chief commercial tree of the region, and on the dry sandy soil of the
plain replaces once magnificent forests of longleaf pine. In the hardwood
bottoms grow oak, hickory, ash, sweetgum, and blackgum, while in the
deeper swamplands are gum, cypress, and white cedar (locally known as
juniper).
The central hardwood belt lies in the Piedmont Plateau and comprises
some 4,500,000 acres. The hardwoods are red and white oak, hickory,
20 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
and yellow poplar, but much of this region that was once cultivated now
supports second-growth shortleaf and Jersey scrub pine.
The northern forest of the Mountain Region is distinguished for great
variety of species. From the plateau forests to an elevation of about 4,500
feet there is a mixed hardwood growth, with some hemlock, white pine,
and three species of yellow pine. The principal hardwoods include red
and white oak, yellow poplar, hickory, maple, and basswood. Little of
the original chestnut, ash, cherry, walnut, and locust remains. The soft-
woods, largely cut out, are returning in second growth.
In 1935, North Carolina had 699 industrial establishments using wood
as a basic element in manufacture; and the products of these establish-
ments in that year were valued at more than 65 million dollars. Lumber-
ing operations reached their peak in 1909, when North Carolina ranked
fourth among the States in lumber production. In 1935 it ranked only
tenth, although the State contains more than 13 billion board feet of
marketable timber. Tanning extract has taken a heavy toll of chestnut,
hemlock, and oak. Pulp manufacture is increasing. In the smaller in-
dustries pine, chestnut, and juniper furnish material for poles, white
oak for railroad crossties, and cypress, juniper, and pine for shingles.
The indigenous chestnut is believed to be doomed by the blight.
Extensive areas for national forests have been purchased by the Federal
Government in North Carolina (see national forests) . Originally in-
tended to protect the great watersheds, the purpose of the national for-
ests has been expanded to include purchase and reforestation of denuded
lands, improvement of timber stands, prevention and control of fire and
disease, and the establishment of a sustained yield.
Many agencies have been engaged in reforestation work in this State.
The division of forestry, under the State Department of Conservation
and Development, administers the forest fire control program and other
phases of forestry. The forestry department of the State College of Agri-
culture and Engineering owns and cultivates 87,000 acres of forest land
for furthering studies in forest development. The National Resettlement
Administration has established projects for reforestation, and has under-
taken the purchase of 100,000 acres of submarginal land in Richmond,
Moore, Scotland, Hoke, and Bladen Counties. Camps of the Civilian
Conservation Corps in the State have been an important force in fire
protection and reforestation, and the Resettlement Administration has
made progress in reclaiming an area near Murphy, which copper-
smelting operations had reduced to a desert.
The development of pulp and paper manufacture, the cellulose in-
dustry, and the production of chemicals from wood are indicative of the
increased commercial importance of North Carolina forests.
Minerals. Early explorers in North Carolina regarded with interest
NATURAL SETTING 21
the few tobacco pipes "tipt with silver" and the copper ornaments that
the Indians possessed, and hoped to secure for themselves treasures of
gold, silver, and jewels. Further exploration revealed that North Caro-
lina is a laboratory for geologists and also offers opportunities for the
commercial development of a number of minerals. Although some 300
minerals are found within its borders, North Carolina ranks only thirty-
seventh among the States in mineral production, due largely to insuf-
ficient exploitation.
As early as 1729, small shipments of iron were made from this State
to England, but iron deposits are widely scattered and most of them are
low-grade. The only production of iron ore in 1938 was at the Cranberry
Mine, in Avery County, which was opened before the War between the
States and supplied iron to the Confederacy. It has been estimated, how-
ever, that there are six million tons of commercial ore near the surface
in Cherokee County, as yet undeveloped. Coal is likewise lacking in any
quantity; the largest deposit is the Deep River field, extending from the
southern part of Chatham County 10 or 12 miles into the northern part
of Moore and Lee Counties.
One of the few tin deposits in the United States occurs in North Caro-
lina in a belt extending from a point two miles northeast of Grover,
through the town of Kings Mountain, and northeast to Beaverdam
Creek, near Lincolnton. Copper ores have been found in considerable
quantity in four areas, and in 1929 the Fontana Mine in Swain County
and the Cullowhee Mine in Jackson County produced 15 million
pounds. The only copper production at present is in Swain County,
although mines in 15 different counties have produced ore in the past.
Gold and silver have been mined in more than 400 localities in the
State. In 1799 a 17-pound nugget of gold was found on the Reed planta-
tion in Cabarrus County and North Carolina was one of the chief gold-
producing States until 1849. After the War between the States, mining
practically ceased, but the establishment by the Federal authorities of a
price of $35 an ounce for gold in 1934 brought renewed production.
There is little production of manganese, used as a hardening alloy in
steel making, but deposits of manganese ore are found in Alleghany,
Ashe, Cherokee, Transylvania, Madison, Surry, and Cleveland Coun-
ties.
Increased demand in the United States for chromium has brought
renewed interest in chromite ore, which is found in varying amounts in
the rocks of the western part of the State. Lead and zinc have been
mined at Silver Hill in Davidson County, and promising deposits have
been found in Haywood, McDowell, and Montgomery Counties.
Such nonmetallic minerals as feldspar, mica, clays, and building stones
are economically the most important minerals in the State. North Caro-
22 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
lina is the leading producer of feldspar, mining about half the national
supply. It is used extensively in the manufacture of porcelain. The
largest producing area is the Spruce Pine district of about 200 square
miles in Mitchell, Yancey, and Avery Counties.
Mica from North Carolina was found in use among the American
Indians at widely scattered points of the United States. Deposits occur
in more than 20 western counties, lying in a 100-mile- wide belt parallel
to the Blue Ridge. In 1935, North Carolina produced 55 percent of the
mica used in the United States. Vermiculite, a hydrated form of mica,
used for insulation, is found in large quantities in the extreme western
counties, the only deposits known to be profitable.
Kaolin is produced in Yancey, Mitchell, and Macon Counties, chiefly
in the Spruce Pine area. It is used in making porcelain, glass-melting
pots, and tile. Clays suitable for pottery are found in Wayne and Wilson
Counties in the east and in Burke, Catawba, Lincoln, Wilkes, Surry,
Randolph, Henderson, and Buncombe Counties in the west. The mak-
ing of pottery products is a constantly growing industry in the State.
Clays for brick are found scattered over the State, and North Carolina
ranks high in brick production.
The most important talc deposits are in Swain County. Pyrophyllite,
a rare talc substitute, is found in great quantities, chiefly at Hemp and
Glendon, in Moore County. A number of building and ornamental
stones are native to the State. The pink granite of Rowan County, the
Regal Blue marble of Cherokee County, and the Mount Airy granite of
Surry County have found national markets.
The extraction of bromine from sea water is a recent development in
the State. A plant near Wilmington is now producing 15,000 pounds a
day for use in the gasoline industry.
Gem minerals of numerous varieties have been found scattered through
the Piedmont and Mountain Region. However, most of the discoveries
of precious or semiprecious stones have been accidental. A corundum
mine, opened in 1871 on Corundum Hill, near Franklin, in Macon
County, produced the largest crystal of corundum ever found. This
gray-blue stone, weighing 312 pounds, is now in the Amherst College
collection. The same locality produced what is perhaps the finest
emerald-green sapphire in the world, now in the American Museum of
Natural History in New York. Sapphires have also been found in
Transylvania and Jackson Counties, and rubies in Macon and Transyl-
vania.
Of particular interest because it is native only to North Carolina is
hiddenite, sometimes called lithia emerald, which was discovered near
Stony Point, in Alexander County, in 1879. It is more brilliant than the
true emerald, its color ranging from a pale yellow to a deep yellow
NATURALSETTING 23
green. The finest stone of this kind is in the American Museum
of Natural History. A few small diamonds have been found in
McDowell, Burke, Rutherford, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, and Franklin
Counties.
Water Power. Among the most valuable natural resources of North
Carolina is water power. Favorable topography and the volume and dis-
tribution of rainfall have given the State a plentiful water supply and
potential water power second only to that of New York among States
east of the Mississippi. In 1939 about one million horsepower had been
developed.
Of the power developments, one at Waterville in Haywood County
is notable because of the method employed. The waters of the small
Pigeon River have been diverted into an 8-mile tunnel through the moun-
tains and made to fall 861 feet through steel pipes to the turbines. Most
of the developed power is in the Piedmont section, where the volume of
flow is large, and here most of the industries are situated.
It is estimated that only about half of the State's potential water power
has been developed. More than half of the power developed is now con-
trolled by the public utility companies.
Fisheries. Inside the barrier reef that extends the length of the North
Carolina coast are 3,000 square miles of fishing waters, both salt and
fresh, and outside the reef is the Atlantic Ocean. Besides some 25 species
of finfish that are commercially valuable, shrimps, oysters, clams,
escallops and crabs are taken from these waters.
Parts of Pamlico Sound and the shallow waters from Bogue Sound
to the South Carolina Line are capable of producing excellent oysters.
Only about 12,000 of a possible million acres of oyster grounds in the
State furnish the entire output, however. In an effort to stimulate oyster
culture, the Works Progress Administration has planted several mil-
lion bushels of oysters and shells under the sponsorship of the State
Department of Conservation and Development, while the predecessors
of the WPA also planted considerable quantities.
The soft-shelled crab industry centers in the coastal waters of Curri-
tuck and Carteret Counties, the greater catch coming from Bogue and
Core Sounds. The shrimp industry is confined to Carteret and Bruns-
wick Counties. The hard-shelled clam is taken in commercial quantities
along the borders of Onslow, Carteret, Pender, and Brunswick Coun-
ties.
Besides food fish, there is a large catch of menhaden, which is con-
verted into fertilizer and oil. Although the menhaden catch reached a
peak of 180 million pounds in 1918, it has since declined. The menhaden
industry is centered around Beaufort and Southport.
Some 15,000 persons in North Carolina are directly dependent on the
24 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
fisheries for a livelihood. In 1934 the total catch amounted to 163,462,000
pounds, with a total value to the fisherman of $1,672,200.
The chief problems of the industry are concerned with marketing and
maintaining the source of supply. The State provided in 1923 a half -mil-
lion-dollar fund for fish and oyster conservation, and from the hatcheries
thus established and newer stations millions of fish are distributed an-
nually. The Department of Conservation and Development, which
superseded the geologic and economic survey in 1925, has as one of its
functions the development of fish and oyster resources. Through Fed-
eral aid a cooperative was formed in 1935, and money was advanced for
the establishment and initial running expenses of a main plant at More-
head City, and three branches.
Six hatcheries for the propagation of fresh-water game fish have been
established by the State Department of Conservation and Development.
These have been supplemented by Federal hatcheries in the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park and the Sandhills. Game fish are pro-
tected by closed seasons and setting aside special spawning grounds for
certain periods.
THE INDIANS
OF THE SCORE or more Indian tribes in North Carolina when
the white man came, the most important numerically were the
Cherokee, a powerful detached tribe of the Iroquoian family,
and the Tuscarora, also of Iroquoian stock, known as Skaruren or "hemp
gatherers." The Neusick, perhaps of Iroquoian stock, later merged with
the Tuscarora. The Catawba were the most important of the eastern
Siouan family, to which also belonged the Keyauwee, Tutelo, Saponi,
Waccamaw, and possibly the Cape Fear tribes.
Among the Algonquian tribes were the Machapunga and Coree, who
settled together at Lake Mattamuskeet; the Pamlico and the Hatteras,
and the Weapemeoc on Roanoke Island. During the 17th century four
related tribes lived north of Albemarle Sound : the Yeopim, Pasquotank,
Perquimans, and Poteskeet. The Bear River tribe lived in Craven
County, the Moratoc on Roanoke River, and the Chowanoc on Chowan
River.
Eno-Will, John Lawson's guide, believed to have been a Shakori by
birth, became chief of the combined tribes of the Eno, Shakori, and
Adshusheer, who lived not far from present Durham. The Occoneechee
had a village near where Hillsboro now stands. The Saponi were taken
into the Virginia Colony by Governor Spotswood, and the Tutelo, who
resembled them, lived in central North Carolina. The Cheraw Indians,
called Sara and Saraw in early records, were a Siouan tribe next in num-
bers to the Tuscarora, but less prominent in history because they had
been destroyed before white settlements were made. Living east of the
Blue Ridge between Danville, Virginia, and Cheraw, South Carolina,
they were first mentioned in the De Soto narrative of 1540, under the
name Xuala. Before 1700 they had settled on the Dan River near the
southern Virginia Line where they had two villages 30 miles apart,
Upper Saura Town and Lower Saura Town. They gave their name to
the Sauratown Mountains in Wilkes and Surry Counties. The Cheraw
were eventually absorbed into the Catawba, once their sworn enemies.
Today the Cherokee alone of North Carolina Indians maintain their
tribal entity.
The first settlers found the Carolina coastal aborigines living mostly
25
26 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
in conical tents or wigwams made of skins tied together and stretched
upon poles. Houses and huts of cypress or pine bark and moss were not
uncommon. Cooking was primitive. Water poured into skins was made
to boil by dropping in heated stones. Flesh was placed upon sticks and
broiled over the fire, though roasting in hot embers was a common
practice.
Women of the tribe did nearly all of the work except hunting. They
cooked, made mats and baskets from reeds and rushes, cared for the
children, and cultivated the fields. Agricultural implements for the
most part were wooden sticks. Food included deer, bear, hares, fish,
melons, nuts, cucumbers, "pease, and divers rootes . . . and . . . their
Countrey corne, which is very white, faire and well tasted, and groweth
three times in five months . . ." Besides maize, the Indians acquainted
Sir Walter Raleigh's settlers with tobacco and white potatoes.
The braves fought and hunted with bows and arrows, tomahawks,
spears, clubs, and knives made of stone, shell, or bone. Boats were made
of trees, hollowed out by burning. The "medicine men" were skilled in
the treatment of some types of illness and of wounds through herbal
remedies, but their primitive methods, particularly conjuring, often were
disastrous for their patients. When smallpox epidemics raged, hundreds
died after being sweated and then plunged into cold streams. The crude
surgery practiced often proved successful.
The Tuscarora, who lived on the Roanoke and Tar-Pamlico Rivers
until their migration northward, were an important people, though
comparatively little is known about them. John Lawson, the surveyor
general of North Carolina, who knew the Tuscarora well from close
contact, said (1709) they were "really better to us than we to them." He
relates details of assistance and kindly acts on the part of the Indians.
The seizure of more and more lands by the settlers led to resentment,
and when the whites began to kidnap and enslave the Indians open
warfare developed. In 1710 the Tuscarora sent a petition to the provi-
sional government of Pennsylvania embodying their grievances. Eight
proposals, each attested by a wampum belt, were framed to cover the
relations between Indians and whites. These belts with their pitiful
messages were finally sent to the Five Nations of the North.
At the beginning of the first war between the Tuscarora and the whites
the Indians had 15 towns and a fighting strength of 2,000. The war
opened with the capture (September 171 1) of Lawson and Baron de
Graffenried. Lawson was put to death but de Graffenried was liberated.
Five tribes then formed a compact to annihilate the whites, each operat-
ing in its own district.
The massacre, in which 130 colonists on the Trent and Pamlico Rivers
were slain, began on September 22. Col. John Barnwell, sent from South
THE INDIANS X]
Carolina to aid the settlers, succeeded in driving the Tuscarora into one
of their palisaded towns near New Bern, later violating the treaty that
he induced them to sign by seizing some of the Indians and selling them
into slavery. This started the second war and again South Carolina sent
aid. Meanwhile other tribes of the Tuscarora had taken vengeance on
the Swiss and Palatine settlers on the Trent River, killing about 70, and
destroying much property. This onslaught almost effaced the New
Bern settlement. To obtain aid from the Catawba against the Tusca-
rora, their common enemy, the Carolina authorities promised the
former a lower price for commodities. By 1714 the remnants of the Tus-
carora migrated northward to take shelter with the Five Nations.
The Catawba Indians lived on both banks of the lower Catawba
River. Having been friendly to the English during the wars with the
French and with other tribes, they participated in the defense of South
Carolina during the Revolution. Later they took part in an expedition
against the Cherokee. The Catawba were agriculturists, not unlike their
neighbors. The men were brave and skilled in hunting, but they lacked
energy. The women were noted makers of pottery and weavers of
baskets. They practiced head-flattening to some extent. After the Ca-
tawba Reservation in South Carolina had dv/indled to one square mile,
these Indians tried to live among their old enemies, the Cherokee, in
western North Carolina, but most of them returned to their former
home. The last survivor- of the emigration died in 1889.
Concerning the Croatans (Indians now living chiefly in Robeson
County) there is so little authoritative information that the group has
never been placed genealogically. The romantic tradition that they are
descendants of Governor White's Lost Colony sent out by Sir Walter
Raleigh in 1587 sheds a glamor dimmed by other views of their possible
origin: (1) that Portuguese and Spanish traders from Florida mingled
with a small tribe in the Florida swamps; (2) that escaped convicts from
the Georgia penal colony took refuge among a friendly tribe; and (3)
that pirates, ne'er-do-wells, and malcontents from the coast pushed
farther inland to the marshlands. Some hold that the Robeson County
Indians are an admixture of pioneer Scottish, Negro, and Indian blood
(see tour 31a).
While their dominant characteristics indicate an Indian origin, a con-
siderable body of evidence lends support to the claim that some of their
ancestors were survivors of an English colony. Numerous Anglo-Saxon
words now obsolete are still used by the Croatans. They speak of houses
as "housen" and say "mension" for measurement. Father is "feyther"
and loving, "lovend." In many cases their family names are identical
with those of members of the Lost Colony.
Separate schools for the Croatans were provided in 1885, the previous
28 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
generation having grown up illiterate because parents refused to send
their children to Negro schools. During the 20th century social and
economic conditions among these people improved to such an extent
that they are almost invariably landowners, cultivating cotton, tobacco,
and corn. They have been accorded full use of the ballot, and make
their influence felt in local politics. By 1935 the community had in-
creased four-fold since 1890, when it numbered only 3,640.
The Cherokee Indians, mountaineers of the South, with an authentic
history from 1540, called themselves Yun'wiya or Ani Yun'wiya, mean-
ing "Principal People." The name appears in 50 different spellings, but
the term "Cherokee" has no meaning in their own language. It ap-
peared first as "Chalaque" in the Portuguese narrative of De Soto's
expedition, and as "Cheraqui" in a French account of 1699. The Eng-
lish form, "Cherokee," was used as early as 1708.
They held the entire Allegheny region from the headwaters of the
Kanawha and the Tennessee southward to the region of present Atlanta,
and from the Cumberland Range on the west to the Blue Ridge on the
east, a territory of about 40,000 square miles lying within Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
Hernando De Soto, and later (1566-67) Capt. Juan Pardo, recorded
their early history. In 1684 the Cherokee made their first treaty with the
South Carolina colonists. From 1721, when the French had established
themselves along the Mississippi, until their final withdrawal in 1763,
the British and the French struggled for territorial and commercial
supremacy, the Indians being pawns in the hands of one or the other.
In 1735 the tribe had 64 towns containing about 16,000 people of
whom 6,000 were fighting men. They used guns, knives, and hatchets,
and wore some European clothing. They owned horses, cattle, hogs, and
poultry. The men were hunters, but they grew potatoes, corn, and
beans, and the women made pottery and baskets. Smallpox brought
by slave ships to Carolina in 1738 or 1739 broke out with such devastat-
ing effect that almost half the tribe was exterminated.
During the 18th century the Cherokee helped drive the Tuscarora
northward, expelled the Shawano from the Cumberland, made inroads
into the Catawba, and were finally defeated by their former friends,
the Chickasaw. Their wars, however, concerned the white man but
little. From 1754 to 1763 the French and English were at grips in a
decisive conflict, which, though known as the French and Indian War,
was concluded with an Anglo-French treaty whereby the whole west-
ern territory was ceded to England.
The opening of the Revolutionary War found the tribes almost to
a man on the side of the British, who claimed to stand "as the sole
representative of authority between them and extinction at the hands
THE INDIANS 29
of the American borderers." After disastrous attacks by British, Tories,
and Indians on the South Carolina frontier, and an advance by the
Cherokee against the Watauga and Holston settlements as well as
against those in Georgia, the border States determined to strike a con-
certed blow against the Cherokee. In August 1776, Gen. Griffith Ruther-
ford with 2,400 men crossed the Blue Ridge at Swannanoa Gap and
proceeded on a campaign in which 36 towns and villages were burned,
and many Indians, regardless of sex or age, were slain. The Indians
fled into the Great Smoky Mountains, leaving ruin and desolation be-
hind. Expeditions from Tennessee and South Carolina completed the
rout.
In 1777 the Lower Cherokee surrendered all their remaining terri-
tory in South Carolina, and the Middle and Upper Cherokee ceded all
lands east of the Blue Ridge, together with the disputed territory on the
Watauga, Nolichucky, Upper Holston, and New Rivers. By 1781 Col.
John Sevier had overcome the Cherokee in Tennessee, who sued for
peace in time to permit the victors to send a detachment against Corn-
wallis.
Benjamin Hawkins, North Carolina's second United States Senator
(1789-95) and agent to the Creeks and all tribes south of the Ohio River
from 1796 until the beginning of the War of 1812, was appointed by
President Washington in 1785 commissioner to treat with the Cherokee
and other southern tribes. Hawkins negotiated the Treaty of Hopewell
(South Carolina), November 28, 1785, which gave to the settlers the
whole country east of the Blue Ridge and the Watauga and Cumberland
tracts. During the next half century 37 treaties were made, every one
of which cost the Cherokee more territory.
In 1 8 10 the tribal council abolished the custom of clan revenge. Dur-
ing the War of 1812 the Cherokee aided the Federal Government, and
in the following year cooperated in the campaign against the Creeks.
In 1820 they adopted a form of government modeled after that of the
United States.
Sequoyah, known to his white neighbors as George Guess, invented
the syllabary (1820) that raised his people to the status of a literate
race. Like several Cherokee chiefs he had white blood, in his case Ger-
man. He made two trips to the West searching for a "lost tribe" of
Cherokee; on the second trip he died in Mexico. The California sequoia
trees are named for him, as is a mountain in the Great Smokies.
Worn down by ceaseless pressure from encroaching white settlers
supported by their State governments, which pressure reached a climax
with the discovery of gold upon Indian lands in Georgia, a small group
of Cherokee met with Federal agents at New Echota, Georgia, in 1835
and negotiated a treaty whereby the Cherokee ceded their last remaining
30 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
lands. The Government agreed to pay the Indians $5,600,000 and to
give them an interest in the territory west of the Mississippi. The treaty
was repudiated by the chiefs and by more than 90 percent of the Indians
who had not participated in nor agreed to the terms. Nevertheless Presi-
dent Andrew Jackson was determined that the Cherokee should be
removed and their lands opened up for settlement. In 1838 President
Van Buren sent Gen. Winfield Scott with regulars, militia, and volun-
teers to round up and remove the remaining Indians. Forts and stock-
ades were built throughout the Cherokee country and into these the
Indians were herded, then marched on the long westward trek. Thirteen
thousand were thus transported.
The exiles died "by tens and twenties daily," nearly one-fourth perish-
ing on the route known since as the Trail of Tears. The once-powerful
tribe was divided into four groups: the Arkansas, the Texas, and the
Indian Territory Bands, while those who escaped the removal became
known as the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation (see tour 21E).
The last group fled into the remote mountain sections, chose Utsala
as their leader, and defied all attempts at capture. General Scott was
on the verge of giving up what seemed a fruitless struggle, when the
dramatic Tsali incident offered him a chance to effect a compromise.
After killing a soldier who had maltreated his wife, Tsali fled into
the mountains with his family. Col. William H. Thomas persuaded
Tsali to surrender on condition that the rest of the tribe be allowed to
remain (see tour 21b).
Colonel Thomas then turned to the National Capital in behalf of
his Indian friends. By 1842 he had been appointed agent and trustee
of the Eastern Band with authority to use their share of the treaty money
to purchase lands for permanent settlement. Later additional funds
augmented the reservation holdings. As agent and chief, Thomas drew
up a simple form of government which he and his foster father, Yona-
guska, administered. The first constitution under Federal supervision
was adopted in 1870.
Colonel Thomas was born in 1805 on Raccoon Creek and first worked
at an Indian trading post. As Indian agent he purchased and laid off
land for five towns: Birdtown, Painttown, Wolf town, Yellow Hill, and
Big Cove, the first three being named for original clans. Resigning
from the State senate at the outbreak of the War between the States,
he organized the Thomas Legion, composed of Cherokee, which served
as a frontier guard for the Confederacy.
Although a State act in 1889 established the rights of the Cherokee,
the legal status of the Eastern Band is still somewhat involved. They
are at once wards of the United States Government, citizens of the
United States, and a corporate body under State laws.
HISTORY
First Settlements
THE FIRST European known to have explored the coast of what
is now North Carolina was Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Floren-
tine navigator in the service of the King of France. In 1524, he
explored the Cape Fear coast, and on July 8 of that year sent to the
King the earliest description known to exist of the Atlantic coast line
north of the Cape Fear. This report was published in 1582 in Hakluyt's
Divers Voyages. Spaniards, however, may have been in the region prior
to Verrazzano's visit. In 1520, and again in 1526, when Lucas Vasquez de
Ayllon headed Spanish expeditions to the Carolinas, he entered what he
called the "Rio Jordan," which river was either the Combahee or the Cape
Fear. It seems likely that Hernando De Soto traversed a part of the
Cherokee country in 1540, and then turned through the mountains into
Georgia.
Neither the French nor the Spanish planted a colony, and it was left
for the English to make the first settlements. Sir Walter Raleigh has been
called the "Father of English America" and Roanoke Island has been
frequently referred to as "the birthplace of English America." On March
25, 1584, Raleigh obtained from Queen Elizabeth a patent granting to
him, his heirs, and assigns, the title to any lands that he might discover
"not actually possessed of any Christian prince, nor inhabited by Chris-
tian people." He was authorized to plant colonies and to establish a gov-
ernment. On April 27, 1584, Raleigh sent out an expedition under Philip
Amadas and Arthur Barlow to explore the country and to select a place
for a colony. Early in July 1584 they landed on Roanoke Island. After two
months, spent in exploring and trading with the Indians, they returned
to England, taking with them "two lustie men, the Indians Manteo and
Wanchese." Upon their arrival in England, Amadas and Barlow gave a
glowing report. They said that the soil of the new land was "the most
plentiful, sweete, fruitfull and wholesome of all the world"; that it con-
tained the "highest and reddest Cedars of the world," and that the natives
32 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
were "very handsome and goodly people." Delighted with this report,
Queen Elizabeth permitted the new land to be named Virginia.
In 1585 Raleigh sent out his first colony, with Ralph Lane as Governor
and Richard Grenville in command of the squadron that carried the
colonists. There were 108 men. On August 17, 1585, they landed on
Roanoke Island. From the very first, things went badly, chiefly because
too much time was spent in looking for gold and too little in building
houses and cultivating the soil. The Indians became unfriendly, some of
the settlers died, and the others became discouraged. They abandoned
the settlement in 1586 and returned to England with Sir Francis Drake,
who had arrived and found them destitute. Thus ended the first English
colony in America.
Within a few days after the colony's departure, an English ship out-
fitted by Raleigh arrived with supplies and reinforcements. It was fol-
lowed by Grenville with more supplies. Grenville searched in vain for
the settlers before he returned to England, leaving behind 15 men to
hold England's claim to the country. Though Lane's colony failed to
establish a permanent settlement, it was the first English colony in the
New World; it resulted in Thomas Harriot's informative Discourse on
Virginia and the paintings by John White; and it led to the introduc-
tion of tobacco, the white potato, and Indian corn into England.
In April 1587, Raleigh, "intending to persevere in the planting of his
Countrey of Virginia," sent out another colony headed by John White,
whom he appointed Governor. Raleigh had ordered White to pick
up the 15 men who had been left at Roanoke Island and then make a
settlement farther north, but Ferdinando, the ship's captain, refused to
take the company farther than Roanoke. Here they found the ruins
of the Lane fort, but no sign of the men, except one skeleton. They
rebuilt the fort and a few houses and named their settlement "the Citie
of Ralegh in Virginia."
By August of that year supplies had begun to run low, and White,
against his wish, was finally "constrayned to returne into England."
After being detained in England by the war then raging with Spain,
White returned to Roanoke Island in 1591 to find his colony gone.
There was no trace except a few broken pieces of armor, the word
"CROATOAN" carved on a tree, and the letters "CRO" on another
tree. The two best-known incidents in the life of the Lost Colony were
the baptism of Manteo — the first-known administration of a baptismal
sacrament by English-speaking people in the New World — who was
given the title "Lord of Roanoke," the only title of nobility ever granted
on United States soil; and the birth on August 18, 1587, of White's
granddaughter, Virginia Dare, the first child born in America of
English parents.
HISTORY 33
What happened to the Lost Colony is an intriguing and unanswerable
question. Some contend that they were killed by Indians; others that
they were destroyed by the Spanish. Still others maintain that they
intermarried with the Indians and that the Croatan Indians of Robeson
County are their descendants.
Raleigh failed to plant a colony in America, losing both fortune and
political prestige. He spent about $200,000 in his colonization ventures.
However, his ideas lived, and within a few years of his last effort the
first permanent English colony was planted at Jamestown, Virginia, in
1607.
Before long the Jamestown colony began to expand, furnishing the
first permanent settlers in North Carolina. Migrating southward in
search of better lands, they followed the streams in southeastern Vir-
ginia that flowed into Albemarle Sound. The movement was a gradual
one, and the exact date of its beginning is not known. The first recorded
expedition into North Carolina was made by John Pory, the secretary
of the Virginia Colony, who in 1622 traveled overland as far south as
the Chowan River through a country which he described as "very
fruitful and pleasant."
In 1629, King Charles I granted the land south of Virginia to Sir Rob-
ert Heath, his attorney general, naming the region "Carolana," or
"Carolina," — the "Land of Charles." Heath failed to settle his grant, how-
ever. Meanwhile traders continued to come into Carolina from Virginia.
Expeditions were sent into the Albemarle Sound region by Gov. William
Berkeley of Virginia, in 1646; and Edward Bland, a Virginia merchant,
trading there in 1650, wrote glowing descriptions of it.
The oldest land grant on record in North Carolina was made to George
Durant on March 1, 1662, by the chief of the Yeopim Indians. This was
not the earliest grant, however, for it refers to one that had previously
been made by the same Indian chief. Carolina was even attracting con-
siderable attention in England. A London newspaper in 1649 revealed
that plans were under way to send over a "Governour into Carolana in
America, and many Gentlemen of quality and their families with him."
Proprietary Regime
In 1660, Charles II was restored to the English throne, largely through
the efforts of a few loyal friends, who held high positions in the Govern-
ment and the Army. In 1663 this group applied to the King for a grant
of all the land claimed by England south of Virginia. On April 3, 1663,
Charles II granted them the territory of Carolina, extending from lat.
31 ° N. to lat. 36 N. and from the Atlantic Ocean to the "South Seas"
34 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
(Pacific Ocean). The Lords Proprietors were Edward, Earl of Claren-
don; George, Duke of Albemarle; William, Lord Craven; John, Lord
Berkeley; Sir William Berkeley, then Governor of Virginia; Anthony
Ashley Cooper; Sir George Carteret, and Sir John Colleton. The pro-
prietors were given control of the land, paying only a nominal rent
to the King, and granted authority to establish a government. When
they learned that their charter did not include the Albemarle settle-
ments, they asked for a new charter, granted in 1665. This extended
the boundaries two degrees southward, far into Spanish Florida, and
30 minutes northward, to the present Virginia-North Carolina Line.
Unfortunately, the northern and southern boundaries were arbitrarily
drawn, unrelated to any features of the land, and on this account they
remained for decades a source of controversy. The dispute between
Virginia and North Carolina was particularly acrimonious. The first
serious effort to settle the dispute through a survey by a joint commis-
sion was in 1728, when the line was run from the coast 240 miles inland.
An incidental result of the survey was an unusually racy specimen of
early American literature, William Byrd's History of the Dividing Line.
The final completion of the line to a point near Bristol, Virginia, was
not achieved until 1779, and a more definite relocation was not finished
until 1896.
Along the southern boundary the dispute concerned particularly a
section west of the Blue Ridge, variously claimed by South Carolina, the
United States, Georgia, and North Carolina, and over which the so-
called Walton War was fought between North Carolina and Georgia,
with North Carolina victorious. The trouble arose over an early errone-
ous location of the 35th degree of latitude, but was effectively settled
in 1 810 after two skirmishes in what is now Transylvania County be-
tween North Carolina militia and Georgians in the region. In 1819 the
Georgia Legislature officially confirmed an accurate survey of the 35th
parallel, admittedly North Carolina's southern boundary.
The proprietors planned to develop three counties : Albemarle, Claren-
don (in the Cape Fear section), and Craven (in the South Carolina
region). Albemarle was the first settled and is justly called "the cradle
of North Carolina." For many years Carolina was a single province
and the term North Carolina was not used. The early Governors were
Governors of Albemarle, the first one being William Drummond, ap-
pointed in 1664. About 1665 the first legislative assembly was held in
Albemarle, and within a few years laws were passed to attract settlers.
One of these gave all new settlers tax exemption for a year; another
prohibited suing any person within five years after his arrival "for any
debt contracted or cause of action given without the County." These
laws, although exact copies of Virginia statutes, antagonized the Virgin-
HISTORY 35
ians, who spread evil reports about North Carolina, calling it "Rogue's
Harbor."
From 1691 to 1712 the government of North Carolina was admin-
istered by a deputy appointed by the Governor of the entire Province of
Carolina, who resided in Charleston and administered the government
of South Carolina. After 1712, North Carolina had a separate Governor.
North Carolina faced difficulties equal to if not surpassing those of
any other English colony. There were neither good roads nor good
ports. Virginia harassed the Colony with laws restricting the sale and
shipment of North Carolina tobacco through her ports, and by dis-
puting the jurisdiction of North Carolina over the territory along the
northern boundary. Pirates, the most noted of whom were "Black-
beard" (Edward Teach, or Thatch), and Stede Bonnett, raided the coast
for 50 years.
Moreover, the government of the Lords Proprietors was never satis-
factory. The proprietors were dissatisfied because the Colony grew
slowly and was unprofitable, while the settlers felt that the proprietors
neglected the Colony. Most of the Governors were inefficient or dis-
honest. Land titles were not clear. There were few schools, churches,
or internal improvements. The British navigation acts interfered with
trade and provoked the Culpepper Rebellion, in which the people de-
posed the Governor and put in office men of their own choosing. In
fact, no less than six Governors were deposed during proprietary rule
(1663-1729). There were serious disputes over representation in the leg-
islature, quitrents, taxation, and courts.
North Carolina grew slowly in population and wealth. By 1715 there
were three towns, Bath, Edenton, and New Bern, with enough people
to entitle them to representation in the assembly. Bath, the oldest town
in the Colony, was incorporated in 1705 but never became large. Eden-
ton, founded before 1710, was the seat of government for a number of
years. New Bern was founded by German and Swiss Palatines in 1710.
The Tuscarora War, which broke out in 171 1, was the most serious upris-
ing in the history of the Colony; hundreds of white settlers were killed
before the Indians were subdued with the aid of South Carolina troops.
Beaufort was established in 1722. Brunswick, near the mouth of the
Cape Fear, was founded about 1725 by settlers from South Carolina.
Until the outbreak of the American Revolution, it was an important
port as well as a political center. Wilmington, founded in 1730 as New
Liverpool, soon became the Colony's chief port.
36 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
The Royal Period
In 1729 the King bought out the proprietors and North Carolina be-
came a royal colony, to the satisfaction of all concerned. One proprietor
retained his share, known as the Granville District, which embraced
the upper half of present North Carolina and included two-thirds of
the people in the Colony at the time. The existence of this district caused
much confusion until the Revolution, at which time the land was con-
fiscated by the people living in the district.
From 1729 to 1775, North Carolina made considerable progress. There
were only five Governors during the period of royal rule, and the gov-
ernment was much more stable. Between 1730 and 1775 the population
increased from 30,000 to 265,000, and the frontier was pushed westward
to the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Indians were driven
over the Appalachians; agricultural methods, transportation, and trade
improved; schools and churches were built, and newspapers were estab-
lished.
Before 1739 the white population was largely of English stock, but
between that date and the outbreak of the Revolution a steady stream
of Scotch Highlanders, Scotch-Irish, and Germans poured into North
Carolina. The Highlanders came into the Cape Fear Valley in large
numbers, particularly after their defeat at the Battle of Culloden in
1745. The Scotch Highlanders were the only large group to come
directly from their native land. Most of the English settlers came in
from Virginia and South Carolina, while most of the Scotch-Irish and
Germans came down from Pennsylvania. A few Swiss and French set-
tled in North Carolina in the early 18th century, but the majority of
the white population was English, Scotch, and German. The so-called
Scotch-Irish were "racially Scotch and geographically Irish."
In 1760 the racial elements in the population were: English, 45,000;
Scotch, 40,000; German, 15,000; Negro, 31,000. Since the Colonial period
there has been little foreign immigration to North Carolina, and in
1930 only three-tenths of one percent of the State's total population
was foreign-born, with one exception the smallest proportion of any
State in the Union.
North Carolina was never a unit geographically, economically, or
socially. Society was rather distinctly stratified into four classes. At the
top was the planter aristocracy, living chiefly in the Cape Fear, Neuse,
and Albemarle regions, where the plantation system took deepest root.
Although very much in the minority as to numbers, this class never-
theless controlled local government and exerted a great influence in
social, economic, and religious affairs.
HISTORY 37
Just below the planters in the social scale were the small farmers, the
bulk of the population. The Piedmont, which has been described as a
"prolongation of Pennsylvania," was the mecca of the small farmers.
There the hardy German and Scotch-Irish settlers cultivated their lands
with their own hands. They grew their foodstuffs, made their own
clothing, and envied no man. They were self-reliant, thrifty, and dog-
matic, and they did much to determine the character of society in the
Colony.
Below the small farmers were the indentured servants. These were
of two kinds, voluntary (redemptioners) and involuntary, representing
many classes. A few involuntary servants were convicts, shipped to the
Colony as servants to pay for their crimes. Some, among them women
and children, had been kidnaped in English cities, and spirited away
to America, to be sold into bondage. But the majority of the servants
were the voluntary ones, who agreed to sell their labor for a fixed num-
ber of years (usually five to seven) to pay for their passage to the New
World. After their period of servitude was over, many by hard work
became landholders, some rising to the status of planters.
At the bottom of the social scale were the Negro slaves. Slavery ex-
isted from early days, encouraged by the proprietors, who offered 50
acres of land for each slave above 14 years of age brought into the
Colony. Because of the preponderance of small farmers who furnished
their own labor, slavery at first grew slowly. After the middle of the
1 8th century the number of slaves increased rapidly, as the following
figures show: 1712, 800; 1730, 6,000; 1754, 15,000; 1765, 30,000; 1790,
100,572. The increase was largely natural, for few Negroes were im-
ported. By 1767 the Negroes outnumbered the whites in some of the
eastern counties, where the plantation system prevailed.
Ecclesiastically, North Carolina was not very active. The first church
in the Colony was built in 1701-2 by the Vestry of Chowan Parish, after-
wards St. Paul's (see edenton). In 1715, a Colonial law recognized the
Church of England as the established church in North Carolina. Other
Protestant denominations developed slowly, but by the end of the Co-
lonial period, most of the Protestant sects were well represented.
In the 1 8th century there were no public schools in North Carolina,
but there were many teachers. Education was considered a function of
the church, and nearly all of the teachers were ministers or candidates
for the ministry. The first professional teacher of whom there is record
was Charles Griffin, a lay reader of the Anglican Church, who opened
a school in Pasquotank County in 1705.
The lack of a public school system did not mean that the people in
general were illiterate. Children were taught at home by their parents
or by a tutor. The sons of wealthy planters were sent to William and
38 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Mary, Harvard, Yale, or Princeton, or to Scottish or English universi-
ties. The education of the poor and of orphans was provided for through
the apprenticeship system and by requiring guardians to educate their
wards.
After the middle of the 18th century academies, or classical schools,
were established. The first in North Carolina was Tate's Academy,
opened in Wilmington in 1760. Crowfield Academy was opened the
same year in Mecklenburg County. Hillsboro, Warrenton, New Bern,
and Edenton also had early academies. The most famous of these schools
was the "log college" of the Rev. David Caldwell at Greensboro. The
first college in North Carolina was Queen's College, established at
Charlotte in 1771.
The first free public library was operating in Bath in 1705, but the
date of its opening is uncertain. The first printing press was set up at
New Bern in 1749, by James Davis, "the father of journalism in North
Carolina." Davis published the first newspaper in the Colony, the North
Carolina Gazette, a weekly paper launched in 1751.
Tobacco and corn were the chief crops. Cotton was unimportant until
the 19th century. Wheat, flax, hemp, and indigo were raised, as well as
such "provisions" as beans and peas. The production of naval stores (tar,
pitch, turpentine, and rosin) was the chief industry.
Revolution and Independence
North Carolinians participated in all the four wars between England
and France for dominion in North America, particularly in the French
and Indian War. At the close of this war England, faced with a huge
debt, inaugurated a "new Colonial policy," one phase of which was a
plan to tax the colonists by means of stamps on legal documents, news-
papers, and many other articles. The people resisted enforcement of this
act; at Wilmington and Brunswick there were demonstrations and
an armed uprising, with the result that no stamps were sold in North
Carolina. When the British Parliament in 1767 passed an act taxing
glass, white lead, tea, and other articles, nonimportation associations
made effective use of an economic boycott. Finally England removed
all the taxes, except that on tea.
Meanwhile, the farmers of the back country v/ere struggling against
Colonial and local government that seemed to them inefficient, venal,
and intolerable. They were burdened by dishonest sheriffs, extortionate
fees, corrupt lawyers, and excessive taxes. When the legislature, dom-
inated by the eastern aristocracy, failed to solve their problems, they
organized in 1768 as the Regulators, pledged "to regulate" the govern-
HISTORY 39
merit and to remedy the abuses. Later they resorted to violence and
rioted in Hillsboro, dragging the judge from the bench, breaking up the
court, and doing damage to the property of some of the officials. Finally
Governor Tryon led the eastern militia to Hillsboro, and at the Battle
of Alamance Creek on May 16, 1771, the Regulators were defeated.
Seven were put to death; more than 6,000 accepted the Governor's
pardon proclamation. Many of the Regulators were still disaffected,
however, and hundreds migrated beyond the mountains.
As the American Revolution approached in 1774, the people, in open
defiance of the royal Governor, Josiah Martin, held a convention at New
Bern to formulate plans of resistance and to elect delegates to the Con-
tinental Congress. When the Revolution broke out in April 1775, the
Governor fled, royal authority broke down, and a provisional govern-
ment was set up. Meetings were held in various counties, and commit-
tees were appointed to take charge of local government and raise
troops. According to local history, a meeting was held in Charlotte,
May 20, 1775, and a declaration of independence was drawn up. Some
contend there is no conclusive proof of this meeting, although the date
commemorating the event is on the State seal and the State flag. It
is, however, certain that a meeting in Charlotte on May 31, 1775, drew
up a set of resolutions, more moderate in tone than the so-called Meck-
lenburg Declaration. Boyd's Cape Fear Mercury published the resolu-
tions, and for this act was arraigned by the Governor as "a most
infamous publication."
Many North Carolinians were loath to go to war with England. These
Tories, or loyalists, included most of the official class, some large planters,
many of the Anglican clergy, numbers of the Scotch Highlanders, and
many of the Regulators. Organizing into an army, the Tories met the
North Carolina Whigs at Moores Creek Bridge, February 27, 1776, and
suffered a crushing defeat. In 1777 the State legislature, controlled by
the Whigs, began to pass laws by means of which they confiscated
Tory property worth a million dollars during the course of the war.
As a result many Tories left the State.
On April 12, 1776 the Fourth Provincial Congress meeting at Halifax,
drew up a resolution authorizing the North Carolina delegates in the
Continental Congress to "concur with the delegates of the other Colonies
in declaring Independency. . . ." This was "the first authoritative, explicit
declaration, by more than a month, by any colony in favor of full, final
separation from Britain." In the latter part of that year the Fifth Pro-
vincial Congress framed the first State constitution, the salient features
of which were a bill of rights; provision for legislative, executive, and
judicial branches of government, with the legislative branch given vir-
tual control over the other two divisions; property and religious quali-
40 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
fixations for voting and officeholding; representation of six boroughs
in the legislature, along with county representation; suffrage for free
Negroes; separation of church and state; and a general provision for
public education. The constitution went into effect in 1777, without
being submitted to popular vote. Richard Caswell was the first Governor
of the independent State, being chosen by the Provincial Congress. The
capital was at New Bern.
After the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge there was little fighting in
the State until the last year of the war, but North Carolina soldiers were
active elsewhere. State troops helped drive Lord Dunmore from Vir-
ginia in 1775-76, and assisted in the defense of South Carolina and
Georgia. The State militia under Rutherford defeated the Cherokee
and drove them farther west. Many North Carolinians fought under
Washington at Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth, and suf-
fered at Valley Forge in the severe winter of 1777-78. They rendered
valiant service against Ferguson at Kings Mountain on October 7,
1780, and against Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, March 15, 1781.
Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown, in October 1781, can be traced in
part to the disastrous defeat at Kings Mountain, to Cornwallis' heavy
losses at Guilford Courthouse, and to his failure to recruit many Tories
in the State — reverses which caused his famous retreat through the
State to Wilmington, and then to Virginia, culminating in the York-
town surrender.
The Revolutionary War left North Carolina divided into two main
groups, conservatives and radicals. The constitution of 1776 was more
conservative than radical. The east-west sectionalism, which had mani-
fested itself so vigorously before the Revolution, continued, and the
State government was dominated by the landed aristocracy of the east
for half a century.
The chief problems after the Revolution were the disposition of the
State's western lands, the relation of North Carolina to the Union, and
the function of the State government in education, building roads,
canals, and other internal improvements.
Before and during the Revolution intrepid pioneers like Daniel
Boone and James Robertson, and land speculators like Richard Hender-
son, had made their way into the transmontane country. The coloniza-
tion of what later became the State of Tennessee began with the Watauga
settlement just prior to the Revolution. By 1783 there were about 25,000
people beyond the mountains, and four counties had been created; three
other counties were formed within a few years.
The legislature first ceded North Carolina's western lands to the
United States in 1784. The settlers in the transmontane country, who
favored the cession act, were antagonized by its repeal later the same
HISTORY 41
year. They broke away from North Carolina and organized the State
of Franklin, with a constitution, a separate legislature, and John Sevier
as Governor. The new State collapsed in September 1787, after it failed
to secure support from the Continental Congress or from other States.
Finally, in 1789-90, North Carolina ceded its western lands to the Fed-
eral Government; in 1796 the region was admitted to the Union as the
State of Tennessee.
As the Cherokee Indians retreated westward, and as population grew
and roads were built, white settlers began to move into the mountain
region. Buncombe County was created in 1792, and five years later the
town of Asheville was incorporated.
The people of North Carolina were from the beginning inclined
toward individualism and democracy, and their fear of a strong central
government led them to reject the Federal Constitution at the Hills-
boro convention in 1788. Although adopting this course by a vote of
185 to 84, the convention suggested a number of amendments, some
of which were later incorporated in the Constitution as the first ten
amendments.
The Constitution was ratified, however, by all but North Carolina
and Rhode Island, and went into effect in the spring of 1789. As a
result, public opinion in the State changed, and at the Fayetteville
convention, on November 21, 1789, North Carolina ratified the Con-
stitution, and thus came under the "Federal Roof." North Carolina
entered the Union too late to vote for Washington in 1789, and it left
the Union too late to vote for Davis in 1861. It was next to the last
of the Original States to enter the Union, and in 1861 it was next to
the last State to leave it.
Predominantly a State of small farmers, North Carolina was for a
few years Federalist in its politics; but it soon changed and aligned
itself with Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party of that day.
Under the leadership of Willie Jones, and later of Nathaniel Macon,
the State was strongly Republican for many years. The Raleigh Register,
founded in 1799 by Joseph Gales at the instigation of Macon, was a
Republican organ; in 1850-51 it published the State's first daily news-
paper. Macon, who seemed to personify North Carolina in his day,
believed that government should be cheap, simple, and democratic;
that the people should not be taxed for education and internal improve-
ments, and that "that government is best which governs least." North
Carolina was the only State in the Union which consistently opposed
all protective tariff legislation.
There were no public schools or colleges in North Carolina for many
years after the Revolution, and a growing need was felt for better edu-
cational facilities. The constitution of 1776 had provided "That a school
42 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
or schools shall be established by the Legislature for the convenient
Instruction of Youth, with such salaries to the Masters paid by the
Public, as may enable them to instruct at low Prices; and all useful
Learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more uni-
versities." But the political leaders of the State did not interpret this to
mean that the State should establish schools and colleges supported
by public funds. They felt that the academies, which were chartered
by the legislature, though not supported by it, fulfilled this constitutional
provision. More than 40 academies were established prior to 1800 and
more than 400 between the Revolution and the War between the States.
The academies were private schools, many of them sectarian in char-
acter. They were allowed to grant certificates but not diplomas or de-
grees. The trustees ordinarily selected the teachers, fixed the curriculum,
gave the examinations, and in some cases administered discipline.
Thirteen years elapsed before the legislature did anything about
establishing "one or more universities." Prominent Federalists, led by
William R. Davie, often called "the father of the university," finally
succeeded in getting a bill passed in 1789, chartering the University
of North Carolina. New Hope Chapel, now Chapel Hill, was the site
selected. In 1795 the university opened its doors to students, the first
State university to do so. The legislature granted it a loan of $10,000,
which was later converted into a gift, but made no appropriations for
its support, and the trustees had to depend chiefly on gifts and tuition
fees.
In early days there had been no fixed seat of government. New Bern
was the capital when the Revolution began, but during the war the
legislature met at Hillsboro, Halifax, Smithfield, Wake Court House,
New Bern, Fayetteville, and Tarboro. Finally, in 1792, a legislative
committee bought 1,000 acres of land from Joel Lane near Wake Court
House, and laid out the city of Raleigh. The first capitol in Raleigh,
a brick structure completed in 1794, was burned in 1831. The present
capitol was begun in 1833 and completed in 1840.
Ante-Bellum Days
From 1 815 to 1835, North Carolina made so little economic and social
progress that it was called the Rip Van Winkle of the States and the
Ireland of America. The chief cause of this backwardness was its inac-
cessibility to markets. In 1815 there were only twenty-three small iron
works, three paper mills, and one cotton mill in the State. Many small
gristmills and distilleries were operated, but there was little machinery.
Manufacturing was still in the domestic or household stage. No large
HISTORY 43
trading city existed, and only 7 towns in the State had more than 1,000
people. From Wilmington, the chief port, only a million dollars' worth
of goods were shipped in 1816.
North Carolina dropped in population from third place among the
States in 1790 to seventh place in 1840. Soil exhaustion, the lure of the
West, lack of internal improvements and educational facilities, and un-
happy conditions generally led many people to forsake the State. Thou-
sands moved to other States, among them young Andrew Johnson and
the families of two other Carolina-born Presidents, Jackson and Polk.
Archibald De Bow Murphey and a few other leaders in the State
urged as a remedy the building of transportation facilities, the stimula-
tion of manufacturing, the promotion of education, and the develop-
ment of the State's vast resources. But the government, dominated by
the landed aristocracy of the east, was unwilling to launch such a pro-
gram of internal improvements.
By 1830 more than half the State's population lived west of Raleigh.
Yet most of the Governors and the majority of the legislature came from
the east. Whenever- a new county was created in the west, one would
also be formed in the east, so that the east continued to control the
government. The west demanded revision of the constitution of 1776
and a program of internal improvements. The east opposed both. From
1831 to 1835, North Carolina appeared to be on the verge of a revolution.
Finally, at a convention held at Raleigh in 1835, significant changes
were made in the constitution. Provisions were adopted for the reap-
portionment of representation in the legislature, popular election of the
Governor, abolition of borough representation, disfranchisement of the
free Negro, and the partial removal of religious qualifications for voting
and officeholding.
A genuine educational revival began about 1836. The first public
school law was passed in 1839, and the first public schools were opened
in 1840. By 1850 more than 100,000 children were attending approxi-
mately 2,600 schools. Under Calvin H. Wiley, who in 1853 became the
first State superintendent of common schools, a unified school program
was inaugurated. In i860, North Carolina had 2,854 schools, open nearly
four months in the year, with 116,567 children in attendance.
At the same time many denominational colleges were being estab-
lished. Wake Forest College (Baptist) had its beginning as the Wake
Forest Institute, opened in 1834. Davidson College (Presbyterian) near
Charlotte, opened for students in 1837. Trinity College (Methodist),
now Duke University, had its beginning about 1838 at Trinity in
Randolph County. Salem Female Academy had been started by the
Moravians in 1802. Between 1842 and 1858 other colleges for girls were
established by various denominations: Greensboro Female, Saint Mary's,
44 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Davenport, Floral, Chowan, Oxford, and Statesville. In i860 there were
6 colleges for men with 900 students, and 13 colleges for girls with 1,500
students.
The State also adopted a policy for the care of the blind, deaf, speech-
less, and insane. A school for the blind and deaf was established in
Raleigh in 1845. A State hospital for the insane was opened in Raleigh
in 1856.
During this period canals and roads were built, rivers and harbors
improved, and railroads constructed. Two railroad lines were completed
in 1840, the Wilmington and Raleigh (i6i 1 / 4 miles), which did not
touch Raleigh, but ran from Wilmington to Weldon on the Roanoke
River; and the Raleigh and Gaston, to Weldon. In 1856 the North
Carolina Railroad was completed from Charlotte to Goldsboro, and by
i860 the line had been extended from Goldsboro to the coast. The
Western North Carolina Railroad was opened from Salisbury to Mor-
ganton in 1861, and by 1880 had reached Asheville. In i860 the total
railroad trackage was 889.42 miles. Many plank roads, or "farmers' rail-
roads," were built between 1849 and i860, no fewer than 81 companies
being incorporated for their construction. Many of the roads radiated
from Fayetteville; one of these, running to Bethania by way of Salem,
is said to be the longest plank road ever built. By the time of the War
between the States, plank roads had about disappeared.
Of 25 towns listed in the i860 census, only 2 had a population of more
than 5,000, while 13 had less than 1,000 each. Wilmington, with 13,446,
was the largest; and New Bern, Fayetteville, Raleigh, Salisbury, and
Charlotte were next in size. Farming conditions had improved as a
result of better transportation facilities, and there was a notable increase
in manufacturing.
The majority of North Carolinians never held slaves at any time.
Most of those who held slaves owned fewer than ten, though there were
some families that owned hundreds. North Carolina had more free
Negroes than any other Southern State except Virginia and Maryland.
Between 1790 and i860 they had increased from 4,975 to 30,463. Some
had migrated from free States, others had achieved their freedom by
meritorious work or military service.
From 1 816 to 1830 the movement for emancipation in North Carolina
was stronger than in any other Southern State. At least 40 abolition
societies were operating in 1826. As early as 1819 the Underground
Railroad had become an active force in the State. Branches of the
American Colonization Society were formed, and some Negroes were
sent to Liberia and elsewhere.
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HISTORY 45
War and Reconstruction
North Carolina, like other Southern States, believed in States' rights
and opposed efforts to restrict slavery in the Territories. After the na-
tional abolition movement began about 1830, North Carolina ceased to
talk about slavery as a necessary evil and began to defend it from attack,
enacting stronger laws for control of the Negroes. However, violent
attacks on slavery were made by a few individuals in the State, among
whom were Levi and Vestal Coffin, reputed founders of the Under-
ground Railroad, and Hinton Rowan Helper, author of the Impending
Crisis, published in 1857.
Union sentiment was strong in the State even among many slave-
holding planters. The State was not a party to the organization of the
Southern Confederacy in February 1861. Delegates were sent to a peace
conference held at Washington in an effort to avert hostilities. But when
after Fort Sumter had been fired on, Lincoln asked for troops to fight
the Confederacy, North Carolina refused. The State adopted an ordi-
nance of secession on May 20, 1861, and cast its lot with the South.
North Carolina furnished about one-fifth of all the southern soldiers,
although it had only about one-ninth of the southern population. It
sent into the war approximately 125,000 men, a number larger than the
State's voting population. About one-fourth of the Confederates killed
in action, or more than 40,000 men, were North Carolinians. The State's
boast that it was "First at Bethel, farthest at Gettysburg, and last at
Appomattox" has some basis. Eighty-four engagements, most of them
small, were fought on North Carolina soil.
While contributing heavily to the Confederate cause, no State was
more jealous of its rights than North Carolina. Gov. Zebulon B. Vance
protested against many policies of the Confederate Government, par-
ticularly the conscription law, the impressment of property, the suspen-
sion of the writ of habeas corpus, and the use of Virginia officers in
North Carolina.
Near the end of the war, Lee's army was dependent on the food and
supplies that were run into Wilmington through the blockade and were
shipped over the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad, "the life line of
the Confederacy." About $65,000,000 worth of goods, at gold prices,
were brought into Wilmington during the war. Fort Fisher, the "Gibral-
tar of America," was not captured by the Federal forces until January
1865, and Wilmington, the last Confederate port, fell into northern
hands soon after.
North Carolina, like the rest of the South, was in a state of collapse
following the downfall of the Confederacy. Economic exhaustion and
46 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
political and social disorder were complete. One of the greatest problems
was the freedmen. About 350,000 slaves, poor and without experience
in taking care of themselves, were set free in the State. Many of these
expected that the United States Government would give them "forty
acres and a mule," and provide for them generally. White leaders tried
to solve the problem, but accomplished little.
North Carolina was not fully readmitted to the Union until 1868. In
May 1865, Gen. John McA. Schofteld took military command of the
State, and issued a proclamation announcing the cessation of war and
the freedom of the slaves. On May 29 of that year, President Andrew
Johnson, in an effort to carry out his plan of reconstruction, appointed
W. W. Holden Provisional Governor. The President also issued a
proclamation of pardon and amnesty, but the leading citizens of the
State were not eligible. The Southern States were required to set up
governments and accept the thirteenth amendment, abolishing slavery,
before they would be readmitted to the Union. Before the close of 1865
a regular government was set up and Jonathan Worth was elected
Governor over Holden.
Early in 1866 the North Carolina legislature adopted special laws,
called the Black Code, defining the rights of Negroes. According to
R. D. W. Connor, while "it did not admit the Negro to entire equality
before the law with the whites, nevertheless it validated the marriages
of former slaves; changed the law of apprenticeship so as to apply, with
one minor exception, to both races alike; declared Negroes entitled to
the same rights and privileges as whites in suits at law and equity; made
the criminal law applicable to the two races alike, except in the punish-
ment for an assault with intent to rape; provided for the admission of
the testimony of Negroes in the courts, and made provision for the pro-
tection of Negroes from fraud and ignorance in making contracts with
white persons."
The Wilmington Star, founded in 1867, is the State's oldest daily
newspaper.
In 1867 Congress nullified the Presidential plan of reconstruction. The
South was divided into five military districts, and North Carolina was
thus again under military rule. Congress also laid down the conditions
of readmission to the Union. North Carolina, like other Southern States,
was required to form a new constitution, "framed by a convention of
delegates elected by male citizens of the said State, 21 years old and
upwards, of whatever race, color, or previous condition." The constitu-
tion had to be approved by voters of the State, and the State had to
ratify the fourteenth amendment, making Negroes citizens of the
United States.
A constitutional convention met in Raleigh on January 14, 1868, and
HISTORY 47
drew up a document which, with the addition of many amendments, is
still effective. Present at this convention were 107 Republicans, of whom
18 were carpetbaggers and 15 Negroes. Only 13 Conservatives (Demo-
crats) attended. Some of the most significant provisions of the new con-
stitution were the abolition of slavery; elimination of religious or prop-
erty qualifications for voting or officeholding; popular election of all
State and county officials; abolition of the county court system and
adoption of the township-county commission form of government; pro-
vision for charities and public welfare; and a four-months public school
term.
For many years North Carolina had bad government, though it never
suffered as much from carpetbaggers and Negro politicians as some of
the other Southern States. There was a great increase in crime and vio-
lence. The Union League, a Republican organization, was active among
the Negroes. The whites began to organize the Ku Klux Klan and
other secret societies, stating as their purpose the protection of woman-
hood, combating the influence of the Union League, and restoring
"white supremacy."
Things came to a head in 1870. Maintaining that there was disorder
in Alamance and Caswell Counties because of the activities of the Ku
Klux Klan, Governor Holden proclaimed these counties in a state of
insurrection. Military arrests were made and a number of leading citi-
zens were imprisoned without jury trial. By this time the Conservatives
had gained control of the legislature, and steps were taken to remove
Holden. He was "impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors," and
after a trial which lasted almost two months he was found guilty and
removed from office on March 22, 1871. Thereafter the Conservatives
gradually gained control of the State.
Thirty amendments were added to the 1868 constitution in 1875, most
of which were the result of the experiences of Reconstruction. Schools
for white and black were to be kept separate; marriages between whites
and blacks were forbidden; secret political societies were not to be tol-
erated; residence requirements for voting were raised; the legislature
was given control over the appointment of justices of the peace; and the
power of the State government over local affairs was increased.
Recovery and Progress
North Carolina was still a very poor State when Reconstruction ended.
The great task of rebuilding agriculture, industry, transportation, and
commerce was yet to be accomplished.
The farmers, in particular, suffered during the period from the close
48 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
of the war to 1900. One of the most significant results of the war was
the break-up of plantations into smaller farms and the rapid rise of
farm tenancy. The majority of landlords rented their land "on shares."
Although some leading farmers and a few farm papers opposed this
system, circumstances forced it on North Carolina and it is still the
prevalent system of land tenure.
In manufacturing there was marked development almost immediately
after the War between the States. Tobacco manufacture, the leading
industry, developed rapidly after 1880. Durham, Winston-Salem, and
Reidsville became the chief tobacco-manufacturing towns. By 1900
there were 96 factories in the State, making tobacco products worth
$14,000,000. Textile manufacturing and the furniture industry were next
in importance.
Both agriculture and manufacturing benefited by improved railroad
facilities. In 1900 there were more than 3,800 miles of railroads in the
State, connected with lines leading to all parts of the United States.
Many short lines were consolidated into three large systems : the Southern
Railway in the Piedmont and the west, the Atlantic Coast Line in the
east, and the Seaboard Air Line between the two.
There was further need for improved highways. Roads were built and
kept in repair by the men of each township, who were required by law
to work on the roads a few days each year — a system that never operated
satisfactorily. Before 1900, Mecklenburg was the only county that had
built good hard-surfaced roads. On December 17, 1903 — a date of great
significance in the history of transportation — the first successful airplane
flight by the Wright brothers took place at Kitty Hawk.
Most of the colleges of the State, the university, and the public schools
had been closed for a few years during Reconstruction. When they were
reopened they were seriously hampered by lack of funds. In 1900, the
schools were open only about 70 days in the year, and teachers were paid
only about $24 a month. There were no compulsory attendance laws,
and only a little more than half of the children attended.
Toward the close of the century several institutions for higher educa-
tion had been opened. In 1887 the legislature established at Raleigh the
North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, now the
State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the University of North
Carolina. In 1891 the legislature created the State Normal and Indus-
trial College at Greensboro, now the Woman's College of the University
of North Carolina, to train women teachers. In the same year North
Carolina Agricultural and Technical College for Negroes was estab-
lished in Greensboro, and the North Carolina School for the Deaf
and Dumb at Morganton.
The year 1901 marks a turning point in North Carolina history. In
HISTORY 49
that year Charles B. Aycock became Governor, and a new group, vitally
interested in the development of the State's resources and the advance-
ment of the people, took charge of the government. Aycock and other
leaders traveled all over the State, urging the people to vote for school
taxes and to provide better schoolhouses, better teachers, and longer
terms.
Hundreds of school districts followed this advice, and the State gov-
ernment itself began to help build schoolhouses. While Aycock was
Governor, more than 1,200 new schoolhouses were built. Teachers'
salaries were raised, the teachers were better trained, the number of stu-
dents was increased, the school term was lengthened, libraries were
started in rural communities, and better schoolbooks were obtained.
Teacher-training schools were established, Negro education was im-
proved, and a new day dawned for education.
Soon after the United States entered the World War in 1917, a call
for 5,100 volunteers for the National Guard in North Carolina was
answered by 8,500 enlistments. Cantonments were established at Camp
Polk, near Raleigh; Camp Greene, near Charlotte; Camp Bragg (later
Fort Bragg), in Cumberland and Hoke Counties, and elsewhere, where
several thousand troops were trained. The war was brought to North
Carolina's coast on August 8, 1918, when a German submarine shelled
and sank the Diamond Shoals lightship. On August 16, the submarine
torpedoed and sank the British tanker Mirlo off Rodanthe. Members of
the Chicamacomico Coast Guard Station, braving a sea of flaming oil,
rescued the crew of 42. North Carolina provided 86,457 men for the
Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. During the war, 833 North Carolinians
died in battle or of wounds, and there were 1,542 deaths of disease.
The Congressional Medal of Honor was posthumously awarded
to Lester Blackwell, of Hurdle Mills, N. C, who was killed near
Saint Souplet, France. The Distinguished Service Cross was be-
stowed upon 184 North Carolinians and the Distinguished Service Medal
upon 6.
North Carolina, whose total population in 1930 was 3,170,276, has
become industrialized without losing its rural character. About 80 per-
cent of its people live in rural districts, and there is no city of 100,000
population. Industries have not been concentrated to any great degree.
Cotton mills, tobacco factories, furniture plants, and other industrial
enterprises exist side by side in the same communities.
Kannapolis has the largest towel mills in the world, and Durham the
largest hosiery mill. Badin for years had the largest aluminum plant.
Winston-Salem, Durham, and Reidsville have the largest tobacco fac-
tories in the world, and Wilson, Greenville, and Rocky Mount are
among the largest bright-leaf tobacco markets. Greensboro has the
50 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
largest denim mills in the United States, and Canton the largest paper-
pulp mills. High Point has the largest furniture factories in the South.
Steady development of the State's natural resources and gradual
improvement in its economic condition seem to be providing a firm
basis for a richer civic, social, and cultural life.
THE NEGROES
OF THE 3,170,276 people in North Carolina in 1930, 918,647, or
( 29 percent, are Negroes. They are scattered throughout the
State, in large numbers in the east and in a few cities of the
Piedmont. Except for the concentration of Negroes in tobacco-manufac-
turing centers the distribution follows rather closely the old plantation
regions. The highest percentage of Negroes is 65.2 percent in Warren,
a Coastal Plain county on the Virginia border, and the lowest is in
Graham, a mountain county, where the 1930 census listed but one
Negro. The ratio of Negroes to total population has shown a decline in
every decade since 1880.
History. When the earliest permanent settlements were made in
North Carolina in the middle of the 17th century, Negroes were brought
in as slave laborers. The plantation regime developed first in the tobacco
belt along the eastern end of the Virginia boundary. By 1767 Negroes
outnumbered whites in three eastern counties, and in three others were
nearly as numerous. In 1880 they constituted 38 percent of the total
population of the State.
The headman among the slaves on a plantation was the driver, or
foreman, who staked ofl the "tasks" in the morning and checked them
off at night. When a slave finished his "task" he was through for the day
and could use his time as he wished. Usually less than half of a planter's
slaves were prime hands, able to do a full day's work.
House servants and skilled tradesmen ranked above field hands. But-
lers, coachmen, cooks, seamstresses, nurses, weavers, carpenters, black-
smiths, cobblers, and other skilled slaves had a high value. The selection
of the more teachable children for these trades, the opportunity offered
them to acquire habits and skills, and their closer association with the
white people, gave them a special status.
Slaves could not own property in land, houses, or livestock, but they
were not without money. Many masters gave rewards for work done
beyond the allotted task. Slaves were given plots around the cabins and
were encouraged to have gardens and fowls. Slave artisans were fre-
5 1'
52 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
quently hired out by their masters, or were permitted to hire themselves
out — on paying the master a fixed annual sum.
In numerous instances, slaves worked under less favorable circum-
stances. The task system was not always well-regulated and it was not
always used. The majority of plantations in North Carolina had fewer
than 10 slaves. On the smallest plantations with two or three slaves
the master and his family generally worked in the fields with the
Negroes.
Restrictions increased after Nat Turner's rebellion in Virginia in
1831, and a few slave conspiracies in North Carolina. Laws prohibited
slaves from holding meetings, leaving the plantation without written
permits, possessing firearms, learning to read and write, or being manu-
mitted except for meritorious service (which had to be proved before a
court), and limited the race in many other ways. All Negroes, bond and
free, as well as Indians, were held incapable of witnessing in court
against white persons.
The number of free Negroes in 1790, the first accurate estimate, was
4,975 — not a large number, but larger than in any State except Mary-
land and Virginia. Slaves at that date numbered 100,572 and whites
288,204. By i860 the number of free Negroes had increased to 30,463,
and slaves to 331,059.
Negroes were free if they had emigrated from free States, if they had
been freed legally by former owners, or if they were the product of
mixed unions in which the mother was free and the father a slave. The
majority of the white people, rich and poor, resented the presence of
free Negroes in their society. Masters could have caught runaways much
oftener but for the numbers of free Negroes. Poor white laborers and
mechanics resented them for both economic and social reasons. Many
protests came from mechanics' associations against free Negro work-
men and the practice of hiring out skilled slaves.
Towns usually required free Negroes to register and wear badges.
Curfew laws were passed for the purpose of clearing the streets of
Negroes by 10 o'clock, or some other evening hour. They lost the vote in
1835, a privilege until then of the few who could meet the property
qualification that applied to whites as well.
Rigorous as were the laws, however, many free Negroes prospered
and some accumulated wealth. The fight for freedom continued despite
the difficulties facing abolitionists working in a slave community. One
of the prominent abolitionists of the State was Lunsford Lane, a former
slave who had purchased his own and his family's freedom. Vestal and
Levi Coffin, famed operators of the Underground Railroad along the
banks of the Ohio, began their operations as early as 1819 during their
residence in North Carolina.
THE NEGROES 53
When emancipation was proclaimed, April 28, 1865, the natural reac-
tion of the former slaves was to test their new freedom by moving about
at will and doing those things which they had previously been restricted
from doing. "To abandon his plow in the middle of the row," writes the
historian Connor, "to stride defiantly by his former master, out of the
yard, and down the dusty road — that, indeed, was a test of freedom that
even the most ignorant Negro could understand. Thousands of Negroes
followed Sherman's army as it marched through North Carolina; other
thousands flocked into Wilmington, New Bern, Goldsboro, Raleigh,
and other large towns, lured from the plantations by the excitements of
town life and the presence of Federal troops. Relaxation of discipline,
idleness, and crowding bore their inevitable harvest of destitution,
disease, and crime."
The problem of the freedmen was not one which the former masters,
now destitute, were in any mood to consider sympathetically. The Fed-
eral Government met the problem by creating the Freedmen's Bureau
and giving it control of all matters relating to former slaves in the
South. The bureau operated in North Carolina from July 1865 to Jan-
uary 1869. About $1,500,000 worth of food was distributed in the State,
431 schools were established enrolling 20,227 pupils, and more than
40,000 patients were treated in hospitals. Many destitute whites shared
in these benefits.
Causes for bitterness between the races were many at this period.
Theories of social and political equality antagonized not only the former
owning class, but the great majority of white people. Even those mas-
ters who, during the slave regime, supported a tradition of benevolent
paternalism, could not adjust themselves readily to a new system. They
were, besides, disfranchised and bankrupt. The nonowning class (two-
thirds of the white population) never had cause to develop a feeling of
responsibility and personal attachment to Negroes, but on the other
hand had to meet their competition in labor. The poorest white labor-
ers, artisans, and farmers, who frequently lived under harder conditions
than the more favored slaves, were usually loudest in their assertions of
superiority over the Negro.
Health and Public Welfare. On January 1, 1936, through the cooper-
ation of the Julius Rosenwald Fund, a Negro physician was added to
the State division of county health work as field agent to work with
local health officers for public health education among Negroes. This
was the first service of its kind to be rendered in the United States.
The death rate for Negroes in North Carolina was 15.2 per thousand
in 1925, and 12.2 in 1935; for whites, 9.9 in 1925 and 8.7 in 1935. Although
the white rate is lower than the average for the registration area, and the
Negro rate is falling, the figures would be considerably smaller but for
54 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
the infant and maternity death rate. This situation is due to the preva-
lence of untrained midwives who deliver the great majority of Negro
babies. The division of maternity and infancy of the State board, and
the county offices are combating these evils by licensing, instructing, and
supervising midwives, by distributing pamphlets on infant care and
diet, and by sending out nurses to make visits and give personal advice.
The State Orthopedic Hospital, established at Gastonia in 1921, has
maintained a ward for Negro children since 1926. In 1930, the Benjamin
N. Duke Memorial Ward, a 50-bed unit, was opened. Orthopedic clinics
are held at 15 points in the State. Treatment is free for those unable to
pay. In 1938 there were 30 hospitals in the State for white people only,
11 for Negroes only, and 114 admitting both races. All hospitals sup-
ported by city, county, or State funds, 24 in number, are in the last-
named class.
The incidence of tuberculosis is high among Negroes, and there is
some evidence that they have less resistance to the disease than do white
people. The State sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis has had
a division for Negroes since 1923.
A concerted, vigorous attack on venereal diseases was inaugurated in
1938. The venereal morbidity rate is known to be higher among Negroes
than whites. In eastern North Carolina the ravages of these diseases
have been checked to some extent by the widespread but not unmixed
evil of malaria.
In 1925 a special division for Negro work was set up in the State
Board of Charities and Public Welfare with funds provided by the
Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial. The objectives of the division
have been community organization, placement of trained workers,
school attendance, studies of the Negro family and community, promo-
tion of institutes for the supplementary training of social workers, and
cooperation with the executive counsel in matters relating to pardons
and paroles.
State institutions for the welfare of Negroes in North Carolina are
the Morrison Training School for Negro Boys at Hoffman, the Colored
Orphanage of North Carolina at Oxford, the State Hospital for Negro
Insane at Goldsboro, and the School for Blind and Deaf at Raleigh. The
Memorial Training School, near Winston-Salem, was founded in 1900
as the Colored Baptist Orphanage, and was incorporated under a new
board of Winston-Salem citizens, and a new name, in 1923. The North
Carolina Industrial School for Negro Girls at Efland is an institution
for delinquent girls between the ages of 14 and 16. Its establishment in
1925 was made possible by the efforts of the Federation of Negro
Women's Clubs of North Carolina.
The Negro Farmer. Probably the most crucial social problem in
THENEGROES 55
North Carolina and throughout the South is the system of farm tenancy.
In 1935, Negroes owned or operated 69,373 farms. There were 20,373
owners, 48,985 tenants and croppers, and 15 managers. The ratio of
owners is greatest where Negro population is sparsest.
Occupations and Town Life. Negroes are employed as operatives
in tobacco factories in North Carolina, to a lesser extent as hosiery mill
workers, but in furniture and textile plants they do only sweeping,
cleaning, and freight handling. The only unionization of Negroes in
the State is that of the tobacco factory workers. Plumbers, painters,
brickmasons, and all skilled trades are not unionized to any extent.
Negro women find most of their jobs in domestic service at low wages,
and in laundries. Barber shops and pressing and cleaning concerns are
generally the only Negro establishments to be found on the main streets.
An occasional restaurant or tailoring establishment may be situated out-
side the Negro section, as are the few large business houses.
Insurance is the largest field of business in which Negroes are engaged
in North Carolina. The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Com-
pany of Durham is the largest business in the country run by Negroes.
Of the 23 Negro banks in the country which survived the depression,
two are in North Carolina, the Mechanics' & Farmers' Bank in Durham
and ah affiliated bank in Raleigh. The State ranked third among the
South Atlantic States in 1935 in the number of retail stores operated by
Negroes. Nine hundred and seventy-three establishments made net sales
of $1,088,000.
Most Negroes of the professional class in North Carolina are public
school teachers, the number in 1930 being 5,607. There were at that time
372 registered nurses, 246 college professors and college presidents, 206
musicians and music teachers of professional rank, 164 physicians and
surgeons, 68 dentists, and 27 lawyers. Negro preachers vary greatly in
their training and leadership, but among their number (1,575 m I 93°)
many are of professional status.
In North Carolina towns, as in most southern towns, there are seg-
regated sections for Negroes, and in these sections housing and sanita-
tion generally have been inadequate. Exploitive landlordism on the part
of many white owners, and to a lesser extent, of Negro owners as well,
has been an almost unregulated evil.
Negro society is stratified in a way similar to white society, a fact
seldom realized by white people. The average white person never has
any dealings with Negro professors, lawyers, doctors, insurance men,
merchants, or restaurant operators, though he has many contacts with
Negro laborers. However, there is probably more feeling of identity of
interest among all classes of Negroes than among all classes of white
people, as they are all subject to the same restrictions.
$6 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Education. An amendment to the State constitution was made in
1875, providing that ". . . the children of the white race and the children
of the colored race shall be taught in separate public schools; but there
shall be no discrimination in favor of, or to the prejudice of, either
race. . . ."
White schools at the turn of the century were inadequate, and Negro
schools lagged behind them. A revolution in public sentiment took place
about 1901, when Charles B. Aycock, North Carolina's "educational
Governor," took office after a campaign centering about white suprem-
acy in politics, and better educational facilities for Negro as well as white
children. Before that time Governor Vance, in 1877, had assisted in the
establishment of a normal school for Negro teachers at Fayetteville. It
is the earliest institution of its kind for either race in the South that has
continued to operate. In the 20 years following 1917 the Julius Rosen-
wald Fund, the Anna T. Jeanes Fund, the John F. Slater Fund, and the
General Education Board contributed more than $2,500,000 to Negro
education in this State.
Emphasis upon the training of teachers for the public schools has
been a large factor in the improvement of higher institutions for Ne-
groes, both public and private. There are five State institutions of col-
legiate grade in North Carolina, and eight private colleges. The general
assemblies of 1921 and 1923 appropriated nearly $2,000,000 for perma-
nent improvements at the Negro colleges and for a 10-year period
(1921-31) gave support to the departments of education in certain private
schools. The total enrollment of Negro college students increased from
479 in 1924-25 to nearly 4,000 in 1935-36.
In 1935 there was set up in the State the division of cooperation in
education and race relations. The State Department of Public Instruc-
tion, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University organized
to form the division and are carrying out plans to make available to
Negro scholars the library resources of these institutions; to hold clinics
for Negro physicians and surgeons, and institutes for Negro ministers,
and to encourage research in several phases of Negro history.
Customary Racial Discretions and Discriminations. Separate
schools for Negroes as a policy in public education provide opportunities
which mixed schools could not carry out in practice.
The former deplorable lack of provision for Negroes in hospitals is
being remedied. For example, work was begun in Wilmington in Sep-
tember 1938 on a $125,000 community hospital for Negroes. The present
tendency is for hospitals to have wards for both races. Separate hospitals
for Negroes provide opportunity for the directorship and practice of
Negro doctors and the training of Negro nurses, though Negro doctors
may attend members of their race in hospitals that admit both races.
THE NEGROES 57
The color line has divided all the churches since emancipation. Before
the war there were some independent congregations of Negroes in the
State, but after 1831 it was illegal for them to have Negro ministers.
White ministers were assigned these congregations by church organiza-
tions, but the usual custom was for slaves to attend the masters' churches
in special galleries or sections of the buildings. After the war, Negro
churches were organized with great rapidity. The latest census of re-
ligious bodies (1926) lists 3,203 churches with a total membership of
431,333 for Negroes in North Carolina. Negro ministers serve almost
all churches of the race.
Until recent years in North Carolina, but few recreational facilities
were available for Negroes. Since 1933 some progress has been made in
providing the Negroes with parks, playgrounds, and swimming pools
in projects sponsored by the Federal Government in cooperation with
local efforts. The races are separated in jails, prisons, and poorhouses but
accommodations are generally the same.
Negroes have their own motion picture houses, restaurants, and
hotels, and occupy gallery seats at some white theaters. They have had
only limited use of public libraries. Separate coaches are provided on
trains. Pullman tickets can be bought on some lines, but the use of the
dining car is prohibited. Separate waiting rooms are the rule in train
and bus stations. Buses and streetcars assign the Negroes seats in the
rear.
Even educated Negroes frequently find it difficult to register and vote.
Participation in civic affairs such as officeholding, policing, and jury
service is practically nonexistent. As a result of the Supreme Court
decision in the much-publicized Scottsboro case, Negroes are, for the
first time since Reconstruction, being drawn for jury panels, though few
as yet have served as jurors.
Aside from these traditional racial distinctions and discriminations,
however, North Carolina bears a reputation for favorable race relations.
This is perhaps partly due to the State's high educational rating. In
education, social welfare, and economic advance much has been done
for and by Negroes in North Carolina. It is likewise true that much
more remains to be done.
AGRICULTURE
INDUSTRIAL development has brought no decline in agriculture
in North Carolina, and the number of farms is constantly increasing.
Although the crop land harvested represents only one-fourth of the
total land area, North Carolina ranks among the five leading States in
value of crop production. A variety of soils, equable temperature, and
abundant rainfall make it possible to produce almost any crop that can
be grown from Florida to Canada.
The first settlers who came down from Virginia and occupied the
seaboard found the inlets of the coast too treacherous and shallow to
admit large vessels, and the agricultural produce of the Coastal Plain
was sent to Norfolk, Va., for shipment abroad. The rivers that drained
the North Carolina Piedmont flowed southeasterly into South Carolina,
and the port of Charleston, therefore, received the agricultural produce
of the back country.
This commercial handicap had a direct bearing on the kind of settlers
first attracted to North Carolina. Farmers with a large amount of capital
were slow to move into the Colony. Extensive development of the plan-
tation system was hindered by lack of capital, and Colonial North Caro-
lina evolved a type of small farm, isolated and self-sufficing.
In 1715 the population of the Colony was 11,200, and of these 3,700
were slaves. There were a few people of considerable wealth who owned
large plantations. On the other hand many industrious small farmers
owned but two or three slaves, or none at all, but who managed to pro-
duce tobacco, corn, livestock, and lumber products for export.
Some indication of what was thought a "considerable estate" in early
18th-century North Carolina is to be seen in a letter of about 1710
describing the will of a planter who left :
A very good plantation, upon which he lives, with all the houses and
some household furniture, two slaves and their increase forever, together
with a stock of cows, sheep, hogs and horses, with their increase forever, all
which . . . may moderately be valued at ^200.
Most of the settlers in the Coastal Plain were English farmers, but by
1775 a large group of Scotch Highlanders occupied the upper Cape Fear
58
AGRICULTURE 59
River and its tributaries. Some Scotch-Irish immigrants landed at
Charleston and moved up the Pee Dee and Catawba Rivers to the hill
country. But the greater number of sturdy pioneer farmers, Scotch-Irish
and German, landed at Philadelphia and came by wagon to North
Carolina.
The Germans, who usually came in organized bodies, chose the rich
bottom lands of the Piedmont and from the beginning practiced diver-
sified farming. The cultivation of meadowlands was a distinctive fea-
ture of German agriculture, and the livestock on German farms was
superior.
Tobacco was the chief export crop of the Colony. Indian corn, peas,
beans, potatoes, cotton, indigo, and some wheat were also exported.
Many planters kept large herds of cattle, which they left to range
unsheltered and to forage for themselves. Pork, tallow, and hides were
important exports, and some cheese and butter were sent out of the
Colony. Rice was grown for domestic use. Many varieties of native and
European fruits were cultivated, hemp and flax were grown for home
use, and, with wool and cotton, supplied materials for clothes.
Farming in general was wasteful and extravagant, for land was plenti-
ful and the bounties of nature seemed inexhaustible. "Surely," observed
Byrd of Virginia, "there is no place in the World where the inhabitants
live with less Labour than in N. Carolina, . . . where Plenty and a Warm
Sun confirm them in their Disposition to Laziness for their whole
Lives." Yet even in the Colonial period there were many farmers who
called attention to wasteful methods and urged intensive farming.
By 1852 a State agricultural society had been formed and many coun-
ties were organizing similar societies. Several agricultural journals ap-
peared, among them the Farmer's Advocate, the Carolina Cultivator,
and the North Carolina Planter. Most significant of the agricultural
studies was the report on soils made by Ebenezer Emmons, State geolo-
gist from 1852 to 1863.
The War between the States stimulated the production of foodstuffs,
but from 1865 to 1900 the North Carolina farmer became steadily poorer.
Cotton dropped from a dollar a pound in 1865 to 25 cents a pound in
1868. In the next three decades it dropped to 12 cents, to 7 cents, and
finally, in 1894, it fell below 5 cents a pound.
The farmer, buying at high prices and selling near the level of pro-
duction, was forced to run on a credit basis. The merchant financed the
farmer, taking a lien on the crops. In return for the risk he took, the
merchant demanded a price that averaged higher than the cash price,
so that the farmer paid as much as 40 percent annual interest and
sometimes more. The farmer was consequently driven to plant money
crops — cotton and tobacco — at the expense of food crops. He was in the
60 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
hopeless position of trying to pay for his food and his farm supplies out
of the proceeds of his money crop.
The rise of farm tenancy, more than any other factor, forced single-
crop farming in North Carolina. The War between the States had
broken the existing plantations into small farms, and changed the rela-
tionship between landowners and laborers. Landowners, deprived of
slave labor, had either to rent their land for cash, pay wages, or let the
land to tenants on shares.
Since both the landowners and the landless Negroes and whites who
furnished the labor had practically no money, sharecropping was the
logical development. Under this system the landowner furnished the
tenant with team, implements, and seed, and received from the tenant
one-half to two-thirds of the staple crops after harvest. He also advanced
provisions for the tenant family, and received payment in either cash or
crops.
There was opposition to sharecropping at the outset. The Recon-
structed Farmer, edited at Tarboro, believed that:
What demoralizes the labor of our country more than anything else is
farming on shares. . . . The manner in which share laborers are managed
is a curse to the country, for in many instances they are put off on land . . .
that will not support them the first year, no matter how good the cultiva-
tion of the crop may be. .
North Carolina farmers were moved by the same desperation that
was driving farmers all over the country to organize. Already the Farm-
ers' Alliance Cooperative Union had swept the Southwest. In North
Carolina the Grange had appeared in 1873, attained a membership of
about 10,000 in 1875, and then declined.
In 1887 the Farmers' Alliance was organized in the State under the
leadership of Leonidas Polk. A practical farmer himself, Polk had begun
publication of the Progressive Farmer at Winston in 1866, and had
moved the weekly to Raleigh when he became State Commissioner of
Agriculture. The Alliance spread until in 1890 local chapters had been
formed in every county but one, and the total membership was more
than 90,000.
The Alliance drew the farmers together for education and entertain-
ment. There were discussions of agricultural problems, institutes to
spread the knowledge of scientific farming, agricultural clubs, and fairs.
The farmers actively supported the reorganization of the State Depart-
ment of Agriculture, the establishment at Raleigh of the North Carolina
College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, and of the State Normal
and Industrial College for women at Greensboro.
Through a State agency set up by the Alliance, farmers were able to
AGRICULTURE 6l
purchase directly from the manufacturer implements, fertilizers, and
even food supplies at a saving of from 10 to 60 percent. The small capital,
which was raised by selling shares to farmers, made long-time credit
impossible, and most of the farmers were tied fast by the crop-lien system
and could not take advantage of the saving offered them. Merchants
fought the inexperienced cooperatives, until the panic of 1893 finally
put an end to them.
As conditions grew steadily worse, the farmers organized as the
Populist Party. Joining with the Republicans this party succeeded in
bringing about the election of a Fusionist ticket in 1896.
Since 1900 the number of farms in the State has continued to increase,
partly as a result of the great improvement in roads, partly because much
potential farm land remained unused. One million six hundred thou-
sand people live on North Carolina farms, the second largest farm popu-
lation of the 48 States. In 1930 there were almost twice as many persons
classified as farmers as there were persons classified as urban dwellers,
and of the total population 50.5 percent lived on farms. Though the
average size of farms is small, the average cash return per farm in 1930
was high — almost a thousand dollars. In the value of farm products the
State in 1937 ranked second to Texas among the Southern States, and
fifth in the United States.
Agriculture is not limited to any particular section, although the cen-
tral and southeastern portions, comprising some 22,000 square miles,
are particularly favored and contain some of the richest farm land in
eastern America.
In the southern part of the Coastal Plain diversified farming is increas-
ing. Remarkable success has been achieved by individuals and groups
through intensive truck farming and flower growing. Of increasing
importance is the strawberry crop, valued at approximately $2,000,000 a
year. Large productive farms in this region ship quantities of early truck
to outside markets and also produce cotton, corn, tobacco, soybeans, and
sweet and Irish potatoes.
Tobacco, cotton, and corn are the chief crops of the State, and tobacco
now brings to North Carolina farmers a greater revenue than any other
crop. Tobacco is raised in the central Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, along
the South Carolina border, and in the mountains, where burley is the
variety produced. In 1937 the crop was valued at more than $141,000,000.
In 1919, with cotton at 35 cents a pound, the total crop of the State was
valued at $130,000,000; in 1935, at the low price of n 1 /^ cents per pound,
the total crop value was approximately $41,000,000.
The Sandhill section produces millions of bushels of peaches for
northern and eastern markets. Dewberries, grown in great quantities in
this section, are noted for their size and flavor.
62 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Farming is more diversified in the Piedmont, where a large urban
population in the industrial centers provides a good market. The chief
products are grain, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton. The Pied-
mont has a high percentage of farm owners and a more balanced farm
program, but it, like the Coastal Plain, suffers from a deficiency in live-
stock and dairy products.
The Mountain Region is an area of diversified farming on a domestic
scale. With the exception of potatoes, cabbage, and tobacco, products
grown for sale represent only a small part of the total agricultural prod-
uce. Tobacco is the only money crop of any importance. Other crops
are corn, wheat, a little buckwheat, oats, rye, sorghum, late varieties of
Irish potatoes, and hay. Beef cattle and sheep are raised in considerable
numbers, and the region is particularly adapted to poultry raising and
dairying. Cheese making is an important industry in the northwestern
counties. Fertile valleys, especially those in the thermal belt, are par-
ticularly suited to fruit growing and truck farming.
Many farm families in the Mountain Region derive an income from
the cultivation and gathering of drug plants, especially ginseng and
golden seal. There is some income from the sale of ornamental leaves
and shrubbery, and a trend toward the cultivation of mountain shrubbery
for commercial purposes.
Corn, one of the great crops of North Carolina before the coming of
the white man, is produced in every county. In 1935 the value of the
crop to the State was a little more than $32,000,000.
Although North Carolina is still deficient in livestock, in 1935 there
were 684,266 head of cattle, an increase of nearly 30 percent over the
previous five years. In the same year, 2,500,000 pounds of dairy butter,
26,000,000 pounds of farm butter, and 30,000,000 gallons of fluid milk
were produced. There were 362,104 horses and mules, 947,143 swine,
8,806,000 chickens, and 90,708 turkeys on North Carolina farms.
Between 1932 and 1935 the gross income of North Carolina farmers
rose to slightly over $300,000,000, more than doubling in three years.
These figures indicate, among other things, the increasing interest the
farmers are taking in a balanced farm program and the conservation
of soil.
One of the most serious economic and social problems with which
North Carolina has to deal is farm tenancy. Almost half the farms in the
State are operated by tenants who have little chance for farm owner-
ship. Most of these tenants live on the Coastal Plain, where the large
cotton and tobacco crops are produced. They frequently move from
farm to farm, and are drawn to the factories by the promise of ready
money.
Extensive programs in reclamation, conservation, and rehabilitation
AGRICULTURE 63
are being carried on in North Carolina by State and Federal agencies.
Experiment farms and nurseries are conducted by the State in the
Coastal, Piedmont, and Mountain sections and many of the counties
maintain farm agents and home demonstration agents. The State
College Extension Service is conducting a program to encourage bal-
anced farming, increased livestock production, and more scientific utili-
zation of the land. The first 4-H club was organized in 1909 in Hertford
County. There are now (1939) 1,500 such clubs in the State with a total
membership of 43,000.
The Farm Security Administration of the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture has organized subsistence homestead projects at Scuppernong
Farms, on the border of Lake Phelps in Tyrrell and Washington Coun-
ties, and at Penderlea, in Pender County. Projects for demonstration in
soil conservation, especially erosion control, were established in numer-
ous sections of the State by Federal Government agencies during the
1930's.
MODES OF TRAVEL
THE FIRST settlers in North Carolina found Indian trails that
penetrated the dense forests in many directions. These trails,
twelve to eighteen inches wide, which led by the most direct
route from stream to stream, were the first trading paths of the colonists
and were the basis for many of their roads. Wherever possible the
Indians traveled by water; the white settlers wisely followed their
example, learning from them how to build canoes from the materials
at hand.
The earliest settlements were made on the coast and along the many
rivers of the Coastal Plain. Merchants and farmers found it necessary to
be near navigable streams, and all towns of any commercial importance
in the eastern part of the State were on rivers or sounds.
Most common of the many kinds of small craft used on the inland
waterways were canoes and "periaugers," which seem to be a North
Carolina variation of the popular "pirogue." In A Voyage to Georgia,
Begun in the year 1J35, periaugers are described as : ". . . long flat bot-
tom'd Boats, carrying from 20 to 35 tons. They have a kind of a Fore-
castle and a cabbin, but the rest open, and no deck. They have two masts,
which they can strike, and sails like Schooners."
Nearly all early household inventories included one or more canoes.
Brickell, in 1735, wrote that there were some canoes so large that they
"will carry two or three Horses over these large Rivers, and others so
small that they will carry only two or three men."
Among the pleasure boats, which were also necessary craft when there
were few roads from plantation to town, is that described by Janet
Schaw, who visited her brother's Tidewater plantation just before the
Revolution. Miss Schaw made the journey from Schawfield plantation
down the Cape Fear River to Wilmington in "a very fine boat with an
awning to prevent the heat, and six stout Negroes in neat uniforms to
row her down."
Rafts or "flats" were in common use on the rivers to transport tobacco,
tar, pitch, and turpentine. An Englishman, J. F. D. Smyth, who made a
trip to North Carolina about 1770, notes at Halifax on the Roanoke
64
MODES OF TRAVEL 65
River that "sloops, schooners, and flats, or lighters of great burden, come
up to this town."
The Intracoastal Waterway, following a continuous series of rivers,
sounds, and canals lying within the Atlantic coast, had its beginning in
1763 when George Washington made a survey of the Dismal Swamp
Canal for the State of Virginia. Commercial transportation in small
crafts is steadily increasing in this waterway. It is used also by yachts-
men bound for Florida and by sportsmen who visit the hunting and
fishing grounds that lie along the coast.
Of the principal rivers of the State, the Meherrin is navigable
from its mouth on the Chowan River to Murfreesboro; the Chowan,
between Albemarle Sound and the confluence of Nottoway and Black-
water Rivers; the Roanoke, between the mouth and Hamilton; the
Pamlico and Tar, from the mouth to Washington (2.6-foot channel at
Greenville) ; the Neuse to a point 23 miles above New Bern. Since the
time of the early settlements the Cape Fear River was navigable to
Fayetteville, a distance of 115 miles above Wilmington. In 1923 naviga-
tion to Fayetteville was abandoned, but in 1936 the channel was deep-
ened and new locks were constructed so that the river affords a channel
27 feet over the ocean bar, 30 feet deep to Wilmington, 19 feet deep to
a point 9 miles above Wilmington, and 9 feet to the head of naviga-
tion at Fayetteville.
From Colonial times Wilmington was the principal port, and since the
channel was deepened the city has become an important point for dis-
tribution of gasoline and other petroleum products and for a large
export trade. Construction of great piers and deepening of the channel
at Morehead City in 1935-37 have made the port available to large ships
that may arrive, dock, and depart under their own power. Eliz-
abeth City enjoys a thriving trade on the inner course of the Intra-
coastal Waterway and along the Pasquotank River from Albemarle
Sound.
In the early days travel by land was more difficult than by water.
Efforts at road building in eastern Carolina were hampered by the
numerous creeks, rivers, and swamps. Yet many roads were made in
the 1 8th century in both the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont. From
north to south a highway ran through Edenton, Bath, New Bern, Wil-
mington, and Brunswick. Brickell says that the road "from Edentown
to Virginia" was "broad and convenient, for all sorts of Carriages, such
as Coaches, Chaises, Waggons and Carts, and especially for Horsemen."
The Northeast Branch of the Cape Fear was crossed by a bridge which,
according to Janet Schaw, "opens at the middle to both sides and rises
by pullies, so as to suffer Ships to pass under it." This was Herons
Bridge, one of the few drawbridges in the Colonies. A later 18th-century
DO NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
road ran north and south from Halifax to Tarboro and another went to
Cross Creek (now Fayetteville) .
The constant stream of families moving from Pennsylvania and
Maryland to North Carolina followed the "upper road" through the
mountains or the "lower road" across the Coastal Plain. They traveled
in large parties, camping out at night, and buying food from farmers
along the way. Some of the men of the party, on horseback or on
foot, preceded the wagons to clear the way, others followed as rear
guard.
A party of Moravians moving in 1753 from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
to take up their lands in Piedmont North Carolina, followed the diffi-
cult upper road along the Blue Ridge. In their diary the Moravians
recorded that "the road sloped so that we could hardly keep the wagon
from slipping over the edge of the mountain and we had to use the
tackle frequently." In 1759 another party of Moravians came down by
the lower road, "bad in many places it is true, but far easier to travel."
The few taverns in 18th-century North Carolina generally were de-
scribed by travelers as "wretched," yet the State made an effort to
regulate them. Before 1741 tavern keepers had to obtain licenses from
the Governor, and after that from the county court. The law specified
that the tavern keeper set up plain signs and provide "good and suffi-
cient Houses, Lodging, and entertainment for Travellers, their servants
and Horses."
However, there were a few excellent taverns and coffee houses. One
at Bute Courthouse was run by Jethro Sumner, a Revolutionary soldier.
Another, the Horniblow Tavern of Edenton, was a gathering place for
lawyers, and the center of community discussions of law, politics, and
literature. At Salem was a good tavern, built by the Moravians as early
as 1772, and operated by the church. The landlord was instructed to
treat his guests with "kindness and cordiality, but not to encourage
them to be intemperate," and to behave so that the guests could tell
"that we are an honest and a Christian people, such as they have never
before found in a tavern."
At the end of the 18th century, horseback was still the best means of
travel. A man with a good horse could average 35 miles a day, pass-
ing through rivers, swamps, and marshes that would have halted
any vehicle. Four-wheeled wagons drawn by two or four horses carried
the produce of planters and the wares of merchants. The Moravians in
the Piedmont section, who carried on an extensive trade with Beth-
lehem, Pennsylvania, and with the coast towns of the Carolinas, re-
quired from 25 to 30 days to make the return trip by wagon from Charles
Town to Salem, averaging about 18 miles a day.
By 1789 a stagecoach was running between Washington and Edenton,
MODES OF TRAVEL 67
and between Edenton and Suffolk, Virginia. In the early 19th
century there were regular lines connecting all important towns, and
over these the coaches usually ran three times a week. A letter to Gov-
ernor Morehead, in 1849, complains that the cost of a journey from
Charlotte to Goldsboro, 210 miles, is $23, while in Georgia or South
Carolina the same distance could be covered for $5. As early as 1825 a
line of United States mail coaches with two stages a week started at
Fredericksburg, Virginia, passed through North Carolina by way of
Greensboro, Salisbury, and Charlotte and went on to Milledgeville,
Georgia, traversing 586 miles in 11 days.
Toll roads, operated by private companies, had been in use for many
years when North Carolina began in the 1850's to build plank roads.
Following an experiment in Canada in 1834, a veritable fever for build-
ing plank roads developed in the United States. In North Carolina the
roads were mostly constructed by private companies and operated as
toll roads. The principal plank roads radiated from Fayetteville, a com-
mercial point on the Cape Fear River, and longest and most important
of these was the road from Fayetteville via Salem to Bethania, a distance
of 129 miles. Fifteen tollhouses on this road collected tolls as follows:
l / 2 $ per mile for man on horseback; 1$ for one-horse vehicle; 20 for
two-horse team; 30 for three-horse team; 4^ for six-horse team. In 1852
there were 32 plank roads in the State. By the middle 1850's the North
Carolina and Western North Carolina Railroads, having penetrated far
into the Piedmont, began to carry produce to markets, and by i860 the
plank roads had practically disappeared.
Prior to 1885 public roads were laid out and maintained by local
authorities in small road districts. The roads were merely routes and
cannot be said to have been built, but only cleared of obstructions. The
method of upkeep was to require labor, generally six days a year, of all
able-bodied men, slaves as well as freemen. Any slave owner who
should have as many as three slaves to send out for road work was
excused from performing the service himself. Taxes were levied for
bridges only.
The first departure from the old labor-tax method took place in 1885,
but at the opening of the 20th century the old method of road upkeep
had been abandoned in only two counties in the State. About one-fourth
of the counties had supplemented the labor-tax method with special
road taxes and improved methods. Mecklenburg was the first county
to establish a county road system, and for many years had the best
roads in the State. They were built by convict labor at a cost of from
$2,700 to $4,000 per mile, including the care and feeding of the con-
victs. Buncombe and Guilford Counties were next to follow with county
systems.
68 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
About 1900 the good roads movement received a great impetus from
the establishment of the rural free delivery of mail, and the farmers,
who as a class had opposed the movement, became converted by the
prospect of a daily visit from the mail carrier.
In October 1901 a Good Roads Train, one of several operating in the
United States that year, was started by the Southern Railway Company
from Alexandria, Virginia. Stops were made at Winston-Salem and
Asheville in the fall, and at Raleigh in February. Road conventions were
held in each of the towns, where Governor Aycock and other leading
citizens addressed enthusiastic audiences. At a mammoth convention in
Raleigh the crowning event was the organization of the North Carolina
Good Roads Association, which became the focal point of the movement.
In 191 1 the legislature appointed a central highway committee which
was to get the counties to cooperate in routing a highway from Morehead
City through Raleigh, Greensboro, Salisbury, and Asheville to the Ten-
nessee Line. The route followed the line of a railroad built about the
middle of the previous century. Today that roundabout course is closely
followed by the excellent US 70.
The importance of the automobile in the story of road building can
scarcely be overestimated, as modern public roads are primarily motor
highways. In 1913 there were 10,000 motor vehicles in the State; in 1919
there were 109,000. Not only was public sentiment for good roads
greatly increased by the increasing number of automobiles, but the
whole purpose of road building was changed, and the county as an
administrative unit was found to be inadequate. License fees and gaso-
line taxes brought in new sources of revenue.
The year 1919 stands out in North Carolina road history; in that year
much larger sums were appropriated to match increased Federal allot-
ments, and Frank Page was appointed chairman of the State Highway
Commission. During the ten years he was in office Mr. Page served with
marked ability and integrity. The 1919 program still adhered to the
county maintenance plan, aided by State and Federal funds.
Beginning in 1921, the State took sole responsibility for the construc-
tion and maintenance of a system of hard-surfaced highways to connect
all county seats. The change in public opinion that made possible a
bond issue of $50,000,000 for this purpose was partly due to the indus-
trial development of the World War period. In eight years a primary
highway system of 7,500 miles was built, with all main routes con-
structed of concrete or asphalt. In 1933 the State assumed full respon-
sibility for maintaining the entire secondary road system, constituting
about 4,500 miles. In 1938, North Carolina had 10,762 miles of num-
bered highways which constituted the State highway system, and 48,216
miles of improved county roads. A notable activity of the last few years
MODES OF TRAVEL 69
has been the building or improvement of numerous farm-to-market
roads with the aid of Federal funds.
Agitation for railroads began in 1828 when Dr. Joseph Caldwell,
president of the State university, proposed that a line be built from
Beaufort and New Bern to the Tennessee Line. The State was divided
over this proposal, however, and no such railroad was commenced for
20 years. The Raleigh Experimental Railroad, a mile and a half
long, was the first to be constructed (1833) and was successfully used
to move stone for rebuilding the capitol. Horse power appears to have
been used.
Ten railroads were chartered by the general assembly of 1833-34, only
two of which were constructed: the Wilmington & Raleigh and the
Raleigh & Gaston, both completed in 1840. The Wilmington & Raleigh
was 1 61. 5 miles long, and was reported to be the longest railroad in the
world at the time. Rails were of heart pine faced with iron strips. The
road cost nearly two million dollars and was built by private enterprise.
As a result of State aid in the construction of the more important
routes, the central part of North Carolina is now well provided with
railroad facilities, both for north and south trunk lines and short haul
lines. North Carolina commerce is not handled through home ports to
any considerable extent; hence, there is no east-west railroad based upon
the existence of an adequate port, and the State suffers from high freight
rates to and from the East and Middle West. North Carolina is served
(1939) by 4 trunk lines and some 30 independent lines with a total
trackage of 4,800 miles.
Asheville had the first electric street railway in North Carolina, its
initial line being built in 1889. Similar systems were established soon
after in the other large cities. In 1934 streetcars began giving way to
buses throughout the State; since then a few trackless trolleys have been
installed.
Bus transportation had begun in 1922, when the Carolina Motor Com-
pany operated without a charter between Raleigh and Durham. The
first chartered bus company was the Highway Motor Transit Company
of Goldsboro, organized in 1925, operating between Raleigh and Wil-
mington. In 1939, 24 bus companies were serving the State, under the
supervision of the State Utilities Commission. There are approximately
5,000 miles of bus lines in the State.
North Carolina is crossed by two regular mail and passenger air
routes, operated by Eastern Air Lines. On the New York to Miami
route, Raleigh is the only stop between Washington and Charleston.
The New York to New Orleans route has airports at Greensboro and
Charlotte. There are 20 airports in the State; 13 are municipal,
6 commercial, and 1 military. Six airports — Charlotte, Greensboro,
yo NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Pope Field (Fort Bragg), Raleigh, Rocky Mount, and Winston-Salem
— are equipped for night flying, as are the three intermediate landing
fields at Lexington, Maxton, and Warrenton. In addition there are five
auxiliary landing fields. Radio range beacons are operated at Raleigh
and Greensboro. Seaplane anchorages are at Edenton and Ocracoke.
In 1939 the United States Coast Guard had under construction at
Elizabeth City an air base with a mile of water frontage on Pasquo-
tank River. This will be the midway Coast Guard air base between
Cape May, New Jersey, and Charleston, South Carolina.
INDUSTRY AND LABOR
Industry
IN NORTH CAROLINA, as elsewhere in the South, there was
comparatively little interest in manufacturing before the War be-
tween the States. Capital and managerial skill were devoted chiefly
to large-scale agriculture. The plantation economy, with its base in
slavery, was not conducive to the growth of industrial enterprise.
The first cotton mill not only in the State but in the South, and also
the first mill south of the Potomac operated by water power, was estab-
lished by Michael Schenck near Lincolnton in 1813. The second mill,
which today is the oldest plant in the State, was erected by Joel Battle
in 1817 at the Falls of the Tar River on the edge of what is now the
city of Rocky Mount. In 1830 Dinny Humphries built in Greensboro
the first mill in the South to be operated by steam, and during the 30's
E. M. Holt established in Alamance County the first complete southern
cotton mill, covering the entire line of processing from raw cotton to
fabrics. During the 1840's mills were organized at Concord, Salisbury,
Mocksville, and Winston-Salem. However, by i860 there were actually
fewer spindles in operation in the State than there had been in 1840,
although the South as a whole had made some progress.
On the eve of the war, North Carolina had 39 small cotton mills em-
ploying 1,764 wage earners. Of the seven woolen mills in the State, only
two — those at Rock Island and Salem — were of any considerable size.
The naval-stores industry, however, was of unusual importance. More
than 1,000 small establishments accounted for 70 percent of the national
output of crude turpentine, and nearly 500 were making the distilled
product. Numerous small enterprises, gristmills, sawmills, cooperage
firms, and others, supplied strictly local markets. By i860 only a few
more than 14,000 wage earners were employed in all manufacturing and
mechanical occupations.
Four years of war shattered the old economy of the South. North
Carolina was drained of its able-bodied white men, and production was
in the hands of old men, women, children, and Negroes. Agriculture
71
72 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
declined; the market for cotton was inaccessible. The vital imports
upon which the State had formerly relied were excluded by the blockade.
There was neither the time nor the capital to add to the rudimentary
industrial structure already in existence.
At the close of the war, the fundamental and immediate economic
problem was the adjustment of agriculture to the changed status of the
Negro. The revival of industry was less rapid than that of agriculture,
but between 1870 and 1880 there was a slow upward movement in
manufacturing. Invested capital increased from more than $8,000,000 to
slightly more than $13,000,000; the average number of wage earners
increased from 13,500 to more than 18,000.
Beginning about 1880, an unprecedented interest in manufacturing
began to develop. Local newspapers devoted increasing space to the
subject, frequently issuing special industrial editions, and the State gov-
ernment was manifesting its interest. The drive for manufactures took
on something of the aspect of a crusade. This is reflected in the figures
on industrial growth. In cotton textiles alone the number of wage
earners increased from about 3,000 in 1880 to more than 30,000 in 1900,
and the invested capital from $2,500,000 to more than $33,000,000. North
Carolina is now second only to Massachusetts in the production
of cotton textiles. In 1935 the 311 mills in operation employed
93,964 workers, and the total output from these mills was valued at
$ 2 33736,776.
In industry as a whole, capital increased from $13,000,000 in 1880 to
$76,000,000 in 1900, while wage earners increased in number from 18,000
to 70,000. In 1935 the United States census of manufactures reported a
total of 2,632 establishments, employing 229,534 persons, who received
$152,037,000 in wages, and the value of finished products was
$1,111,978,000.
Industrial Growth and Diversification. While population in North
Carolina increased more than 100 percent between 1880 and 1930, the
number of wage earners employed in manufacturing increased more
than 1,000 percent. About 66 percent of all wage earners in manufac-
turing in 1935 were employed in four industries: tobacco, furniture,
lumber, and the various textile divisions (cotton, knitgoods, silk, rayon,
wool, dyeing, and finishing) .
The cotton-textile industry was the spearhead of industrial advance in
the State. Its growth, with minor interruptions, was steady between 1880
and 1930. Like the tobacco and furniture industries, cotton manufactur-
ing is concentrated in the Piedmont. In the beginning, only the coarser
yarns were spun, but numerous mills today spin medium and fine yarns.
The knitgoods industry in North Carolina had little importance until
after the beginning of the 20th century. In 1935 there were employed,
INDUSTRYANDLABOR 73
principally in the hosiery mills, some 32,637 wage earners. Underwear is
also manufactured.
The other textile industries, wool and silk, are of relatively minor
importance in North Carolina. Together they employ only a few thou-
sand wage earners. The expansion of the rayon industry, however,
seems likely. The 27 manufacturing plants existing in 1935 employed
11,389 persons, and their total production for that year was valued at
$33,205,761. More than 7,000 wage earners were employed in 1935 in
dyeing and finishing cotton, rayon, and silk.
North Carolina did not participate largely in either the culture or the
manufacture of tobacco before the War between the States. The foun-
dation of an extensive tobacco culture was laid by the notable discovery
in Caswell County in 1852 that a sweeter and brighter leaf could be
raised in porous and sandy soil. The new "bright tobacco" proved admir-
ably adapted for a new tobacco product, the cigarette, as well as for other
manufactured forms of the "weed."
Durham was a creation of the tobacco industry. By 1884 there were
eight smoking-tobacco factories in the town, in addition to one cigar
factory and one plug-tobacco factory. It was here that Washington Duke
and his sons forged to a position of leadership in the industry. Their
triumph was assured when, on April 30, 1884, they installed the Bonsack
cigarette machine, with a capacity of 120,000 cigarettes per ten-hour day.
The centers of tobacco manufacture in North Carolina are Durham,
Winston-Salem, and Reidsville. The cigarette branch of the industry
has risen steadily in importance; the total value of the product in 1935
amounted to $463,280,743.
The first furniture factory in North Carolina, and probably in the
South, was established at Mebane in 1881. By 1900 more than 1,700
wage earners were employed in the 44 establishments reporting to the
census of manufactures. High Point is today one of the major furniture
centers of the country; the industry has also developed at Thomasville,
Hickory, Statesville, Morganton, Mebane, and other points in the State.
In 1935 there were 118 establishments in the State, and 13,640 wage
earners were employed. In 1937 North Carolina ranked first among the
States in the production of wooden dining room and bedroom furniture,
and second in the manufacture of wooden kitchen furniture.
Although the naval-stores industry began to decline about 1880, the
production of lumber shortly thereafter assumed significant proportions.
North Carolina pine first appeared in the New York market in 1886.
The exhaustion of the white pine forests of the Great Lakes Region and
the construction of railroads in the coastal region of the South stimulated
the growth of the southern lumber industry. The industry in the State
reached its peak about 1909. In that year, and again in 1914, North
74 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Carolina ranked fourth among the States in lumber production. In
1935, according to the census of manufacturers, the principal lumber
industries in the State — lumber and timber products, planing-mill
products, wooden boxes, and cooperage — had a total output valued at
$28,400,927.
Although these four industries are predominant, a number of other
manufacturing activities round out the industrial structure in North
Carolina. Among these activities are mineral products, stone cutting,
and the making of fertilizer, clay products, leather, work clothing, cot-
tonseed products, etc. In addition there are numerous minor industries,
such as printing and baking, which cater almost exclusively to local
markets.
Capital and Labor Supply. It is not known to what extent the growth
of industry in North Carolina has depended upon outside capital. It
seems likely, however, that this dependence has been relatively small.
Lacy writes that he has been able to find no evidence of any cotton mill
established in North Carolina by northern capital before 1895, and
records of only a few between 1895 and 1900. In more recent years out-
side capital has assumed greater importance in the textile industry,
although it has been more important in some other Southern States than
in North Carolina.
The tobacco industry of the State was for the most part financed
locally. The Dukes and the Reynolds based the expansion of their enter-
prises on reinvested earnings, especially during the formative period.
The furniture industry also was locally financed. Certainly the early
adventurers in this industry operated with their own capital plus local
borrowings. Some outside capital has gone into the lumber industry.
Moreover, North Carolina industry has been manned almost wholly
by local workers and by workers from the surrounding Southern States.
From 1880 to the present time the farms have provided a steady stream
of men, women, and children to perform the tasks created by industry.
Although rates of remuneration in industry have been generally low,
hours of labor long, and working and living conditions often unsatis-
factory, tens of thousands of workers have preferred to leave a struggle
on the farm for employment in the mill.
The lumber and furniture industries employ only men, but cotton
textiles, hosiery, and tobacco have used women and children. In 1929,
more than 44 percent of the wage earners in manufacturing in the State
were women. As late as 1909, more than 27 percent of the wage earners
in the hosiery industry were under 16 years of age; in cotton textiles,
nearly 19 percent; in tobacco, about 17 percent. After 1909 the employ-
ment of children in manufacturing declined. The child labor law of
1919 forbade employment of workers under 14 years of age, and the
INDUSTRY A XD LABOR 75
statute of 1937 prohibited the employment of workers under 16 years
of age.
Industrial Relations
The Pattern. The determination of wages, hours, and other condi-
tions of employment in North Carolina has been largely in the hands
of the employer. Except for short periods, collective bargaining between
workers and employers has not vitally affected industrial relations.
There has been a large measure of industrial paternalism, particularly
in the textile industry.
In the early days there was a social basis for paternalism. Most of
the textile mills, for instance, were locally owned and operated, and
workers were recruited from the surrounding countryside. The rela-
tionship between owner and worker was a personal one. The isolated
position of many of the mills necessitated the construction of houses by
the company, and thus the company-owned mill village developed. The
mill owner "looked after" his workers. The worker had to adjust him-
self to a new environment and to a new discipline. Paternalism, more-
over, was rooted in the semifeudal agriculture that encircled the new
industry.
Labor Organization. The first organized labor movement to reach
the industrial workers of the State was that of the Knights of Labor in
the 1880's. Before this time there had been local unions of skilled
mechanics, but the Knights of Labor influenced the factory workers at
the very beginning of industrial development in the State.
The first assembly (the unit of organization) of the Knights of Labor
in North Carolina was organized in Raleigh on June 18, 1884. A sur-
prisingly large number of assemblies were formed in a very short time;
in 1888, 64 such bodies in the State voted in a referendum held by a
national organization. The assemblies were of the "mixed" variety, that
is, they included workers from various occupations. A few short-lived
labor papers appeared in the State. Nationally, the organization reached
its greatest strength in 1886, and thereafter declined rapidly. The peak
in the South came a year or so later, but the decline was equally pre-
cipitous. Although few tangible benefits were won by the organization
in North Carolina, many new problems were discussed, and the idea
of labor solidarity was given some semblance of reality.
Between 1898 and 1901, organization under the leadership of the
American Federation of Labor proceeded on a considerable scale. Rising
prices lent impetus to the movement. By 1901 there were at least 16
locals in the State. A number of small strikes and lockouts resulted but
the real test of strength came in Alamance County in the fall of 1900,
j6 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
when the workers in 17 or 18 small mills walked out. The strike lasted
more than a month, and its defeat broke the back of the union move-
ment among the textile operatives.
Although organization among the factory workers had virtually dis-
appeared by 1902, many locals of skilled workers survived. In 1905 a
State Federation of Labor was formed, and thereafter craft-union mem-
bership grew slowly. A union movement of unprecedented vigor began
during the World War. The organization of skilled workers proceeded
apace, and the factory operatives in tobacco and textiles built large
although short-lived locals. The tobacco workers had their greatest suc-
cess in Winston-Salem, where in 1919 the union obtained a signed
agreement with the tobacco companies. This agreement covered 10,000
workers. Locals were also formed in Durham and Reidsville.
In August 1919 an organizer for the United Textile Workers in North
Carolina claimed that 30,000 workers had joined the union during the
previous few months. The estimate may not have been accurate, but
the movement into the union was certainly extensive. Forty-three locals
had been chartered in the State by that time. Two relatively successful
strikes in Charlotte early in 1919 stimulated organization among the
cotton-mill operatives. A number of other disputes followed, generally
with some gain for the workers involved. Stoppages occurred in Con-
cord, McAdensville, Mooresville, Salisbury, Raleigh, Gastonia, and else-
where.
By 1920, specific grievances in many cases had been adjusted, and
textile-union membership began to decline slowly. During the sharp
depression beginning in the latter part of 1920 and continuing through
1921, textile unionism virtually disappeared in the State. The unsuccess-
ful strike against severe wage cuts in 1921, involving 9,000 workers in
Charlotte, Huntersville, Concord, and Kannapolis, marked the decline
of the wartime movement.
After 1922 a few of the textile locals were reorganized. Some disputes
occurred. The most important stoppage was occasioned by an unor-
ganized strike at Henderson in 1927. In 1929, when the "stretch-out"
was added to grievances of longer standing, the dramatic disputes of
Gastonia and Marion startled the Nation. The American Federation of
Labor organizing campaign in the following year resulted in a con-
siderable growth of textile membership in the State. These gains were
soon lost, however, partly because of the depression and partly because
no great effort was made to hold them.
The business collapse beginning in 1929 brought a decisive drop in
labor standards. One consequence was a remarkable series of more or
less spontaneous strikes in furniture, hosiery, and cotton textiles in the
summer of 1932. The chief struggle centered at High Point, where 5,000
INDUSTRY AND LABOR J J
hosiery workers in 24 plants walked out. Cotton-mill workers in Rock-
ingham, High Point, and Thomasville, silk operatives in High Point,
and furniture workers in Thomasville were involved. There were
minor disputes at Winston-Salem, Roxboro, and Spindale. Some of the
settlements, especially in hosiery, represented partial victories for the
workers.
The passage of the National Industrial Recovery Act, with its recog-
nition of the right of collective bargaining, stimulated another wave
of union organization. Something of the strength of the movement can
be gaged from the fact that between 60,000 and 70,000 textile workers
went out in the unsuccessful general strike in the fall of 1934. Since that
time, although union membership has dropped off in some places, union
organization has been maintained or strengthened in other places.
Among the factory workers, union strength is greatest in cotton, hosiery,
and tobacco.
Labor Legislation. Labor legislation made little headway in North
Carolina until 1937, when several laws of an advanced type were en-
acted by the general assembly. Public opposition to the employment of
children in industry had begun to emerge in the 1890's, and a number
of child labor laws were passed between 1903 and 1931. All of these
set the age limit too low — 12 years in 1903, increased to 14 years in 1919
— and the earlier laws lacked provisions for enforcement. The law that
went into effect on July 1, 1937, is regarded as a model measure of its
kind. The employment of children in all manufacturing establishments,
and in 50 occupations specifically defined as dangerous, is prohibited.
Examination and certification of minors under 18 are required before
employment, and they are excluded from a smaller number of excep-
tionally hazardous occupations. Children between 14 and 16 may work
during school vacations not more than 40 hours a week or 8 hours a day
in approved occupations, and they are allowed part-time employment
during school sessions provided that school and work hours combined
do not exceed 8 hours a day.
Until 1937, North Carolina had no maximum-hours law for men,
and the 11 -hour law for women permitted a longer legal working day
for women than in any other State. The law of 1937 provides a maxi-
mum 9-hour day and a 48-hour week for women, with a 10-hour day and
a 55-hour week for men. Despite exemptions written into the original
bill, the law affects about 200,000 workers in the State and represents
a sharp reduction in the maximum hours of labor permitted.
A workmen's compensation law, administered by the State indus-
trial commission, was passed in 1929; and at a special session held in
December 1936 the general assembly enacted an unemployment com-
pensation law, providing for the setting up of a fund, a commission of
78 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
three members (including the commissioner of labor), and regulations
governing benefits, contributions, and machinery for operating the law.
The rate for 1938 and thereafter was set at 2.7 percent of wages paid.
Benefits are payable through the State employment office, and are fixed
at not more than $15 or less than $5 a week.
The same session of the general assembly enacted a law accepting
the provisions of the Federal Social Security Act and creating a division
of public assistance in the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare.
A bureau of labor was established in the State government as early as
1887. Its functions were gradually enlarged until, in 1931, a comprehen-
sive reorganization resulted in the present department of labor.
PUBLIC EDUCATION
ON THE night of April 4, 1912, a large audience had gathered
in Birmingham, Alabama, to hear Charles B. Aycock, former
Governor of North Carolina and widely known as the 'educa-
tional Governor." The subject of Aycock's speech was "Universal Edu-
cation." After he had talked for a few minutes, amidst enthusi-
astic applause, Aycock spoke the words: "I always talked about
education — ." Here he stopped, threw up his hands, reeled backward,
and fell dead.
This dramatic event was the climax of a long and fruitful effort on
behalf of public schools. In the ten years following Aycock's term as
Governor, public school expenditures and property values in North
Carolina increased threefold, the average salary of teachers was increased
50 percent, 3,500 more teachers were employed, and 3,000 additional
schools were opened for use.
Much of the credit for this development belongs to Aycock. But he
had in his time the support of Edwin A. Alderman, James Y. Joyner,
Charles D. Mclver, and other able educators; and he had back of him
more than a hundred years of interest and discussion, as well as more
than a decade of actual operation of a State-wide system of public
schools in the 1850's and 1860's.
North Carolina wrote into its first constitution its intention of having
a public school system and one or more centers of higher learning. A
bill for the establishment of free schools was introduced in the Colonial
assembly as early as 1749 and again in 1752, but was defeated; and in
1754 an appropriation of ^6,000 was made for building and endowing a
school, though this money was diverted to other uses.
Milestones in the State's educational progress were Archibald D.
Murphey's report to the legislature in 1817; the establishment of the
"Literary Fund" in 1825; the passage of a public school law in 1839;
the work of Calvin H. Wiley, first State Superintendent of Schools
(1853-65); the State-wide canvass by Charles D. Mclver and Edwin A.
Alderman as institute conductors in 1 890-1903; and the gubernatorial
campaign of Charles B. Aycock in 1900.
79
00 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
{For some account of the early development of educational activities
and interests in North Carolina, see history and religion.)
Many private academies had been established in the State by the
middle of the 19th century. Even in the latter part of the century it was
commonly believed that the constitutional provision for schools could
best be fulfilled by subsidizing the academies. This idea slowly gave
way to the belief in publicly supported schools for all the people. Steady
progress in the 20th century, as evidenced by increased expenditures,
better trained teachers, longer school terms, rural consolidation, and
other improvements, continued until the economic depression of the
early 1930's.
State appropriations for the public schools in North Carolina were
not reduced between 1931 and 1933, despite the fact that collections of
State revenue during this period fell $22,000,000 below the budget esti-
mates and county, city, and town revenue collections decreased in al-
most the same proportion. The 1931 general assembly, anticipating some
reduction in revenue, enacted a special law which prevented the Gov-
ernor, as director of the budget, from making any reduction in the
amount of money appropriated for the public schools. During this
period other State appropriations were reduced several millions of dol-
lars by budgetary control, but State school funds were not reduced.
By January 1933, however, it became apparent that, though State aid
for the schools should continue undiminished or even be increased,
many schools would be forced to close as a result of the inability of coun-
ties, cities, and towns to collect the school taxes levied on property. The
general assembly therefore enacted a law providing a State-wide eight-
months school term as the minimum for rural as well as city schools,
and decreed that this term should be entirely supported from State
revenues derived solely from indirect taxes. It then appropriated the
amount needed to operate all the schools for the ensuing two years,
thereby removing all taxes on property for school operating costs. The
administrative units had to continue to provide for debt service, to pro-
vide the school buildings and equip them. Under the law, any unit that
so desired could, by a vote of the people, levy supplementary school
taxes on property to provide a ninth month, employ additional teachers,
or supplement the State salary schedule. In order to provide the appropri-
ation of $16,000,000 a year for the maintenance of the eight-months
school term, other State appropriations were drastically cut. The prop-
erty tax load of the various subdivisions was reduced to the extent of
about $20,000,000 a year.
North Carolina is one of only two States with a State-supported and
State-administered uniform school system, the other being the State
of Delaware. Unusual economies in the cost of administration and
PUBLIC EDUCATION
operation have been brought about without any material sacrifice in
teaching service. There has been a steady increase in the training and
certification of teachers.
The total annual expenditure in North Carolina for public schools
amounts to more than $30,000,000. Most of the school buildings in the
State are modern and of approved design and are valued at approxi-
mately $110,000,000. More than $12,000,000 worth of new school facili-
ties were erected (1937-39).
There are more than 24,000 teachers in the State school system, whose
salaries aggregate more than $20,000,000 a year. Some 73 percent of the
more than 17,000 white teachers and 43 percent of the 7,000 or more
Negro teachers are college graduates and hold Grade A certificates.
In 1922 only 17 percent of the white teachers and 3 percent of the
Negro teachers were college graduates. The salaries of teachers in the
North Carolina public schools are based on their certification— that is,
the amount of college training — plus the number of years of teaching
experience, up to eight years.
North Carolina transports more children to and from school every
day than any other State in the United States. For 160 days of each
year, a fleet of 4,200 buses transports 306,000 school children at a cost
of $7.42 per child per year — the lowest net cost in the Nation. These
4,200 school buses travel an average of 150,000 miles a day over some
35,000 miles of State and county highways.
Some one-room schoolhouses are still left in the State, especially in
the mountains, where consolidation is difficult because of geographical
conditions as well as bad weather during the winter months. Consoli-
dation has been completed to a high degree in all the counties where it is
feasible and economical. Vocational education is stressed in the con-
solidated schools. Home economics and agriculture courses are offered
in most of the rural high schools, virtually all of which are consolidated
schools.
Approximately 830,000 children are (1939) enrolled in the public
school system of which 665,000 are in the elementary grades and 165,000
in the high schools. The largest school for Indian children in North
Carolina is at Cherokee, where 289 boarding and day students are en-
rolled. More than 200 Indian children attend day schools at Big Cove,
Birdtown, Snowbird, and Soco.
There are 918 high schools in North Carolina, of which 733 are for
white children and 185 for Negroes. Approximately 135,000 are enrolled
in the high schools for white children and about 30,000 in high schools
for Negroes. Marked progress has been made in the schools for Negroes,
especially in the high schools. Negroes comprise 29.73 percent of the
total school population in North Carolina.
82 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Instructional service, the curriculum, and certification of teachers are
under the administration of the State department of public instruction,
while all fiscal affairs are under the general control of the State school
commission.
The University of North Carolina, consisting of the university at
Chapel Hill (3,500), the agricultural and engineering college at Raleigh
(2,215) ana1 tne woman's college at Greensboro (1,697), nas a signifi-
cant place in the cultural life of the South. State-supported institutions
include also East Carolina Teachers College at Greenville, the Western
Carolina Teachers College at Cullowhee, and three other standard
normal schools for white students; the North Carolina Agricultural and
Technical College at Greensboro and four standard normal schools for
Negroes; and the Cherokee Indian Normal School at Pembroke in
Robeson County.
Besides Duke University at Durham (3,364), outstanding among
endowed institutions, the State has many accredited colleges and normal
schools that are denominational or privately supported. These include
Wake Forest College at Wake Forest (978), Davidson College at David-
son (678), and Meredith College at Raleigh (538). Among institutions
for Negroes are: Shaw University at Raleigh, North Carolina College
for Negroes at Durham, and Johnson C. Smith University at Charlotte.
Most of Cabarrus County has had a system of progressive schools since
1930. The program emphasizes cooperation rather than competition as
an incentive, and the correlation of the subject material in large units
of work.
Goldsboro, in the center of the Coastal Plain, began a program of
progressive education in 1932. The Goldsboro High School is one of
three in the State which are accredited by the Southern Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools without requirement of the customary
units of credit for college entrance. The other two high schools similarly
accredited are in Charlotte and Greenville.
The school in the village of Ellerbe, Richmond County, has attracted
national attention by successful teaching activities founded on socially
valuable experience. Teachers College of Columbia University has sent
a number of students to observe the work of this school. The students
conduct a nursery of native plants, operate a print shop, make furniture
and other handicraft products, have catalogued the school library of
12,000 volumes, have built playground equipment and a cabin used for
social gatherings.
At Spring Hope in Nash County there is a special-opportunity school
for retarded pupils. A completely changed curriculum has been set up
for pupils whose needs are not met in the conventional curriculum and
who, on reaching the age limit for compulsory attendance, ordinarily
PUBLIC EDUCATION 83
drop out of school after repeated failure to qualify. The work has been
notably successful in avoiding the possible evils attendant upon segregat-
ing children for special work. The school receives a subsidy from the
General Education Board.
Adult education in North Carolina had its beginning about 1919.
The first State supervisor of adult education, Elizabeth Kelly, of Frank-
lin, won public support for the work. The methods of teaching reading
to adults, which were originated by Elizabeth C. Morriss in the com-
munity schools of Buncombe County, have been a notable contribution.
The John C. Campbell School at Brasstown is making an interesting
experiment in handicraft and folk culture. Another distinctive under-
taking is the Southern Summer School for Workers, which has held
11 of its 12 sessions in North Carolina. During a six-weeks period,
students from Southern States are given instruction in English and in
the analysis of economic and labor problems as related to Southern
industrial and rural workers. In 1938 and 1939 the school was held in the
Asheville Normal and Teachers College.
Since Aycock's time, illiteracy among whites has been reduced from
19.5 percent in 1900 to 5.6 percent in 1930; and among Negroes, from
47.6 percent in 1900 to 20.6 percent in 1930. The ratio of elementary
and secondary school enrollment to total population between the ages
of 5 and 17 increased from 63 percent for whites and 59 percent for
Negroes in 1900 to 82 percent for whites and 79 percent for Negroes in
IQ 35-
More important than any figures which can be quoted from the
records is the attitude of North Carolina toward its educational system.
The spirit of Aycock, the belief in the necessity of education for every-
one, is more alive today than ever. But no one now would think of
merely advocating "education." The problems today involve the defini-
tion of education: which kinds of training are to be given preference;
the problem of making schoolhouses community centers; of discovering
latent talents and diversifying training so as to develop these talents;
of making the schools serve the needs of those who do not go to college
as well as those who do; and of making education a continually devel-
oping process in the lives of everyone, young and old.
RELIGION
THOMAS HARRIOT, visiting in 1585 the coastal region of what
is now North Carolina, found that the Indians believed in the
immortality of the spirit and in "many gods, which they call
Mantoac, but of different sorts and degrees, one only chief and great
God, which has been from all eternity." The Indians of today, except
for lingering traces of a tribal religion practiced by the medicine men
and women and conjuring societies of the Cherokee, are predominantly
Baptist and Methodist.
The first baptism performed by English-speaking people in the New
World took place on Roanoke Island on August 13, 1587. The convert
was the Indian Manteo, and his baptism was followed a week later by
that of the infant Virginia Dare. These ceremonies, however, contrib-
uted no more toward the founding of a permanent religious establish-
ment than did Sir Walter Raleigh's efforts at colonization lead to a
permanent settlement in the region.
Religion as an organized force was introduced by the Quakers, and
their faith remained the only communion of importance until 1700.
William Edmundson, a Quaker missionary, preached in 1672 in Per-
quimans County, to a people with "little or no religion, for they came
and sat down in the meeting smoking their pipes." He was followed a
year later by George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, who spent 18 days
"sowing the Seed" in the Albemarle section. Of his work there he said,
"I have made a little entrance for truth upon the people." These pioneers
were followed by a succession of itinerant preachers who kept alive the
faith already implanted.
Quakerism attained its greatest influence under John Archdale,
Quaker and proprietor, Governor of the Province (1694-96). In 1701,
through the exertions of his successor, Gov. Henderson Walker, the
sect was divested of most of its political power.
The first church in the Colony was built in 1701-2 by the Vestry of
Chowan Parish, afterwards St. Paul's at Edenton. In 1715, a Colonial
law recognized the Church of England as the established church in
North Carolina. Other Protestant denominations developed slowly; in-
RELIGION 85
deed, as late as 1739 Governor Johnston reported that there were still
only two places in the Colony where church (Anglican) services were
regularly held. By the end of the Colonial period, however, most of the
Protestant sects were well represented.
From the beginning there was strong opposition to the Anglican
Church and the small gains made in the Colony were nullified by the
Revolution. Efforts were made in 1790 to organize an American Epis-
copal Church on the foundations of the Anglican, and in 1794 the
Rev. Charles Pettigrew was elected bishop, though he was never con-
secrated. Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft, holding office from 1823 to
1830, strove to build up the church against the opposition engendered
by the "political feelings associated with its very name." His successor,
Bishop Levi Silliman Ives, who served for 23 years, manifested such
strong Catholic leanings towards the close of his tenure as to disrupt
the church membership; he joined the Roman Catholic communion
before resigning his bishopric.
To Bishop Thomas Atkinson fell the double task of healing the
breach in the church ranks and of dislodging from the public mind the
idea that the Episcopal Church was primarily for the well-to-do. In the
latter respect he met with little success, for his denomination continued
to draw its membership chiefly from the planter aristocracy and the of-
ficial and professional classes. Consequently its members exerted greater
influence on the State's affairs than their numbers alone would seem to
warrant. Until after the War between the States, Episcopalianism was
confined almost exclusively to the eastern section.
Of the denominations that attained wide popular appeal, the first to
gain a foothold was the Baptist, though the first congregation, surviving
as the Shiloh Church, was not organized until 1727. By 1755 the Baptists
outnumbered all other denominations combined. Membership came
principally from the rural population and as late as i860 only 30 of the
780 churches were in towns or villages. The original church split over
doctrinal differences on several occasions. The most far-reaching divi-
sion came in 1830, when a group, disagreeing with the regular church
on the question of benevolences, withdrew and organized as the Primi-
tive Baptists. They opposed all missionary and Bible societies and theo-
logical seminaries as the "inventions of man and not warranted by the
word of God." Eventually, Baptist churches became as much a part of
the urban life of the State as other denominations.
Methodism, facing extreme difficulties, achieved numerical strength
second to the Baptists. Many manifested instant and violent opposition
to the sect because of its stand against slavery and its practice of preach-
ing directly to the Negroes. Methodist ministers were assaulted and their
churches burned. One man, exasperated by his wife's connection with
00 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
the faith, applied a blister plaster to her to cure her of Methodism. But
evangelistic zeal did not weaken. Joseph Pilmoor, who in 1772 delivered
a sermon at Currituck Courthouse, was soon followed by circuit riders
who covered the State from swamp to mountaintop. Some of the early
preachers were Negroes, and to that race belonged Henry Evans, founder
of the Fayetteville Church. The most indefatigable proponent of Meth-
odism in North Carolina was Bishop Francis Asbury, whose revealing
diary, kept from 1771 to 1815, is extant.
The Presbyterians preceded the Methodists by a number of years, but
they had a slower numerical growth. Their prestige came chiefly from
the scholarship of their ministers, who played a significant educational
role. Organized congregations of Presbyterians originated with the com-
ing of the Scotch-Irish from Pennsylvania into the Piedmont region
between 1735 and 1775. They were further increased by the Scotch High-
landers who came into the State by way of Wilmington after 1745.
Various other sects have contributed to North Carolina's many-sided
history, some with roots going back to Colonial days and others of more
recent origin. The Lutheran, German Reformed, and Moravian ele-
ments represent well-defined Teutonic waves, which came with the tide
of immigration into the Piedmont between 1745 and 1775. The Luther-
ans were the most numerous, but the Moravians attained particular
distinction. Since 1758 the Moravians have held impressive Easter Sun-
rise Services which attract as many as 50,000 people to the Home Church
in Winston-Salem.
Other denominations represented in the State include the Church of
Christ, Scientist; the Seventh Day and other Adventist bodies; the
Mormon; the Pentecostal and Pilgrim Holiness; the Universalist; the
Dunkard in the upper Piedmont, and the Mennonite on the edge of
Dismal Swamp. In the east near the Virginia border are congregations
of "black Jews" — Negro adherents of the Church of God and Saints of
Christ, who believe that they are descended from the lost tribes of Israel.
Aided largely by northern and to some extent by southern denomina-
tions, Negroes organized churches in great numbers after the War be-
tween the States. The Reconstruction period witnessed the founding by
northern churches of two universities, two colleges, and several lesser
schools for Negroes.
The bill of rights of the first State constitution declared that "all men
have a natural and inalienable right to worship Almighty God accord-
ing to the dictates of their own conscience." But the 32nd article of the
same document stated that "no person who shall deny the being of
God, or the truth of the Protestant religion, or the divine authority of
either the Old or New Testaments, or shall hold religious opinions in-
compatible with the freedom or safety of the State, shall be capable of
RELIGION 87
holding any office or place of trust or profit in the civil department
within this State." Jacob Henry, a Jew of Carteret County, served as a
member of the house of commons in 1808. In the year following, H. C.
Mills requested the house to declare the seat vacant because of Henry's
religion. Henry's defense was so stirring that the house voted in his
favor, and the speech was accorded wide circulation in all the Atlantic
Seaboard States.
William Gaston, a brilliant young jurist of the Catholic faith, later
influenced the modification of article 32. The change, made in 1835,
substituted the word "Christian" for "Protestant" but was still discrim-
inative since the term "Christian" excluded the Jews. In the 1868 con-
stitution, the terminology of the offending clause was changed so as to
debar from office only those who denied "the Being of Almighty God."
North Carolina was strongly influenced by the "Great Revival" that
swept the country after the Revolutionary War and lasted intermittently
until the War between the States. Beginning as separate movements
within a number of denominations, it grew into a mighty power that
left few people untouched by its manifestations. By 1804 the tide had
swept upward to its climax.
This emotional preaching, interspersed with stirring hymns, induced
physical manifestations known as "the exercises." These included the
phenomena known as jerking, wheeling, dancing, laughing, barking,
and falling down.
Rarer but no less interesting were the marrying and "impression"
exercises. Under their influence, one could claim to have a special revela-
tion from the Lord that a certain individual was his rightful mate, and
the person so designated, fearing damnation if he acted contrary to the
Lord's wishes, usually consented to the marriage. The Rev. Joseph
Moore wrote to the Rev. Jesse Lee in 1806 that "many got married, and
it was said some old maids, who had nearly gotten antiquated, managed
in this way to get husbands." One old woman had her entire crop of
flax broken free of charge because her "impression" was that the Lord
wanted a neighbor to perform the task for her.
The camp meeting became an established feature of the Great Re-
vival and its tradition still persists in the periodic revivals conducted
by the evangelical denominations, in itinerant tent meetings, and in
such scattered survivals as the annual interdenominational camp meet-
ings of the Pentecostal Holiness Church at Falcon and of the Columbia
Bible School and the Eliada Home, both near Asheville.
Notwithstanding its many excesses, the Great Revival brought to the
forefront trends in popular thought that had not yet lent their force
in any perceptible degree to the State's development. The churchman
received for a time a partial release from the restrictions of creed. His
00 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
thoughts became focused on the individual and through him on the
social welfare of mankind. The churches entered upon a definite period
of benevolent activities, and interested themselves in the establishment
of schools and poor relief.
The history of education and the history of religion in North Caro-
lina are closely interwoven. As early as 1715 the Quakers instructed
their members to be diligent in imparting to their children the rudi-
ments of learning. Some kind of school was the complement of each
meetinghouse. The Moravians, noted for their scholarship, exercised
considerable educational influence. During the Colonial era the Presby-
terians established several classical schools, the most noted of which was
the Rev. David Caldwell's school at Greensboro in 1767, where many
ministers, lawyers, and physicians were trained; and Queen's College
in Charlotte in 1771. Church-controlled academies were chartered by
legislative enactment for New Bern in 1766 and Edenton in 1770. Such
diverse and uncoordinated efforts toward education as were made prior
to the Revolution grew for the most part out of North Carolina's reli-
gious life.
After the Great Revival, Sunday schools, offering free instruction for
poor children in the rudimentary subjects, were established by nearly
every denomination. In 1825, the Orange County Sunday School So-
ciety, with 22 schools and an enrollment of 1,000, petitioned the State
legislature without success to levy a tax in behalf of its organization to
"save more children from a life of ignorance and vice." Out of such
beginnings grew more denominational schools of secondary standing.
However, it was only after the State university had been for 30 years
a subject of bitter controversy that denominations began to establish
colleges of their own.
Though religion played a significant role in shaping the formative
policies of the State university, the influence of William R. Davie, a
deist and a spokesman for 18th-century rationalism, was strongly felt.
Dr. Samuel McCorkle, Presbyterian preacher and teacher, and Davie,
the most influential of the trustees, typified the conflicting concepts. From
the beginning, charges of infidelity were brought against certain faculty
members, and with each new charge church support was further with-
drawn. In an effort to appease clerical criticism, the university required
all students to attend divine service and examined them each Sunday
afternoon in the general principles of religion and morality. But there
were those in the churches who remained unimpressed and who called
attention to the small number of ministers added to the clerical popu-
lation of North Carolina by the university.
The desire to provide a sectarian religious basis for higher education,
coupled with a feeling of social responsibility that had found expression
RELI GION
in the Sunday-school movement, gave rise to a number of denomina-
tional colleges (see education).
With their own colleges to foster, the denominations became increas-
ingly opposed to the idea of any State-supported educational institution.
When in 1837 the university trustees, desiring to increase its patronage,
offered free tuition to any applicant "of good character native of the
State, unable to pay Tuition Fees," and listed as one of the advantages
of attending the institution "the formation of lasting friendships and
associations . . . among those who are to constitute no small portion of
our future rulers, by the patronage of a State institution," the denomina-
tional colleges construed it as a challenge and powerful, unfair com-
petition. Charges were made by denominational papers that the uni-
versity was a source of positive evil and that it encouraged in its students
a desire for "worldly greatness without any particular reference to the
higher and grander interests of the soul."
Strangely enough, while the denominations fought the university,
each struggled for its proportionate share of control in the university's
affairs. From the beginning an intense jealousy of the Presbyterians
existed among the other denominations, because for many years a
majority of the faculty members and most of the presidents were Pres-
byterians. Opposition to the university and a struggle for adequate
representation in its conduct continued as active forces in the denomina-
tional life of North Carolina until the late 1890's.
With the dawn of the 20th century came an era of conciliation between
church and state in the educational field. This change can be attributed
partly to the broader vision of leaders in both factions, and partly to the
firmer financial foundations that the denominational colleges had estab-
lished. Then, too, public school education had been provided for by
the State and the charge could no longer be made that State education
was aristocratic. Religious and secular forces achieved a spirit of amity
which leaves little evidence of intolerance. An anti-evolution bill, for-
bidding the teaching of evolution in any State-supported school of North
Carolina, received very limited backing when introduced in the legisla-
ture during the Scopes trial in Tennessee.
Meanwhile, denominations have increased in number and in mem-
bership. North Carolina has a church-going population of more than
1,400,000, distributed among 67 denominations, and worshiping in more
than 10,000 churches. In 1926 it ranked fifth among the States in num-
ber of churches, twelfth in number of church members, and third in
number of church members in rural areas.
SPORTS
AND RECREATION
DESPITE the difficulties attending travel, the settlers of Colonial
North Carolina would ride 50 miles to see a horse race, or leave
their businesses to watch an impromptu cock fight outside a
tavern.
Dr. Brickell, in his Natural History of North Carolina, published
in 1737, notes that there were "Race-Paths near each Town, and in many
parts of the Country." Besides the public courses there were race tracks
on most large plantations. Horses for racing not only were bred on
plantations but were imported from England. The jockeys were often
young Negroes who rode bareback. In North Carolina the quarter-race,
a short swift dash made by two horses on parallel paths, was especially
popular.
William Attmore, a Philadelphia merchant who visited the Colony
in 1787, saw many evils in connection with racing. Not only were large
numbers of people drawn from their work, but there was "wagering
and betting; much quarreling, wrangling, Anger, Swearing &
drinking. . ." Attmore saw "white Boys, and Negroes eagerly bet-
ting Vi a quart of Rum, a drink of Grog, &c, as well as Gentlemen
betting high. . ." The Gentlemen sometimes staked a plantation on a
race.
Cock fighting with birds imported from England and Ireland
had as much attraction as races between thoroughbred horses. Cham-
pion cocks were also bred in the Colony and were known by name and
rated by their prowess. Such prize cocks fought the cocks of rival coun-
ties and even those of neighboring Colonies, while great crowds gath-
ered to watch, and betting was heavy.
The crude sport of gander pulling was considered a prime amuse-
ment. "This," wrote a Colonial gentleman, "consists in hanging an old
tough gander by the heels, rubbing his neck well with grease and soap,
then riding under him with speed, seizing him by the neck as you
pass, and endeavoring to pull his head off."
Militia musters were ordinarily celebrated with sports as well as with
drinking and gambling. Elections and other public gatherings also
furnished such opportunities. Favorite sports were throwing the sledge;
90
SPORTS AND RECREATION 91
wrestling; jumping over ditches and hedges; fives, which was a kind
of hand tennis; long bullets, a kind of football; bandy, a forerunner of
golf, sometimes called cambuc or goff ; football, an early variant of the
modern game, somewhat like soccer; quoits; tenpins; shooting matches,
and horse races.
Dance frolics, as they were called, were popular from the early days
until they received a widespread check from the camp-meeting move-
ment not long before the War between the States. Although dancing
and even the musical instruments associated with the dance were se-
verely denounced by revivalists, the square dance with its numerous
figures has persisted in all sections of the State.
Men gathered at taverns to play billiards and cards, to bowl, and to
drink and gamble. Peter de Bois, living in Wilmington, wrote that
"an intollerable itch for gaming prevails in all companies." A favorite
game was all-fours, which was similar to seven-up and muggins.
In 1753 the general assembly passed an act "to prevent excessive and
deceitful Gaming." Tavern keepers were forbidden to allow on their
premises any game of chance and skill except billiards, bowling, back-
gammon, draughts, and chess. An attempt was made also to limit the
amount of tavern debts. But these and subsequent measures failed to
check the passion for gambling.
Hunting and fishing were favorite pastimes but the abundance of
game and its use as food made these amusements less sport than business
or slaughter. Deer were run down with dogs by men on horseback, or
were hunted in the Indian fashion by which a man inclosed in a deer-
skin managed to get into the midst of a herd.
A common and destructive pastime was "fire-hunting." A band of
men would set fire to the woods in a five-mile circle and drive the ani-
mals to the center, where they could easily be surrounded and slaugh-
tered. There were organized hunts for deer, elk, bear, and foxes. Smaller
animals, such as opossums and raccoons, were hunted a great deal by
boys and by the Negroes.
The wild turkey was prized above all birds for the delicate flavor of
its meat. Turkeys not only were shot for sport but were trapped in flocks
by hunters who built fires at night under their roosting trees. They
then would be shot in great numbers as they took wing.
A picturesque sport and one which dates from Colonial times is the
tilting tournament. The contest was an imitation of the jousts of the
Middle Ages, providing displays of horsemanship, pageantry, flowery
speeches, and chivalric honors to women. The "lists" were usually three
arches, placed at suitable distances apart, from each of which was sus-
pended a small metal ring. The knight, equipped with a pointed wooden
lance, endeavored to pick off the rings while riding at a gallop. The
92 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
winner chose the queen and crowned her, while the runners-up chose
ladies-in-waiting.
Knights still ride at the ring in some of the Southern States. In North
Carolina the Tryon Riding and Hunt Club has been staging the Laurel
Tilting Tournament annually since 1925.
Although horse racing has declined as a sport, the State and some of
the surviving county fairs have their grandstands crowded for the horse
races, which almost always are trotting matches. Prizes, usually of
money, are awarded to winners. Betting is an undercover practice as it
is illegal. Efforts to legalize the pari-mutuel system of betting have been
made at sessions of the general assembly in late years, but without
success.
Cock fighting has been under a legal ban for years and is sufficiently
discredited in public opinion to have little chance of being legalized
again. But the sport, locally always spoken of as "rooster fighting,"
goes on.
The sporting events that draw the largest crowds at the present time
are intercollegiate football games. Interest in the game and rivalry
between colleges have increased in recent years, though the Thanksgiv-
ing Day game between the Universities of North Carolina and Virginia
had become a "classic" even before the era of good roads. However, there
is as keen rivalry now between certain institutions within the State.
Baseball is popular, and several of the larger cities maintain profes-
sional teams in the Piedmont League. There are a number of semi-
professional leagues in the State. During the 1930's softball has increased
in popularity among amateur groups.
Tennis receives more space than formerly on the sports pages of the
State papers. The University of North Carolina has won first place in a
number of national intercollegiate contests. Invitation tournaments at
Asheville, Pinehurst, Sedgefield, Southern Pines, and Charlotte have
stimulated interest in the game.
Ever since the first golf courses were built at Wilmington and Winston-
Salem about 1896, interest in the game has grown, and in recent years
a number of municipal golf courses have been established. The State is
now known for its many fine courses and its tournaments that draw
star players from all over the country. The number of courses (1939)
total 87 in 64 different locations. Of these 31 have 18 or more holes,
and 26 are open to the public, while for most of the 61 private courses
visitors can obtain courtesy cards through friends or hotels.
Golf is available at every season of the year, and there is an almost
endless variety of golfing terrain, the altitude of the courses ranging from
8 feet above sea level at Cape Fear to 4,000 feet at Blowing Rock, which
has the highest course east of the Rockies. Pinehurst has the reputation
SPORTS AND RECREATION 93
of being the place where more golf is played annually than anywhere
else in the world. Its famous Number 2 course, built by Donald Ross,
is known as the St. Andrews of America, and is the scene of the North
and South championship tournaments.
The most extensive recreational areas of the State are the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park, and the national forests. Swimming
and boating can be enjoyed for a fairly long season on the lakes, sounds,
and seashore of the State, and the rivers and lakes provide interesting
canoe trips.
Hunting is now regarded chiefly as a sport, though in remote sec-
tions men and boys still go to the woods with guns for the purpose of
filling the dinner pot. North Carolina offers the sportsman almost every
type of game to be found in the country. The extensive hunting grounds
are in the large areas of unsettled country and publicly owned lands,
and in the lands of private owners. Bear, deer, wild turkey, and smaller
game such as rabbits and squirrels, quail, geese, ducks, and brant, are
protected by laws and game preserves. Fox hunts are held near Southern
Pines, Asheboro, Tryon, and Asheville; and the opossum hunt, held
at night, is popular. Migratory waterfowl in great numbers winter
along the North Carolina coast. Currituck Sound and Lake Matta-
muskeet are the best-known grounds for duck, goose, and brant shoot-
ing, but there are many other hunting centers for these birds.
From the coldest streams of the high altitudes to the warm seacoast
waters, from the speckled trout to the tropical dolphin and amber jack,
North Carolina has variety and a plentiful supply to offer the fisher-
man. In the mountains, but at lower altitudes than the brook or speckled
trout, are the rainbow and brown trout. In the power reservoirs of the
Piedmont and the lakes and streams of the Coastal Plain are large- and
small-mouthed bass, bream, and perch. Roanoke River is probably the
best location in the country for striped-bass fishing.
The long coast line and the sounds near the coast are famous fishing
grounds. Channel bass, ranging from 30 to 50 pounds, occur along the
entire coast. The powerful kingfish or cero, from 15 to 40 pounds, is
caught near Beaufort and Morehead City. The sheepshead is found at
several points from Nags Head to Little River. Off Cape Hatteras, Cape
Lookout, and Cape Fear, points nearest the Gulf Stream, dolphin and
amberjack have been taken in recent years.
FOLKWAYS
AND FOLKLORE
MANY BIZARRE customs and superstitions are hidden in the
Great Smoky Mountains and the dunes of North Carolina's
seacoast. It is a temptation to describe them first. But it seems
more important to give an impression of the folkways of North Caro-
lina as a whole — ways of doing and acting and talking that are observed
as one travels about and talks to people in leisure hours or at their ordi-
nary occupations.
Americans, north and south, east and west, appear to be very much
alike. Whether they cultivate cotton in the South or corn in the
Middle West, they order the same hats and shirts from the same stores,
ride in the same elevators, and buy hoes and plows from the same fac-
tories. But there are variations in the language and customs surround-
ing the use of these factory-made articles. The southerner "chops" his
cotton instead of hoeing it, and says he has "laid-by his crop" when the
last cultivating has been finished. The southern business man whips off
his hat when a lady enters the elevator, while the hustling busy north-
erner has partly abandoned this custom. The ante-bellum southern
planter might have the languid rakish habit of wearing a hat indoors
at his desk, while the northerner never did.
With few exceptions the white population of North Carolina is made
up of descendants of northern European stock from what may be called
the yeoman class. Not so rich in lordly plantations as the neighboring
States of Virginia and South Carolina, North Carolina had less diffi-
culty in adjusting itself to social change after the War between the
States and Reconstruction. As a result, people in this State, from
Cherokee to Currituck, have a feeling of neighborliness, an almost
pioneer closeness among people in all walks of life. Any Sunday in the
social columns of the State newspapers a picture of some mill-town
bride may appear alongside that of the mill owner's daughter.
The omnipresent southern hospitality comes largely from a spirit
of delightful informality, or from just plain "southern don't-care." The
southern housewife is not unduly embarrassed by an unexpected guest.
Good inns and even sizable towns are still comparatively far apart in
the South. For generations southerners accepted travelers as a respon-
94
FOLKWAYS AND FOLKLORE 95
sibility, and enjoyed them as links with the world beyond their reach.
Furthermore, where the pattern of. eating and sleeping is fairly elastic,
no one bothers much over one more "name in the pot" or one more
sleeper in a bedroom. The poorest backwoods housewife will offer the
best she has, with perhaps a cheerful, apologetic, "Come in if you can
get in for the dirt."
The speech of the southerner appears to ignore effort in its slow,
carelessly articulated syllables. And prominent North Carolinians still
cling to their " 'tain't so" and " 'twan't nothin' " because their fathers
found these expressive, and they just don't want to change. Perhaps
provincial, this spirit nevertheless makes for an individual flavor of
speech and thought, a sort of shrewd peasant devotion to things native
and tried. Everywhere, from the country store and filling station to the
halls of the State legislature, pithy sayings are quoted, salty yarns are
spun. For North Carolinians possess the genuine countryman's humor.
They live in a State that is primarily agricultural. Practically all of them
have had some contact with farm life. Even the mill operatives are apt
to drift back and forth between sharecropping and mill work.
Largely because of this closeness to the soil there are some customs
and habits common to all classes in the State, and there remain prefer-
ences that stay with a man no matter how wealthy he may become or
how well-traveled. The real North Carolinian loves his turnip salad
cooked with pork, his country butter and fried ham, sweet yams and
chopped barbecue. He will send home from far places for a supply of
white corn meal ground by the old-fashioned water mill. One of the
hardships of town life for the mountaineer in a Piedmont cotton mill
is the absence of spring water, cold and clear, from the depths of the
granite hill. Similarly, many wealthy city dwellers never lose their taste
for well water. In town as well as country may be seen patchwork quilts
sunning on the back fence, pliable home-made sedge brooms standing
behind the "cook-room" door, fat pine lightwood supplied for kindling,
and the "old-timy" hickory cane-bottomed chair tilted back on two legs
against the porch for perfect comfort.
Many forms of recreation illustrate this kinship between classes : games
and beliefs of children are the same in town and country; similar meth-
ods are used by all hunters who go out after foxes, rabbits, birds, 'coons,
and 'possums, and fishing is a democratic sport. Court week is observed,
and holidays are numerous. The high spot of the year, Christmas, is a
day of true southern gayety, hailed often with firecrackers at daybreak
and a heavily laden dinner table at noon, with gifts and eggnog. The
South has never been solemn in the observation of this sacred day, and
for a long time Christmas has been doubling for the Fourth of July.
In recent decades the National Independence Day has regained some
96 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
recognition, but Christmas continues to be the big day, big in joy, big in
the returns to trade. Merchants have stimulated the development of
certain harvest celebrations such as the strawberry, peach, and tobacco
festivals, and of special occasions like the dogwood festivals and moun-
tain-music contests that have the avowed purpose of encouraging the
folk arts. These are good examples of traditions arising to meet certain
needs of the people. In similar fashion customs may pass and be for-
gotten — witness the growing neglect of the Confederate Memorial Day
since the World War unified North and South.
Life everywhere in North Carolina is still influenced by a code of
religious observation. The urge to a simple faith gives the town dweller
his habit of churchgoing, just as it inspires his more primitive country
kin to "get religion" at revivals. After listening to "preaching," the
former may leave his fine brick church determined to swear off ciga-
rettes. The latter may take a more violent turn and, like one brother in
Harnett County, go home and pull up his excellent tobacco crop, con-
vinced it is of the Devil's planting. The behavior is different in degree
but the underlying urge is the same. Sometimes a revivalist will sweep
together all the elements of a section, rich and poor, town and country,
into a fanatical band.
In its ordinary manifestations the religious code shows its influence
throughout the State: in the lack of liberality in the daily press, in the
strictness of Sunday blue laws, in the rules of certain sects that frown
on card playing, in the prohibition of dancing at some of the largest
colleges. In town and country there are various church entertainments:
children's day with dialogues, recitations, and pageants; homecoming
days that attract the old attendants, and birthday suppers and "pound-
ings" given for the pastor. A wake, with the less sophisticated, becomes
something of a social occasion as neighbors gather to "set up."
Perfect geographical conditions for preserving old lore occur in the
southern mountains. Here a delighted explorer, Cecil Sharp, the student
of folk music and dances, found old English forms of speech, Eliza-
bethan songs and ballads, and people who wove their homespun clothes
and made their soap by the signs of the moon just as the country people
used to do in England. Most readers of folklore have heard of the
Great Smoky Mountain natives and their ways. So celebrated has this
section become that few realize the very same customs and forms of
speech may be found in isolated sections in all parts of North Carolina
and in other States as well. Almost every county has its backwoods
districts where old English ballads are still sung, where old women know
how to dye and weave, and where pottery churns and jugs are made
from the local clay. There is, too, an isolation arising from social con-
ditions and wherever there are underprivileged people with scanty edu-
FOLKWAYS AND FOLKLORE 97
cation, families cling to the old ways and the old speech, unconsciously
preserving folklore that harks back to pioneer days, and beyond these
to England.
Few realize that the Negro race has been an agency for perpetuating
Anglo-Saxon folkways, and that in remodeling and adapting this lore
the Negro has made one of his most distinctive contributions. But a
careful source study has shown that many so-called African supersti-
tions are accepted as African in origin simply because they are strange
to present-day white people. Actually many of these beliefs and customs
were picked up from their white masters by the early slaves, who
handed them on to their descendants as part of their own folk belief.
English witchcraft influencing Negro conjure and hoodoo ritual, cures
and charms of Shakespeare's time preserved by Negro midwives, old
English phrases in the softened Negro speech, are some of the discov-
eries of students of the South.
Although similarities occur in every section of the State, each isolated
geographical division, created by the great natural barriers of mountains
and sea, has developed special characteristics. The remote and stormy
shoals and islands of the seaboard have a distinctive folklore, fully as
interesting as that of the mountains, but practically unknown to out-
siders. Similarities in the customs of coast and mountain people point
to their common origin. Some people of both sections use the obsolete
forms of "holp" for help, "airy" for any, "j'int" for joint, "air" for
are — these and many other expressions were good English in Shake-
speare's time. Certain superstitions, too, are recognized in both parts of
the State; for example, meeting a woman is bad luck for a mountain
huntsman just as it is for a fisherman of the banks — and as it was in
past times for the natives of Sussex or Ireland.
However, the coast people, the "bankers" in particular, have lived so
long isolated that their ways have a distinct flavor of their own. Espe-
cially is this true of their speech, though it is difficult to convey the
impression. Subtle differences of dialect depend not only on phrases
and their pronunciation but on the intonation, drawl, and rhythm of
the utterance, impossible to indicate in print. People sensitive to dialect
rhythms can tell by a man's speech whether he comes from Hatteras or
Roanoke Island, or even from which end of Roanoke Island, but they
can hardly define the differences, and they could never transcribe the
pronunciation phonetically. There are some easily recorded distinctions
of North Carolina coastal speech — one the quality of the vowels, "oi"
for i. "Hoigh toide, no feesh," says the fisherman, "Oi'm goin' home."
Another young native complains of the girls ("darlin's" in his dialect),
"Oi loike the darlin's but the darlin's don't loike me." Not everywhere
on the coast, but on certain banks and islands, the "v" is pronounced
98 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
"w," so that it might be remarked of Virgil, for instance, that "Woigil
is a good prowider of wictuals."
To the banker the mainland is "the country" or "the country over
the sound." Daylight is "calm daylight" or "calm of day," and he prom-
ises to do a task "morning soon," meaning the next day. When a person
is dying he is said to be "going to leeward." "Rock" is a word seldom
heard, for there are no rocks on the sand dunes. Instead of the expression
"to throw a rock," the schoolboy of the coast uses the phrase "to chunk."
There are many picturesque items of folklore current among unso-
phisticated people, both white and Negroes, throughout the State. The
speech of the countryman is full of imaginative phrases, especially those
referring to the mystery of the sky and of the seasons. The names of
constellations include "Job's Coffin in the Sky" and "the Lost Ell and
Yard" (Orion). Late afternoon is "the pink of the evenin' " or "day
down," or the time when "evenin' is a-pinkin' in."
Common phrases of the household may be quaint and humorous. A
mother speaks proudly of her boy, "ain't he a show," "ain't he a mess,"
"he's' something on a stick," "plenty smart," "right smart and sassy," or
"smart as a briar," "a regular little Trojas man." On the other hand she
may declare "the little varmint's not worth the salt that goes into his
bread," and that she will "git a switch to him and wear him out," "lick
the livin' lard out'n him," or "purely pour the hickory on" and see if
that will "learn him manners." The boy, or "chap," may be called a little
"shirttail boy" to distinguish him from her "arm baby and her knee
baby." The "arm baby" is also the "least 'un," the "teeniney," or "teeny
chap," her youngest. The kitchen is a "cook room," the poker is a "fire-
stick," a shoehorn is a "slipper-slide," the storeroom a "plunder room,"
and she herself is always busy " 'suaging young'uns." A common usage
among older people is "gran'boy" for grandson.
Among some farm people, if the cow is sick she has doubtless lost
her cud and another must be made of an old greasy dishcloth and given
her to chew; or if she suffers from hollow horn, her horn must be
bored and salt inserted. If the crop is being planted it must be in the
right time of the moon, for there are such things as good and bad luck.
And then there are "bug days." "Pa was a-plantin' his potatoes when
Alex come along and says, 'Mr. Jones, stop right where you are. Them
'taters won't git a chanct to make. The bugs'll git 'em. This here is bug
day.' " Naturally Pa stops and waits till bug day has passed. For crops
that fruit underground he must plant while the moon is dark, but the
light of the moon is best for beans and such plants as fruit above the
ground. The almanac is a necessity in these prognostications, for so
many things are governed by the phases of the moon. A woman is said
to have a hard time in childbirth if her child comes at the wrong time
FOLKWAYS AND FOLKLORE 99
of the moon. The light or darkness of the heavens also governs the
making of soap and the killing of hogs and curing of meat.
These rules vary in different localities. In one place hogs must be
killed in the dark of the moon; another neighborhod swears that such
action will cause the meat to shrivel in the cooking. In writing of South
Carolina Negroes, DuBose Heyward describes the stampede away from
the graveyard because the last person to leave is fated to be the next
person to die. In North Carolina the reverse appears to be believed, and
no one is anxious to be the first away from the graveyard.
Folk beliefs concerning sickness and death are numerous and most
of them date from early times. Notorious omens of bad luck are the
screeching of owls, baying of dogs, and "ticking" of the death watch
(a small insect) in the walls of a room. A corpse is carried out of the
house feet foremost and buried facing the east, to be ready for the
second coming of Christ. At the funeral it is customary in country
districts to open the coffin and allow the neighbors to pass by. A funeral
sermon is generally preached, and in some places the men who have
known the dead person take turns shoveling the dirt into the grave.
Where headstones are not erected little fences are sometimes built or
even miniature roofed shelters are placed over the grave. Glass orna-
ments or the toys of a child are sometimes found on graves even today,
and in certain Negro graveyards the half-used bottles of medicine of the
deceased are placed there.
Among unlucky omens the bird in the house is one most to be feared.
Often the tale goes about that this bird of ill fortune is white, and it is
somehow linked with the idea of the departing soul of the sick person;
or it may be a spirit of warning.
The tales that are told around the fire at night are apt to take on a
droll sly humor, especially those "tall tales" of exaggeration. In eastern
North Carolina there is a legendary folk character whose deeds of
strength make him comparable to the Paul Bunyan of the northern lum-
bermen. This is a hefty giant of a man named Broadhuss, who used to
eat a cow or a hog at a meal and, when he wanted to drink, lifted up a
whole cask and of course drank out of the bung. Extravagant tales are
improvised about Broadhuss and his extraordinary family. Similar char-
acters exercise the imagination in other sections.
Strange things are told about certain animals. A 'coon that is bothered
by fleas is supposed to get into a creek, lure the pests onto the tip of
his nose, and then duck under to drown them. The 'possum is said to
give birth to its young by way of its nostrils. Hoop snakes are supposed
to be fantastic reptiles that take their tails in their mouths and pursue
their victims down a hill, rolling along like a hoop. Whip snakes are
thought to have the habit of wrapping their victim against a tree and
100 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
whipping him with their tails. Around Wilmington, when the sora rails,
a kind of marsh bird, migrate for the winter, people explain their sudden
disappearance by saying that they go into the ground to come out in the
spring as bullfrogs.
Many old and lovely ballads and folk songs are still current in all
sections of North Carolina. These, as well as old dances and children's
singing games, have been carefully collected by folklorists. Newer
ballads on subjects of current interest are found here and there, usually
the work of one individual who sometimes sells his poems on sheets like
the old broadsides. A striking event, such as a flood, the sinking of the
Titanic, or a local murder, will inspire the making of verses and their
attachment to a familiar tune or to one invented especially for the song.
Then, its origin forgotten, its form changing, the song spreads from
place to place and becomes a part of living folklore to be added to the
great body of oral tradition.
EATING
AND DRINKING
IN THE LATE 18th century a traveler, lost in the wilds of North
Carolina, was hospitably received at a farmhouse. "Here," he re-
cords in his diary, "I found a large table loaded with fat roasted
turkies, geese and ducks, boiled fowls, large hams, hung-beef, barbecued
pig etc. enough for five-and-twenty men."
Had the traveler happened upon a small frontier cabin instead of a
large farmhouse he would have found less variety. Corn and pork were
the staple foods, often the only ones. It was said of the average 18th-
century North Carolinian that if he could raise enough corn and pork
for subsistence, he cared for nothing more. John Lawson, an early
historian of the Colony, thought the Carolina pork "fed on peaches,
maiz, and such other natural produce" to be "some of the sweetest meat
that the world afTords." William Byrd "made a North Carolina Dinner
upon Fresh Pork." "Meat" still means pork to many people in the State.
Kitchen equipment was meager in most Colonial homes, rich or poor.
The kitchen itself was a log room that usually stood in the back yard a
little distance from the house. Cooking was done over the coals in a
large fireplace with a deep stone or brick hearth. Big pots for boiling
were hung from hooks on an iron crane, and the small pots rested on
an iron trivet, which was a ring supported by three legs. Spiders and
skillets were set directly on the coals. For baking there was an iron oven
that stood on legs and had a tight cover, so that the coals could be piled
on top as well as raked beneath. Chicken pies and deep-dish pies of
apples and peaches were cooked in these ovens without being put into
pans. Sometimes brick ovens with close-fitting iron doors were built
either inside or outside the chimneys. For hours before baking was to
be done, hot fires of oak or hickory were kept burning in the oven.
Then the coals were raked out and the food was put in to bake in
the stored heat. Whole hams, suckling pigs, chickens, and turkeys,
great thick loaves of salt-rising bread, and delicate cakes were cooked
to a turn in these ovens.
The wills and inventories of early settlers reveal that table equipment
was highly prized. Although the wealthier planters lived in rude sur-
102 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
roundings, they were well supplied with glass, china, pewter, and even
silver, imported or made on the place by traveling silversmiths. The
majority of the people ate from plain earthenware, made good use of
their fingers, and, like the planters, valued their tin, iron, and pewter
spoons, steel knives, and two-tined iron forks with buckhorn handles.
In a land where the most critical travelers agreed there was "every
gift of nature," the tables of the industrious farmers were well laden.
No meal was complete with only one meat dish. There was ham — a
whole one — and perhaps a smothered chicken, roasted turkey or guinea
hen, barbecued lamb or pig, and often some wild game. The smoke-
houses stood near the kitchen. Hanging from the rafters were cured
smoked hams, bacon, hog jowl, and sausage, highly seasoned with sage
and red pepper and stuffed in long muslin sacks or tied in clean corn
shucks. In the wintertime there was also souse meat, scrapple, and liver
pudding. When the dinner bell, suspended from a pole, called the hands
from the field, the children said it rang, "Run nigger run, the pigtail's
done!" White folk as well as Negroes liked their "chitlin's" (chitter-
lings) fried and seasoned with pepper sauce.
"Indian meal," of water-ground corn, was made into many kinds of
bread: johnnycake, hoecake, ash cake, corn pone, corn dodger, cracklin'
bread, spoon bread, and corn light bread. Corn meal was made into
mush for a breakfast or supper dish. From corn also came big hominy
and hominy grits.
Besides corn breads, there were hot biscuits, buckwheat and plain
battercakes, and waffles. Salt-rising bread and light bread were baked
in large batches to last several days. Beaten biscuits were for festive
occasions.
Tea cakes, ginger puddings, potato pudding made from sweet pota-
toes grated raw, gingersnaps, and gingerbreads were popular sweets.
Pies were great favorites and many varieties appeared on the table:
chess pies, molasses pies, green apple, sweet potato custard, sliced sweet
potato pies, and the deep-dish pies called cobblers, made of peaches,
apples, wild dewberries, or blackberries.
The favorite cakes were pound, marble, spice, walnut or hickory-nut,
sponge, and fruit cakes. For big occasions such as weddings and Christ-
mas dinners a dozen kinds of cake might be made. Boiled custard, bran-
died peaches, and syllabub made from cream and wine were also part
of such festivities.
Wine was often served with cake. Except where religious prejudice
barred it, every household had a variety of wines, imported or made
at home from the many wild and cultivated grapes, berries, and other
fruits. The scuppernong, a white grape native to the State, furnished
an especially fine-flavored sweet wine.
EATING AND DRINKING IO3
In the 18th century it was "very much the custom" in North Carolina
"to drink Drams of some kind or other before Breakfast." Rum, whis-
ky, and brandy were imported at high prices, but the planter soon
began to distill his own liquor. Beer was imported or home-brewed.
Apple cider and persimmon beer were country favorites. The "sober
liquors" — tea, coffee, and cocoa — were imported, and therefore were
luxuries. Native herb teas were used as substitutes by some. Both the
Indians and the white settlers made tea from the yaupon, a holly of the
eastern section of the State.
Old recipes have been handed down by word of mouth and in a few
cookbooks, but few people today have the knack of interpreting direc-
tions that require "a handful of sugar," a "pinch" of salt, or a "dash"
of mustard. Recently when an old Negro cook was being questioned
on a recipe she said: "Now I takes a double han'ful of flour and lot of
butter; and if I has a dozen eggs, I puts them in . . ." When asked to
interpret in cupfuls, she said, "Law, Miss, you knows I don't know
nuthin' 'bout dis messin' science!" Nevertheless, the art of seasoning
and mixing and cooking that came from the plantation kitchen has left
its impress on the food customs of most North Carolina homes.
The old plantation kitchen is gone, but the iron bake-oven, the kettle,
and the frying pan still play an important part in cooking. Many small
cabins that dot the cotton and tobacco farms, or cling to the mountain-
sides, use open fireplaces for cooking today. The hotels and restaurants
of the towns and cities now use little of the traditional North Carolina
ways of cooking, but in the small homes that make up this rural State,
and in the "big houses" where "Aunt Nancy" still measures by hand
and taste, the art of cooking famous old dishes lives on.
Southern cooks have a reputation for frying everything: meats, vege-
tables, breads, and even pies. Fried chicken and country ham, fried
corn, sweet potatoes, okra, and squash, fried corn fritters, and fried
half-moon pies (apple and peach) are food experiences never to be
forgotten.
Hot biscuits, fried chicken, and gravy have followed the southerner
wherever he has gone. Fried chicken in North Carolina is properly a
chicken weighing about two pounds, unjointed, seasoned with salt and
pepper, rolled in flour, and sizzled in hot lard. It is covered or put in
the oven during part of the process to make it tender, but it has a crisp
crust. Biscuits always mean hot biscuits, and are usually made with
buttermilk, soda, and lard. They are lightly kneaded to produce a fine
texture, rolled, and baked in a hot oven until brown, then split open
and buttered while hot.
Chicken and dressing is a favorite combination for Sunday dinner.
Fat fowls, always called "hens" in the South, are baked with stuffing
104 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
and outside dressing, and served with rich giblet gravy. The dressing
consists of crumbled cold biscuits, and sometimes corn bread, seasoned
with onions, celery, black pepper, and a little sage, and made into a
rich mixture with chicken broth and fat. Chicken salad, chicken pie,
chicken and dumplings, chicken hash, and smothered chicken delight
the southern palate.
Every North Carolinian thinks, too, that country-cured hams are
among the finest foods. They are fried and served with red gravy; or
they are boiled or baked. The fat pork that is fried or used for seasoning
boiled vegetables is called fat back, salt pork, side meat, middlin' meat,
or sowbelly.
Corn bread in some form is served every day in many homes. Corn
meal is still made from white corn and generally stone-ground. Corn
bread frequently is the plain variety, made by adding water or milk
to the meal to make a stiff batter. Salt and lard are usually added,
though unsalted bread is more common in eastern Carolina. It is shaped
into pones with the hands and cooked in the oven. Sometimes it is
dropped by spoonfuls on a hot greased hoe or griddle and cooked on
top of the stove. Corn pones are not cut, but are broken at the table when
served. "Cracklin' bread" is made by adding cracklings (fatty left-overs
in the lard pot) to corn pones. It is commonly made on the farm after
"hog-killing" time.
Corn bread is made more often by adding buttermilk, soda, salt, lard,
and eggs to the corn meal to make a batter. This is poured into a greased
pan or skillet and cooked in the oven or baked in muffin or corn-stick
pans, or fried on top of the stove as cakes. When cooked in the pan, this
bread is also called egg bread. Batter bread or spoon bread is richer in
milk and eggs than other corn breads. The meal is scalded or cooked
as a mush, and the buttermilk, soda, and eggs are then added to make
it like a custard or souffle.
Dear to the heart and the health of every southerner are the greens
or "sallet," turnip, mustard, poke, and water cress, or "creases," according
to the section from which one comes. A "mess of turnip sallet" boiled
with hog jowl or fat meat is a common dish. It is always considered best
when cooked in an iron kettle. The "pot likker," made famous in
plantation days, is the juice left in the pot after the greens have been
removed. Corn meal dumplings, generally called "dodgers," are some-
times cooked in the pot liquor.
Most vegetables are seasoned with fat meat, especially string beans,
black-eyed peas, cabbage, and greens; and most of them are cooked a
long time. In some sections the people follow the custom of eating peas
and hog jowl on New Year's Day to insure good fortune throughout the
year. Cooking two or more vegetables together is regularly done. Okra
EATING AND DRINKING IO5
and tomatoes may be combined; also string beans and corn. Butter beans
and corn make a combination called succotash. Black-eyed peas and
rice cooked together are "hoppin' John." Beets are nearly always pickled
or served with vinegar. Green corn, usually field corn, is used frequently
and is called "roastin' ears." It is boiled on the cob, or cut and scraped
from the cob and stewed, fried, or made into a pudding.
To a southerner, potatoes always mean sweet potatoes, for the white
variety is usually spoken of as "Irish" or "white" potatoes. Many prefer
sweet potatoes baked in the peeling until the juice oozes out, and served
with butter. Candied sweet potatoes are a favorite also. The raw slices
are cooked with sugar, butter, and water in a deep dish until tender and
candied. They are also fried, and made into pies and puddings.
Sorghum molasses, as the southerner calls it, is an amber-colored,
thick syrup to be eaten with hot biscuits and butter, or with battercakes,
or used in making desserts and candies. The mule-drawn mill still
crushes most of the sorghum cane that is cut from the small patches.
The juice is boiled down and stored for the winter.
Truly native are the black walnuts, hickory nuts, chinquapins, and
wild grapes. The best native grapes are the scuppernongs, which have
a thick white skin and delightful fragrance and taste, and the purple
muscadine. The fall of the year brings the luscious " 'simmon pudding"
and locust and persimmon beer. Watermelons and muskmelons are
served out-of-doors as well as at the table, for it takes a large slice of
either to satisfy a southerner.
Barbecues, so popular and common throughout the State, are a relic
of the old open-fire cooking. Whole pigs and often lambs, chickens,
and cuts of beef are cooked over live coals. They are basted frequently
with a special highly seasoned sauce, called barbecue sauce. Brunswick
stew, often cooked out-of-doors to serve community groups, is a thick
stew usually made of chicken, butter beans, onion, corn, and tomatoes,
and seasoned with salt pork. Fish muddle, a typical eastern Carolina
dish, is made by putting several kinds of fish in a kettle with layers
of onions and potatoes, seasoning with fried fat meat, adding water to
cover, and cooking to a stew. "Brush roasts," or oysters cooked on a wire
netting over an open wood fire, are a popular out-of-doors shore meal.
The oysters are served with bowls of melted butter, chow-chow, and
plain corn bread.
In eastern Carolina the proverbial Sunday breakfast is broiled salt
roe herring and hot biscuits. In the spring there is the choice roe shad,
and in summer crabs and shrimps. Salt mullet is eaten the year round.
There is a distinct dividing line at the edge of the Piedmont where the
sale of mullet ends and sale of salt mackerel begins. In Winston-Salem
the Moravian Christmas cookies, old-fashioned sugar cake, citron pies,
106 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
and buns, are traditional. In the northwest counties sourwood honey
is a prized delicacy. From the Brushy Mountains come the famed Lim-
bertwig apples; from Waynesville, the cooperative-canned wild huckle-
berries and blackberries; from the Sandhills, peaches, and from Tryon,
grapes. In the Cherokee Indian Reservation, corn, beans, and acorns
are still made into bread by a centuries-old custom; in Valdese another
bread of a distinctive flavor and aroma is made and marketed by the
Waldensians. Around Mount Mitchell deer and bear meat are cured for
home consumption, while in Jones and Onslow Counties hams are
cured for the market. In the fall, along the highways, are jugs of fresh
apple cider for sale, and deep in the hills the famous corn liquor is
still made.
Thus cookery in North Carolina is as varied as the State topography.
Every section — Coast, Sandhills, Piedmont, and Mountain — offers a
distinctive food to lure the gourmet. Yet all parts of the State share in
common many of the food customs of the old South.
THE ARTS
Literature
ANY ACCOUNT of the literature of North Carolina must prop-
erly begin with a recognition of two descriptions of the Colony
b. which are valuable to historian and naturalist : A New Voyage
to Carolina, later issued under the title History of Carolina, by John
Lawson, "Gent. Surveyor-General of North Carolina," first published
in London in 1709; and the Natural History of North-Carolina by
John Brickell, a physician who practiced medicine in Edenton about
1731. Lawson's history is an account of his travels in Carolina from
1700 to 1708, valuable as a source book and charming in style. John
Brickell's natural history is an expansion of Lawson's book with the
addition of a systematic description of the plants and animals of North
Carolina.
The literature of ante-bellum North Carolina was in no way unlike
the picture of southern literature at that time as the historian R. D. W.
Connor describes it:
In the ante-bellum South, the professional writer, other than the jour-
nalist, was looked at askance. Men wrote history from patriotic motives;
they delivered addresses to grace public occasions; and they sometimes
"indited" poems sheepishly to "please the fair sex." But all this was the
work of leisure; few wrote for a living. Of pure literature, therefore, the
output was small and the quality low.
The most influential book written by a North Carolinian before the
War between the States was Hinton Rowan Helper's Impending Crisis
of the South, published in 1857 and dedicated to the nonslaveholding
whites. While holding no brief for the Negro, Helper attempted to
prove by comparison of statistics the superiority of free States over slave
States. His book attracted little attention until Republicans announced
their intention of printing 100,000 copies of a Compendium of the Im-
pending Crisis for use in the Presidential campaign. John Brown's raid
107
108 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
heightened public interest, and the Compendium (1859), which added
to the original book a chapter of extracts from the writings of promi-
nent abolitionists, had an enormous circulation and became an issue of
the Presidential campaign of i860. The vituperative style and distorted
statistics of the Impending Crisis provoked numerous replies in the
North and South, and in North Carolina and other Southern States it
was a felony to own or to circulate the book.
Among early Negro writers of whom there is record was David
Walker, born in Wilmington in 1785, author of Walter's Appeal.
which has been called "the boldest and most direct appeal for freedom
... in the early days of the antislavery movement." George Moses
Horton, born in 1797 in Northampton County, lived most of his life in
Chapel Hill, and published several volumes of poetry.
During the years immediately following the War between the States,
in North Carolina as in other Southern States "the contest which was
lost on the battlefield had to be fought again with pen and ink." The
Land We Love, a journal devoted to history of the war, was edited
by Gen. D. H. Hill at Charlotte from 1866 to 1869. Our Living and Our
Dead, edited at Raleigh by Stephen Pool and Theodore Kingsbury
from 1874 to 1876, was concerned with North Carolina's part in the war.
The South Atlantic, edited in Wilmington by Mrs. Carrie A. Harris
from 1877 to 1881, was a monthly magazine of literature, art, and
science.
Probably the best-known book produced in Reconstruction days in
North Carolina, A Fool's Errand (1879), was a novel written by Judge
Albion W. Tourgee, a native of Ohio who settled in Greensboro after
the War between the States, and who was the author of numerous other
novels, pamphlets, and legal works. A Fool's Errand has its setting in
North Carolina and describes the plight of the southern Negro during
Reconstruction, and the operations of the Ku Klux Klan. In the year
of its publication 135,000 copies of the book were sold.
The novels of the late 19th century and first decade of the 20th
century followed the pattern of American fiction of that day. Some,
like Robert Ballard's Myrtle Lawn, published in 1880, helped to
create that rosy picture of the sunny South that is now seen rarely
outside of motion pictures. Ballard's heroine epitomizes the virtues
ascribed to the southern girl of the time: "Jeannette Evarts was a pure
child of the heart; she never read much, or paled the freshening color
of her cheek by poring over musty books, endeavoring to solve mys-
terious problems, or gather knowledge from profound sciences." One
contemporary critic declared that in Myrtle Lawn there were passages
that "Scott or Macaulay might have dashed off in a happy hour of
literary excitement."
THE ARTS IO9
The novels of Thomas Dixon were more lurid and melodramatic.
The Leopard's Spots, published in 1903, was "A Romance of the White
Man's Burden — 1865-1900," and was dedicated to a "sweet voiced
daughter of the old-fashioned South." Dixon is best known for his
novels of Reconstruction days, which in 1915 were translated into the
screen play the Birth of a Nation.
Frances Fisher Tiernan, of Salisbury, was the most popular North
Carolina novelist of her day. Writing under the name Christian Reid
she produced some 50 novels, and many of them, including her first,
Valerie Aylmer, published in 1870, were widely read. Her travel
sketches, published in 1876 under the title the Land of the S%y, gave
to subsequent writers a favorite phrase to describe the mountains of
the State.
Two books describing this mountain region deserve special notice.
Shepherd M. Dugger's the Balsam Groves of Grandfather Mountain,
published in 1892, is a literary curiosity as well as a travel book. Our
Southern Highlanders (1913) by Horace Kephart is full of keen anec-
dote and folklore. More than any other book it has drawn attention to
the beautiful mountains of North Carolina and to the mountaineer's
manner of living.
Perhaps the most famous literary figure North Carolina has produced
was William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) who was born and grew up
in Greensboro. Under the pseudonym of O. Henry he wrote the short
stories that won him a public all over the world. Imagination, bril-
liant narrative skill, and deep human sympathies mark all of Porter's
work. Wilbur Daniel Steele, who also was born in Greensboro, has
written short stories that rank with the best contemporary American
stories.
In the field of fiction, national literature has lately suffered a serious
loss in the death of the North Carolinian, Thomas Wolfe, interna-
tionally known as the author of two novels, Loo\ Homeward Angel
(1929) and Of Time and the River (1935). For one leading critic "he
bestrode American literature like a colossus" and gave "an assured
promise that he would encompass the whole vocabulary of the adven-
turous, romantic, impressionistic, plastic language of America."
James Boyd has written two distinguished historical novels, Drums
(1925) and Marching On (1927). Jonathan Daniels, liberal editor of
the Raleigh News and Observer, is the author of Clash of Angels (1930)
and A Southerner Discovers the South (1938). Under the name "Field-
ing Burke," the poet Olive Tilford Dargan has written two novels
of social import with their setting in the State, Call Home the Heart
(1932) and A Stone Came Rolling (1935). William T. Polk has written
fine stories, and Marian Sims is the author of many popular magazine
110 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
stories as well as the novel, Call It Freedom (1937), which has been a
"best seller."
John Henry Boner, who wrote "Poe's Cottage at Fordham," is also
known for such fine poems as "Hatteras" and "The Light'ood Fire." The-
ophilus H. Hill, another North Carolina poet, is best remembered for his
"Sunset" and "A Ganges Dream"; Henry Jerome Stockard, for "Unat-
tained" and "Review of Our Dead." John Charles McNeill showed
authentic talent in his two volumes of verse, Songs Merry and Sad,
published in 1906, and Lyrics from Cottonland (1907) collected and
published after his death. Among contemporary poets are Anne Black-
well Payne, who has published the volume Released (1930), and John
Van Alstyne Weaver, whose highly original verse in the vernacular
includes the popular collection In American (1921). Olive Tilford
Dargan, a native Kentuckian but now living in Asheville, is the author
of the Cycle's Rim (1916), a prize volume of poetry, and numerous
plays and poems that give her high rank in American poetry.
Among other writers of note who are associated with North Carolina
because of their long residence in the State are Edwin Bjorkman,
author, critic, and translator, who now lives in Asheville; Struthers
Burt, Katherine Newlin Burt, and Walter Gilkyson, of Southern Pines.
The deep interest of North Carolinians in their own State and in the
South is evident in oratory, journalism, historical writings, and even
casual memoirs. The speeches of Archibald D. Murphey, William R.
Davie, Edwin A. Alderman, Charles B. Aycock, Thomas L. Clingman,
and Edward Kidder Graham are a permanent contribution to the his-
tory of American oratory. Through them runs a strong consciousness
of the State and region. The same consciousness is evident in the letters
of Walter Hines Page, the editorials of Gerald Johnson, the reporting
of W. T. Bost, and the writing of the columnist, Nell Battle Lewis.
Much of the writing of State history has been done by patriots rather
than by trained historians. John H. Wheeler's Reminiscences (1884), a
repository of family and local history, and his Sketches of North Caro-
lina (1851), though marred by numerous errors, are full of valuable
material. Hawk's History of North Carolina, written with charm of
style and narrative skill, is valuable for the early chapters of State his-
tory. The History of North Carolina (1919) by R. D. W. Connor, W. K.
Boyd, and J. G. de R. Hamilton, and the more recent North Carolina
(1925) by Connor are reliable reference works. Samuel A'C. Ashe's
History of North Carolina (1908-25) is another standard work, accu-
rate and meticulous.
Of particular interest among local histories are: Kemp P. Battle's
History of the University of North Carolina (1907-12), two large vol-
umes crowded with an amazing collection of historical information,
THE ARTS
somewhat contradictory and not always accurate; James Sprunt's
Chronicles of the Cape Fear River (1914) ; John P. Arthur's Western-
North Carolina (1914), and Forster Alexander Sondley's two-volume
History of Buncombe County, all of them rich in anecdote, legend, and
history.
Several historians have won national recognition; R. D. W. Connor
is (1939) National Archivist; Holland Thompson is noted for two vol-
umes in the Chronicles of America series, the New South (1919) and
the Age of Invention (1921); John Spencer Bassett for his Federalist
System (1906), A Short History of the United States (revised edition,
•1934), and other capable historical writings.
North Carolina ranks well in comparison with other States in the
possession of printed collections of historical documents. The Colonial
Records of North Carolina (1886-90) have been edited by Col. William
L. Saunders, and the State Records of North Carolina (1 886-1 907) by
Judge Walter Clark. Collections of letters, diaries, and documents, note-
worthy among them the Moravian Records (1922-30), have been pub-
lished by the North Carolina Historical Commission. Two university
presses, one at the University of North Carolina and the other at Duke,
have exercised an important influence in stimulating literary effort as
well as scholarly research and publication.
North Carolina claims many writers of biography who have won a
large public. Thomas Hart Benton was the author of a famous political
autobiography Thirty Years' View (1854-56). Griffith J. McRee wrote
the Life and Correspondence of James Iredell (1857-58), which con-
tains valuable historical material. Archibald Henderson is the author of
the authoritative biography Bernard Shaw — Playboy and Prophet
(1932), a life of Mark Twain (191 1), Washington's Southern Tour
(1923), and some 20 works on drama, history, and mathematics. William
E. Dodd edited the Riverside History of the United States (1915), has
contributed a standard biography in Woodrow Wilson and His Wor\
(revised edition, 1932), and is the author of Statesmen of the Old South
(1911), and other historical narratives. Robert W. Winston's biographies
of Andrew Johnson (1928), Robert E. Lee (1934), and Jefferson Davis
(1930) are widely known. Gerald Johnson, now on the staff of the
Baltimore Sun, is the author of Andrew Jackson, an Epic in Home-
spun (1927) and Randolph of Roanoke (1929). Among the biographies
of Phillips Russell are Benjamin Franklin, the First Civilized American
(1926), and John Paul Jones: Man of Action (1927).
112 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
The Theater
The first tragedy written by an American and produced on the
American stage was the Prince of'Parthia, by Thomas Godfrey, a Penn-
sylvanian living at Wilmington, North Carolina. It was performed at
the Southwark Theater in Philadelphia, April 24, 1767, and was given
a production in 1847 by the Wilmington Thalian Association, one of
the earliest amateur theatrical societies in the State. Two comedies
written by North Carolinians during this early period were Nolens
Volens, or the Biter Bit, by Everard Hall, published in New Bern in
1809, and Blac\beard, by Lemuel Sawyer, of Camden County, a promi-
nent politician of the State.
Other North Carolinians made significant contributions to the 19th
century theater. John Augustin Daly (183.8-99), of Plymouth, was
one of America's greatest theatrical managers. Henry Churchill De
Mille (1850-93), of Washington, had a varied stage career as actor,
teacher, and playwright, and worked with David Belasco. His two sons,
William De Mille and Cecil B. De Mille, are distinguished directors of
motion pictures in Hollywood.
Many amateur theatrical societies flourished in North Carolina be-
tween 1790 and 1850. Most important of these was the Wilmington
Thalian Association, which still exists and maintains a high standard
in acting and production. Others were the Salisbury Thespian Society,
the Fayetteville Thalian Association, the Raleigh Thespian Society, the
Roscian Society of Halifax, the Polemic Society of Raleigh, and the
Thespian Society of New Bern. After 1850 interest in the drama de-
clined and did not revive until Frederick H. Koch launched the Carolina
Playmakers in 1918.
Up to that time North Carolina was considered — in theatrical terms —
"a dead State," to which it did not pay to send even the ubiquitous
French catalogue of plays for amateur production. Koch came from
North Dakota, where he had successfully developed the North Dakota
Playmakers, to found a school of creative writing at the State university.
He instituted courses in playwriting and augmented these with authors'
readings, tryouts, and productions. The success of the Carolina Play-
makers is due in part to Koch's personality and his genius for teaching,
and in greater part to the philosophy which motivated the group. Its
aim was threefold: "To promote and encourage dramatic art, espe-
cially by the production and publishing of plays; to serve as an experi-
mental theater for young playwrights seeking to translate into fresh
dramatic forms the traditions and present-day life of the people; and
to extend its influence in establishing: a native theater in other States."
THE ARTS II3
The most outstanding among the playwrights developed by the Play-
makers is Paul Green, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his play of Negro
life, In Abraham's Bosom, produced by the Provincetown Players in
1926. Green had already written one-act plays for the Playmakers but
In Abraham's Bosom was his first full-length play and his first excursion
into the professional theatrical world. "As yet," wrote the dramatic
critic, Barrett M. Clark, in 1926, "we have no genuine folk dramatists
besides Paul Green." Although unschooled in the professional theater,
his plays show integrity and a sensitive feeling for theatrical effective-
ness which he undoubtedly owes largely to the Playmakers. Among his
later plays are Tread the Green Grass (1929), the House of Connelly
(1931), Roll Sweet Chariot (1935), Johnny Johnson (1937), and the Lost
Colony (1937). The last-named play was presented at Roanoke Island
during the summers of 1937 and 1938 by the Roanoke Island Commis-
sion in cooperation with the North Carolina Historical Commission,
the Federal Theater Project, and other agencies of the Works Progress
Administration.
Thomas C. Wolfe, who later won fame as a novelist, wrote his first
play the Return of Buc^ Gavin in Professor Koch's first playwriting
course in 1918. In the preface to this play Wolfe wrote "The dramatic
is not the unusual. It is happening daily in our lives."
Since 1920 the Playmakers have given plays in all parts of the State
and have carried their tours far afield into other States. Koch tells of
a production in a North Carolina village so small that it housed barely
a dozen families, but an audience of 700 trudged through a blinding
rain from the outlying farms, to see the play given in the new consoli-
dated school. Another production was the first play the town had seen
in six years. The plays have been published in several volumes under
the title Carolina Fol^ Plays.
The group has also initiated a bureau of community drama as part
of the extension division of the university, has developed an extension
library containing 1,000 volumes of plays, which are in constant use,
and sends a dramatic director to any community needing help in pro-
ducing plays. This service is free. An annual dramatic festival is held at
Chapel Hill, in which schools, colleges, and little theater groups par-
ticipate.
In addition to Green and Wolfe, many other Carolina dramatists
have been influenced by the Playmakers. Among them are Hatcher
Hughes, author of the 1922 Pulitzer Prize play Hell-bent fer Heaven,
and the folk comedy Ruint; Lula Vollmer, author of the war play
Sun-Up; and Anne Preston Bridgers, who wrote Coquette in collabora-
tion with George Abbott.
114 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Music
True folk music is found in North Carolina, as elsewhere, among
people whose lives are least subject to changing standards. Isolation and
lack of printed literature have helped to perpetuate old folk music.
Cecil J. Sharp, English folk-song specialist, published in 1918 a vol-
ume of 122 ballads and their variant texts and tunes, which he had col-
lected in the mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and
Kentucky. He cites an instance in which one woman in Hot Springs
sang to him 64 ballads and songs. Arthur Palmer Hudson, ballad spe-
cialist at the University of North Carolina, points out that singing,
although more common in the mountains, plays an equally important
part in the lives of country people generally.
In rural communities of North Carolina, the old-time singing school
and singing convention survive, although many changes have occurred
in the type and form of music. Of late the old five-note notation and
shape-note have generally been supplanted by the round-note in simple
melodic form. During the autumn, annual singing conventions are held
throughout the State. The one at Steel Creek Church, near Charlotte, is
especially noted, and is attended by thousands from all over the State
and from adjoining States. The convention held at Wesley Chapel,
Catawba County, and the Mountain Song and Dance Festival at Ashe-
ville are also well known.
A kind of music, commonly known as "hillbilly" or string band
music, is popular in most small agricultural and mill villages. Songs and
instrumental selections, both old and new, are rendered in a monotonous
style, varying but little in harmonization.
On the Cherokee Indian Reservation it is hard to differentiate be-
tween what is traditional, and what is new and synthetic. Many of the
old songs have been preserved in records, but some, unfortunately,
have been lost. Ceremonial and medicine songs, belonging to men now
dead, can be sung with reasonable correctness by the Indians who have
heard their forebears sing them, but "civilized" influences with the
younger Indians favor simple hymn melodies and popular music, not
characteristically Indian.
The songs of the Negro in this State, as in other Southern States,
may be divided into two distinct groups: the work and dance songs,
and the religious songs, or spirituals. The work song is heard often,
for almost any group working by hand uses rhythmic singing to speed
the task and improvises to fit the occasion. Contrary to general opinion,
these secular songs of the Negro are more numerous and more nearly
reflect the everyday life and thought of the people than do the spirituals.
THE ARTS II5
Howard W. Odum, of the University of North Carolina, called serious
attention to these songs for the first time in his articles on Fol\-Songs
and FolkjPoetry as Found in the Secular Songs of Southern Negroes,
published in 191 1. Collections of Negro songs by Odum, Guy B. John-
son, of the University of North Carolina, and Newman Ivey White,
of Duke University, give prominence to ballads, blues, and work
songs.
The Negro spiritual is a distinctive contribution to American music,
of universal appeal for its beauty, emotional depth, and sincerity. Though
it derives its materials from the religious songs of the white man, its
special character is an original contribution of the Negro. Technically,
the Negro spiritual achieves its individual quality, according to George
Pullen Jackson, of Vanderbilt University, by modifications in pitch,
compass, scale intervals, and rhythmic trend. Jackson agrees with John-
son's conclusion that the spirituals "are selections from white music,
selections influenced by the Negro's African musical heritage." Negro
colleges and universities in North Carolina have advanced in musical
training; their choirs are made up of trained voices and the singing
shows a knowledge of formal music.
The Federal Music Project of the Works Progress Administration has
several teaching units in the State. Its symphony orchestra was merged
with that of Virginia, and its concert tours in both States were well
attended.
Composers who have won national reputation for symphonic treat-
ment of local folk music are Charles Vardell, of Salem College, and
Lamar Stringfield, who won the Pulitzer Prize with his composition
From the Southern Mountains. Rob Roy Peery, of Salisbury, now on
the staff of Etude, has won many prizes in music and has published
about 150 works.
Painting and Sculpture
During the Colonial and early Republican periods, fine art in North
Carolina, as in other communities without large cultural centers, con-
sisted of portraits by visiting artists and a few works purchased outside
the State. Paintings by such representative American artists as Benjamin
West, Henry Inman, and John Neagle found their way into private
collections. A number of canvases by the indefatigable portraitist of the
last century, Thomas Sully, remain in the homes of North Carolinians.
A collection given to the Wachovia Museum in Winston-Salem by Miss
Irene Welfare in 1904 contains several portraits by Sully, including the
noted and much-sought Self Portrait. In St. James Church at Wilming-
Il6 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
ton is an early work of unusual historic interest — an anonymous painting
of Christ found in 1748 on a Spanish pirate ship seized after an attack
on the town of Brunswick.
The Englishman William Garle Browne lived at Raleigh in the
middle years of the 19th century and painted excellent portraits
of many notable persons of that day. Eleven of his works are in the Hall
of History of the North Carolina Historical Commission.
The first North Carolina artist of national reputation was Elliott
Daingerfield. Born at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, he was brought
in infancy to North Carolina, where he spent his youth. He studied at
the Art Students' League in New York City, exhibited there at the
National Academy, and also lectured and wrote on art. Works by
Daingerfield, comprising oils, murals, and illustrations, chiefly of re-
ligious subjects and landscapes, appear in well-known galleries and
churches. He was head of the Permanent Art School at Blowing Rock,
where he resided for 30 years until his death in 1932.
A contemporary of Daingerfield, John Elwood Bundy, woodland
landscapist, is represented in leading museums in the United States.
Bundy was born in Guilford County in 1853, but left the State at an
early age, and his career is not conspicuously identified with North
Carolina.
Until recent years North Carolina had no publicly owned art mu-
seums or galleries. Since the 1920's, however, there has been a significant
increase of popular interest in painting, sculpture, and graphic work.
Groups of artists and art sponsors have sprung up in many communi-
ties, and their devoted labors have begun to produce gratifying results.
The circulating exhibitions of the American Federation of Arts made
paintings available to many areas where original works had rarely been
seen before. The North Carolina State Art Society was organized in
1923 to promote the study and appreciation of art; it possesses a growing
collection, conducts exhibitions and lectures, and calls attention to the
work of local artists. Other notable collections in North Carolina are
the Flora Macdonald College collection of modern European and
American canvases at Red Springs; the collection at Biltmore House,
home of George W. Vanderbilt at Asheville, which contains sculptural
decorations by Karl Bitter; and the growing collection of modern paint-
ings in the Mint Museum of Art at Charlotte. Person Hall Gallery in
Chapel Hill has a current program of exhibitions under the direction
of the university art department.
A stimulating influence has been created by the establishment of com-
munity art centers by the Federal Art Project. The first of these spon-
sored by the Federal Art Project in the United States was set up in
Raleigh in 1935. It emphasized chiefly its art-teaching program and has
THE ARTS 117
since succeeded in giving instruction to all children in grade and high
schools in the city. It has also sought to vitalize the local folk arts and
crafts through work in handweaving and the reproduction of indigenous
designs in textiles, copper, and clay.
Another center, at Greensboro, was established by the Federal Art
Project in July 1936. Its program includes art classes, exhibitions, and
community work in the arts and crafts. An extension division for
Negroes sponsored, financed, and staffed by the Negroes themselves, has
already received much popular support. To bring American art closer
to the life of the community, the center has circulated representative
works of art produced in other sections of the country, and at the same
time has brought to the foreground the work of North Carolina artists.
The Greensboro Federal Art Center is housed in the permanent Com-
munity Center made possible by a gift of $225,000 by Mrs. Lunsford
Richardson of Greensboro, and her daughters. A permanent civic or-
ganization known as the Greensboro Art Association has been formed
to develop the varied activities of the center.
The Community Art Center of Asheville conducts classes and ex-
hibits of drawings and paintings, pottery, woodcarving, copper, pewter,
and silver work, and fabrics. The city of Asheville furnishes a gallery
and room for lectures, and regular exhibitions are held by the Asheville
Art Guild and the Federal Art Project.
Francis Speight, a leading landscapist, and Charles Baskerville, Jr.,
Donald Mattison, and Mary Tannahill are among North Carolina
artists who have gained reputations outside the State. While few of
these painters are associated with North Carolina in the public mind,
a considerable number of artists who have remained at home, or who
have come from other parts of the country to reside in North Carolina,
are today furthering the local cultural development, and are also receiv-
ing attention in wider art circles. Clement Strudwick of Hillsboro
studied in New York City, has exhibited extensively in North Carolina
as well as in Washington and New York, and is well known for his
portraits of prominent North Carolinians. Other artists working in the
State at present are Gene Erwin of Durham and Chapel Hill, State
Director of the Federal Art Project (1939); Mary de Berniere Graves,
Chapel Hill portrait painter; James A. McLean, director of the Raleigh
Community Art Center and former director of the Southern School of
Creative Arts; Katherine Morris of Raleigh, formerly associated with
the Southern School and at present assistant director at the Raleigh Art
Center; Isabel Bo wen Henderson, Raleigh portraitist, and Mabel Pugh
and Mary Tillery, both of Raleigh.
A number of mural decorations have been executed in North Carolina
by native and visiting artists. At the Rockingham post office and court-
Il8 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
house Edward Laning has executed, under commission of the Treasury
Department Art Projects, a mural with the subject: the Post as a Con-
necting Thread in Human Life; and at the Wilmington post office
different historical and contemporary themes relating to Wilmington
and its surroundings have been depicted in eight reliefs by Thomas Lo
Medico, also working under the auspices of the Federal Treasury De-
partment. James McLean has done murals for the State College, Raleigh,
and David Silvette for the court room in the Federal building at New
Bern; Clifford Addams has decorated the council chamber of the city
hall at Asheville; and Ada Allen and Gene Noxon have prepared murals
for Salem College, Winston-Salem.
Outstanding possessions of the State in sculpture, besides the work of
Karl Bitter mentioned above, are the memorial to the women of the
Confederacy by Augustus Lukeman, the statue of Lawson Wyatt by
Gutzon Borglum, the bronze statue of Washington by Houdon, the
statue of Charles D. Mclver (a replica of which is on the campus of
Woman's College, Greensboro) by F. Wellington Ruckstuhl, all in the
Capitol Square at Raleigh; the busts of John A. Morehead, William A.
Graham, and Matt W. Ransom by Ruckstuhl in the rotunda of the
capitol; the sarcophagi of James B., Benjamin N., and Washington Duke
by Charles Keck at Duke University; the Motherhood group and Roc/{
of Ages of James Novelli at Durham; the George Davis monument at
Wilmington, and the statue of Gen. Nathanael Greene on Guilford
battlefield by Francis Herman Packer.
The camera studies of Bayard Wootten and Charles A. Farrell have
been used as book illustrations and have been exhibited in leading
American cities. These camera artists have recorded life in the State,
and their collections include character studies, landscapes, crop cycles,
and such picturesque subjects as fishing on the North Carolina coast.
George Masa, who died in 1933, made notable photographs of mountain
scenery in western North Carolina. James Dougherty, born in Ashe-
ville, is a graphic artist and illustrator of literary works.
Handicrafts
Colonial handicrafts have survived in North Carolina despite the
flood of machine-made products from the factories. Isolation, poverty,
the influence of tradition, and some steady local markets have served to
keep alive these native skills. In the mountain counties women have
often continued to weave and sometimes to spin because factory prod-
ucts were not easily available. In some families the tradition of weaving
or making pottery products has been strong enough in itself to preserve
THEARTS 119
the art for generations. The presence of raw materials and a local market
have often encouraged the making of such articles as simple furniture
and brooms.
Weaving, although widely practiced in the mountains and occa-
sionally in the countryside, is now largely done on new looms and
the products are designed for sale. However, some fine old family looms
still exist after generations of use. Such a loom, more than 160 years
old, was still being operated (1938) by Mrs. John Seagle in her shop
near Lincolnton. At Valle Crucis in the Finley Mast weaving cabin,
built in 1812, are two family looms still used for weaving, and a com-
plete man's suit of blue and white homespun, made early in the 19th
century by Mr. Mast's great-grandmother.
The woolen coverlet is the favorite product of the mountain looms.
Patterns are handed down from generation to generation under the
same names; the Saint Anne's Robe, Bony Part's March, Whig Rose,
and many others are known to North Carolina weavers but are not
peculiar to this State alone. Today many articles besides coverlets are
woven from wool, silk, linen, and cotton directly for markets. Blankets,
draperies, table covers, luncheon sets, shawls and scarves, baby robes,
handbags, and many kinds of cloth noted for fine quality of workman-
ship and dyes come from the modern mountain looms.
In the making of baskets and brooms the mountaineer craftsman
excels. A variety of baskets are made in native shapes, and in designs
suggested by demands outside the mountains. White oak splits are the
common material although willow, honeysuckle, hickory, the inner
bark of pine, cornstalks, cane, rye, and wheat straw are also used.
Usually mountain baskets are left white, but they are sometimes colored
with native dyes of walnut, butternut, or hickory nut.
Brooms are made from the broom corn that grows in nearly all parts
of the mountains and must be cut at a certain stage of growth and
cured by the broom makers. Variety in brooms comes from the methods
of tying the corn, the different colors used in dyeing, and the type of
handle attached. The handles are cut out with a knife and the straw is
tied and attached by hand. No mountain home is without some of these
brooms, and there is a wide commercial demand for the smaller types
such as hearth and whisk brooms.
The few simple types of mountain-made furniture, chairs, stools, and
benches, are comfortable and durable. Made from maple, hickory,
and oak, and sometimes walnut, the chairs have seats of hickory bark,
white oak splits, corn husks, or reeds. They are fashioned with in-
genuity and without the use of pegs or nails. Frames are made of green
wood and rungs and seats of dry wood so that as the green wood dries
it shrinks and the frames tighten their hold on the rungs and slats.
120 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
The chair maker does his work usually under an open shed, and his
only tools are a drawing knife, a pocket knife, and sometimes a hand
lathe.
Most of the potteries of North Carolina are in the Piedmont section,
although there are several in the mountains. In the 18th century a
colony of potters from Staffordshire, England, settled in the Piedmont
at the juncture of Moore, Randolph, and Montgomery Counties. Here
their descendants continue to fashion churns, crocks, bowls, and jugs,
grinding the local clay by mule power and turning it on the old-
fashioned kick wheel. Best known of the potteries of this region is
Jugtown Pottery, near Steeds, fostered and directed by Mr. and Mrs.
Jacques Busbee. In addition to preserving the native traditional de-
signs, the Jugtown Pottery has produced many special forms inspired
by old Chinese pottery. At Cole's Pottery, near Seagrove, where the
pieces are also made by hand, some of the most beautiful glazes in the
South have been developed. Hilton Pottery in Catawba County has also
produced special glazes, particularly combinations of gray and blue.
Two craftsmen of the Mountain Region who have achieved distinction
as potters are W. B. Stephens of Pisgah Forest Pottery near Asheville,
and the late O. L. Bachelder of the Omar Khayyam Art Pottery, near
Candler. The Germans in Catawba, and the Moravians in Forsyth
County have produced much good pottery, contributing the utensils
that are so much used in rural North Carolina homes.
The making of rugs, hooked, braided, and woven, is today providing
the mountain woman with a new source of income. Most of the rugs
displayed along mountain highways are hooked with a needle provided
by the mail-order house; they are of rags bought by the pound
and colored with cheap dyes, and follow ready-made patterns. Here
and there the rugs displayed show the careful workmanship and
originality of design that the schools and handicraft guilds have
encouraged.
In the mountains, especially, much ingenious metal work and wood
carving are done. Confiscated copper liquor stills are sometimes trans-
formed into trays, teapots, and novelties. Andirons, lanterns, and book
ends are made from iron. Native woods are used to make trays, spoons,
brackets, and many kinds of toys. In the toy shop at Tryon, children do
most of the designing and carving.
The Southern Highland Handicraft Guild, organized at Penland in
1928, has been a great stimulus to mountain handicrafts by bringing
craftsmen together, setting high standards of workmanship, and open-
ing new markets. The guild is composed of members of most of the
important handicraft centers and schools in the mountain area and
now operates successfully its own salesroom in Asheville. Among the
THE ARTS 121
schools now teaching handicrafts are the John C. Campbell Folk School,
Brasstown; the Appalachian Mountain Center, Penland; Markle Handi-
crafts and Community Center, Higgins; Crossnore School, Crossnore;
Dorland Bell School, Hot Springs, and the Asheville Normal and
Teachers College, Asheville.
ARCHITECTURE
THE STORY of architecture in North Carolina is the story of
architecture in America, with local variations to suit the place and
the people. During the years of striving for a foothold on the land,
the Colonial builders modified the types they had known at home to
suit the conditions of a new country. With increasing prosperity, cul-
tivated amateurs essayed strict imitation of English Georgian examples
on a small scale. The consciousness of independent nationality after the
Revolution turned the thoughts of individual architects to the styles of
the ancient republics for architectural expression.
Uncertainty as to the appearance of the earliest makeshift of structures
of the 16th century at Roanoke Island is only equaled by the haze of
doubt obscuring the 17th-century scene. However, since the inhospitable
coast line compelled settlers to enter the region about Albemarle Sound
by way of Virginia, their dwellings may well have resembled closely
the structures of the Tidewater. An unnamed and undated brick house
on Harveys Neck in Perquimans County would be quite at home along
the lower James River, laid up as it is in Flemish bond with a pattern
of light headers outlining the steep gable on the face of the sturdy end
chimneys.
Eighteenth-century accounts seem to bear out this supposition. In
describing domestic architecture of the Albemarle settlements about
1731, Dr. John Brickell of Edenton wrote: "The most substantial Plant-
ers generally use Brick and Lime, which is made of Oyster-shells . . . ;
the meaner sort erect with Timber, the outside with Clap-Boards, the
Roofs of both Sorts of Houses are made with Shingles, and they gen-
erally have Sash Windows, and affect large and decent Rooms with
good Closets. . . ."
Whether of brick or timber, such Colonial houses doubtless followed
the pattern of the English medieval cottage. In plan this usually con-
tained two rooms, with perhaps a passage between; in elevation the
single story was surmounted by a steeply pitched gable roof, sometimes
with dormer windows, and flanked by massive chimneys at either end.
Extant examples indicate that the gambrel roof was sometimes sub-
ARCHITECTURE I23
stituted for the gable; in either case, shingles replaced the English
thatch. Similar structures of one or two stories continued to be built
within the State far down into the 19th century, as the frontier moved
westward into the Mountain Region. A weatherboarded frame house,
transitional between this type and the more elaborate houses of the
subsequent Georgian Colonial style, is the Cupola House in Edenton,
1758, which through some chance preserved the medieval European
tradition of the overhanging second story.
Wood was the material used first for churches as well as for dwell-
ings; but judging from the harassed letters of the Rev. John Urmston,
written in 171 1 to his superiors of the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel, London, a church in any material was a matter of supreme
indifference to his carefree parishioners. This negligence must have
given way to a degree of pious industry by 1734, when the tiny brick
church of St. Thomas was erected at Bath in Beaufort Precinct. Almost
domestic in scale, it is quite frankly a house of God, without pretense
to tower or apse.
The brick church of St. Paul's in Edenton, designed to replace certain
wooden structures deplored by the Rev. Mr. Urmston, was begun in
1736, but the interior woodwork was not finished until 1774. The 38
years required to complete this second-oldest church now standing in
North Carolina were fertile ones for English architecture at home and
in the Colonies, and the changes which they brought are reflected in this
single building. Almost as severely simple on the exterior as the St.
Thomas Church at Bath, except for the square tower with octagonal
spire that marks the entrance, the interior detail of St. Paul's fol-
lows closely the decorative formulas laid down in the books of ar-
chitectural engravings that were currently spreading abroad the fashion
of English Renaissance elegance, known in this country as Georgian
Colonial.
In the 1750's came the accelerated movement into North Carolina of
peoples of racial stocks other than English. Several thousand Scottish
Highlanders took up lands in the vicinity of what is now Fayetteville,
and Presbyterian Scots from the lowlands as well as Scotch-Irish
also arrived in great numbers. Like the Lutheran, Reformed, and Mo-
ravian Germans and the English Quakers, the Scotch-Irish settled gen-
erally in the foothill regions of central North Carolina. Instead of the
large plantations of the English coastal settlements, smaller farms were
usually cultivated by these Piedmont settlers. Racial diversity, dissimi-
larity of religion, geographical and economic differences, and uncertain
means of communication tended to develop contrasting customs and
opinions in the two regions; and their buildings were at first as unlike
as their points of view.
124 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Perhaps the typical Scotch house of the late 18th century was one
described as having "one room, one door, and one window closed with
a wooden shutter . . . built of hewn logs, the interstices stopped with
clay, the roof covered with riven boards." Later examples of the type
still dot the countryside, despite the fact that frame houses soon super-
seded the original log ones.
The Moravians, too, used logs, which they sometimes covered with
weatherboarding after the fashion of frame houses. Such was the con-
struction of the north end of the Moravian Brothers House in Salem,
erected in 1768-69 to house the unmarried men and boys of the com-
munity. The steep roof with dormer windows, the entrance hoods, and
the unsymmetrical placing of doors and windows illustrate the persist-
ence of medieval tradition in German examples at a time when the
formal symmetry of the Georgian Colonial style was already well estab-
lished in the English coastal settlements. The south end of the house,
added in 1786, was of brick, as were all the important buildings in the
later history of the Colony.
Dunn's Mountain granite was sometimes used by the Germans who
settled south of the Moravians, but log houses, such as the Matthias
Barringer House, Catawba County, were more common in the 18th
century. Continental tradition seems to have become less and less marked
in the structures of the Piedmont settlers, and the last quarter of the
century witnessed the merging of the German with the English archi-
tectural styles.
Notice has already been taken of a suggestion of Georgian Colonial
formality and elegance in the Cupola House and in St. Paul's at Eden-
ton. It is to that town, therefore, that one may best return for illustration
of the further development of this consciously elaborate fashion which
began to supplant the unaffected early American style in the English
coastal settlements after about 1750.
The Chowan County Courthouse at Edenton, built possibly by Gil-
bert Leigh in 1767, is not unlike the typical Georgian structures in Wil-
liamsburg, Philadelphia, or at Harvard College. Built of brick with
white trim, it rises in two stories, differentiated by a string course, to a
level cornice beneath the hipped roof. Two inconspicuous flues replace
the massive end chimneys of the Colonial buildings. The entrance
pavilion is accented with a pedimented doorway framed by orders, and
crowned by a graceful cupola in the center of the symmetrical composi-
tion. Features such as these represent some of the universal characteris-
tics imparted to all Georgian Colonial buildings by individual study
of architectural books from England. Local stylistic differences prevail-
ing through the leaner years of the early settlements now melted away
in the comfortable warmth of increasing economic stability, and the
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ARCHITECTURE 125
urbane graciousness of the new vogue reflected the growing maturity of
the Thirteen Colonies.
Quite the most ambitious residence built in North Carolina prior
to the War of Independence was Tryon Palace in New Bern, begun the
same year as the Chowan County Courthouse and finished three years
later. Governor Tryon wrote of its construction in 1767: "I have em-
ployed Mr. Hawks, who came with me out of England to super-
intend this work in all its branches. He goes soon to Philadelphia to
hire able workmen, as the province affords none capable of such an
undertaking." In 1798 the house was accidentally fired, and the main
block together with the east wing destroyed; the remaining west wing
has been remodeled and covered with stucco. Until the discovery in
1939 of John Hawks' drawings for the house, an engraving made from
them in the 1850's offered the sole visual evidence on which to judge
the magnificence of this mansion, unique in the Province.
When George Washington visited New Bern in 1791 he is said to
have been entertained at the John Wright Stanly House, now the public
library. The building has many points of comparison with his own
residence on the Potomac, despite the absence of a long colonnade.
That edifices on such a grand scale were scarcely typical of pre-Revolu-
tionary towns in North Carolina is apparent from the accounts of con-
temporary travelers. In 1787 William Attmore, a Philadelphia merchant,
described the prosperous town of New Bern thus : ". . . about 500 or 600
Houses . . . are built mostly of Wood . . . many . . . are large and com-
modious, some are one story and some are two Stories high There
are to many of the houses Balconies or Piazzas in front and sometimes
back of the house this Method of Building is found convenient on
account of the great Summer Heats here. . . ."
One of the houses which this traveler may have seen is the so-called
Louisiana House in New Bern, according to tradition built in 1776. In
Wilmington a white weatherboarded house of similar design, which
served as headquarters for Earl Cornwallis in April 1781, has been res-
cued recently from possible destruction, through the efforts of the North
Carolina Society of Colonial Dames. It was built on the site of a town
jail which was shown on a map dated 1769, hence must have been
erected in the 1770's. Both this and the Louisiana House in New Bern
have gable rather than hip roofs, and their two-story porches are sup-
ported by superimposed orders. This type was found to be so well
adapted to the climate, and capable of so many variations in detail to
accord with the whims of fashion, that the two-story weatherboarded
house, with two rooms on each floor, with gable roof, and with or with-
out porches, became fairly standardized throughout the State well into
the 19th century.
126 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Of the 18th-century examples, several such town houses are still in
daily use in coastal communities, but many of the isolated plantation
mansions have fallen victim to fire and decay. A map of the lower Cape
Fear River for the period from 1725 to 1760 shows the location of over
60 such estates, many with plantation houses, in an area about 40 miles
long by 15 miles wide along the river and its branches. The present
house on Orton Plantation in Brunswick County gives some idea of
the scale of the vanished buildings, even though the exterior detail of
the 18th-century structure has been altered to conform with the ideals
of the Greek Revival, and wings have been added since the beginning
of the present century.
After the break from England there arose a period of self-conscious
nationalism in which the Thirteen Colonies came of age architecturally
as well as politically. English influence continued but it was mingled
with a cultural strain from France. The two infant democracies on
either side of the Atlantic were both to seek inspiration, for govern-
mental and architectural theory alike, in the traditions of the republics
of Greece and Rome. Appropriately enough the individual designer
was to attain prominence. In the United States one of the first to revive
classic forms was Thomas Jefferson, who personally had examined
Roman remains in France and accordingly in 1785 designed the capitol
in Richmond on a temple plan.
The architectural principles of the Sage of Monticello, based on French
orderliness coupled with Roman grandeur as interpreted through the
books of Palladio, were maintained in North Carolina when the new
capital city of Raleigh was laid out in 1792. The plan was smaller than
L'Enfant's scheme of 1791 for the National Capital at Washington, but
equally monumental in concept. At the center was to be a statehouse
in Union Square (later Capitol Square), approached from each side by
a 99-foot avenue named for one of the assembly towns; and in each
of the four quarters parks were to be left open. The statehouse, of
brick, built by Rhody Atkins between 1792 and 1794, was burned in
1831; and destroyed with it was the statue of Washington by Canova,
which had but recently arrived from Italy.
With a seat of government provided for, it was only fitting that build-
ings should be erected for the education of future legislators in a democ-
racy. The University of North Carolina had already been chartered in
1789. Accordingly the cornerstone of Old East Building in Chapel
Hill was laid in 1793, while the statehouse was still in process of con-
struction. This building, erected by James Patterson between 1793 and
1795 and enlarged by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1848, may be more
notable for sentimental associations than for architectural distinction,
yet it was eminently suited to its function of housing students.
ARCHITECTURE \T]
The first trustee of the university was a notable public servant, Samuel
Johnston, of Edenton. Shortly after 1800 he built on his estate overlook-
ing Edenton Bay the house which he called Hayes (see tour ia), after
the seat of Sir Walter Raleigh. This mansion preserves a number of
Georgian Colonial features that might occasion its being labeled post-
Colonial, as for example the two outlying wings connected with the
main house, the hip roof, and the spacious cupola; but the two-story
colonnade on the bay side shows the influence of Jefferson's Classical
Revival. The doorway on the town side, unlike the Georgian Colonial
pedimented openings, is flanked by side lights and surmounted by a
segmental fanlight. Sheltering the doorway is a graceful portico of
slender columns with delicate iron railings wrought in elliptical de-
signs. It is semicircular in plan after the manner of Samuel Mclntire's
contemporary mansions in Salem, Mass. Both were derived from the
fashionable work of the Adam brothers in 18th-century England.
The extent of New England influence in North Carolina coastal
architecture is undetermined as yet. Since sea trade between the two
regions was a commonplace in the 18th century it would have been
strange had there not been some interchange of architectural ideas. The
Masonic Opera House in New Bern, built in 1808, exhibits forms char-
acteristic of the work of the gifted gentleman-amateur of Boston, Charles
Bulfinch; as, for example, the shallow elliptical surface arch in the stuc-
coed brick wall, the corner quoins, and the prominent voussoirs over
the flat-arched windows. Such similarities might be accounted for by
the fact that the details for the design of this structure were perhaps
taken from one of Asher Benjamin's volumes of architectural details.
Such could scarcely be the case with the white weatherboarded First
Presbyterian Church built by Uriah Sandy from 1819 to 1822. It re-
sembles closely a New England meetinghouse with its fanlighted door,
graceful Ionic portico, and square tower diminishing in stages to an
octagonal cupola.
The detail of several early 19th-century New Bern houses likewise
is strongly reminiscent of that in the Massachusetts seaport towns, and
suggests in its fine scale and craftsmanship the work of ships' carpen-
ters. Typical is the brick Smallwood-Ward House, with the entrance
at one side of the facade, and with beautifully executed wood carving
in its slender pedimented porticoes, interior cornices, and mantels.
It is possible that land travel also may have had some influence upon
architecture in the State; for example, in the style of the plantation
houses in the region close to the main stagecoach route, which ran from
Washington through Richmond and Petersburg to Raleigh, and thence
south to New Orleans. Such a premise might account for the slender
detail of the early 19th-century houses in Warren and Halifax Counties,
128 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
which are fast disappearing through fire and neglect. Two of the finest,
of which little remain, were built by one Mr. Burgess: Montmorenci
near Warrenton, and Prospect Hill near Airlie. The latter, erected be-
tween 1825 and 1828 on an ashlar basement, was a two-story weather-
boarded mansion with gable roof, end chimneys, and an unusual corner
loggia on the garden side. Dependencies were located some distance
from the house. The entrance doorway was framed by semicircular
fanlights and side lights, and sheltered by a slender pedimented portico,
and the first-floor windows on either side of the doorway were triple,
with elaborate crowning motifs in carved woodwork. Within were a
curved staircase, delicately carved wainscot and cornices, mantels with
the Adam ellipse, and plaster ceiling medallions. Other contemporary
houses in the region, such as Burnside near Williamsboro, exhibit all
manner of combinations of channeling, reeding, and interlacing, com-
bined with stars, ovals, urns, classic figures, and delicate festoons, all
characteristic of the period. Cabinetmakers of German descent used
similar forms to some extent in Rowan and Cabarrus Counties.
Traditionally, due to trade and cultural ties, southern mansions have
owed their detail to individual interpretations of English rather than
American carpenters' books. Whatever the source of Mr. Burgess' in-
spiration, it appears to have been quite different from that pervading
the plantation houses in some other sections of the State. The Leigh
Mansion, begun on Durants Neck near Hertford in the same year as
Prospect Hill (1825), is one of several which retain that feature so suit-
able to the climate, the double porch fore and aft. These Classic Revival
examples are easily distinguishable from their Georgian Colonial prede-
cessors by the great colonnades, running through two stories, which
they carry in place of the small superimposed orders of the earlier time.
Such houses have often been styled Southern Colonial, although erected
after the Revolution and the War of 1812, but they belong rather to the
revival of Roman forms by Thomas Jefferson.
The logical expansion of Jefferson's theory to include the ancient
democracy of Greece received additional impetus in this country by
reason of the modern Greek war for independence waged in the 1820's.
Towns such as Old Sparta in Edgecombe County were given Greek
names, and Bracebridge Hall near Old Sparta gives visible testimony
to the prevailing fervor of the Greek Revival. No longer is the pedi-
mented porch carried on tall slender supports but on four sturdy Doric
columns without bases, and characteristic Greek fretwork replaces the
delicate detail of the preceding years.
The destruction by fire of the original statehouse in Raleigh necessi-
tated the erection, between 1833 and 1840, of a new and more monu-
mental building under the successive superintendence of W. S. Drum-
ARCHITECTURE 129
mond and Col. Thomas Bragg. The most prominent features of the
structure, the porticoes to east and west of the cross-shaped plan, again
reflect the spirit of the times in their strict Greek Doric order. The
nationally known architect, Ithiel Town, then at work on the custom-
house in New York, was called into consultation on the building. Upon
his recommendation the commissioners engaged as superintendent of
construction a young Scotsman, David Paton, who had assisted the
eminent London architect, Sir John Soane, designer of the Bank of
England. Paton made some 229 drawings of the building and its details
before his departure for Scotland in 1840. With the exception of the
door and window casings, the capitol is executed throughout in cream-
colored granite.
After Ithiel Town's death in 1844, his partner, Alexander Jackson
Davis, was responsible for some work in Raleigh and Davidson. As
already noted, he remodeled Old East and other buildings at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and designed the old library,
Smith Hall, which is now the Playmakers Theater. The strict temple
form was adopted for this little building, but the pseudo-Corinthian
capitals of the pedimented portico display an individual touch in the
substitution of ears of corn and other grains for the traditional acanthus
leaves. A similar departure from usage had been made at the National
Capitol during the early years of the century by Benjamin Henry
Latrobe, who is credited by some with the design for Ingleside in Lin-
coln County.
Latrobe's pupil, Robert Mills, of Charleston and Washington, is re-
puted to have designed the Rowan County Courthouse in Salisbury, but
no connection has yet been established. An equally fine example of the
small public building in the Greek Revival style is the Orange County
Courthouse in Hillsboro, erected in 1846 by John Berry, whose name is
also connected with Wake Forest College. Two contemporary build-
ings, constructed under the supervision of the United States Treasury
Department, are of special interest: the Branch Mint at Charlotte,
1845-46, now reconstructed on a different site as the Mint Museum; and
the old customhouse at Wilmington, 1844-46.
One of the most striking houses in Wilmington is the wooden Bellamy
Mansion, designed by James F. Post and built between 1857 and 1859
by Negro artisans. It is approached by a broad flight of steps and is
surrounded on three sides by a tall Corinthian peristyle after the fashion
of mansions in the deep South. Another residence on a grand scale is
the Belo House in Salem, built in 1849. Aside from the Corinthian
porticoes, the distinguishing features of the painted brick house are its
ornamental balconies combining wrought and cast iron, and the cast-
iron lion and dogs that stand guard at the entrance. This decorative use
I3O NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
of metal during the first 60 years of the 19th century gained favor with
the development of the product, until the mechanical era reduced the
practice to vulgarity through interminable repetition.
The Roman and Greek phases of classicism in American architecture
were essentially a romantic return to the past, but the most obvious
romantic trend developed around a literary interest in the medieval
picturesqueness of Gothic forms as opposed to classic symmetry. The
Gothic Revival involved a superficial adoption of such characteristic
details as the pointed arch, buttresses, and castellated battlements, rather
than the accurate interpretation of Gothic principles of construction.
That American cabinetmakers' books, printed even before 1800, gave
directions for finishing such detail may explain the presence of two
pilasters, paneled with Gothic pointed arches, which were incorporated
with otherwise classic detail in the afore -mentioned Prospect Hill, built
in 1825-28. David Paton indulged in similar combinations for the third
story of the capitol, 1833-40; and the Old Market House in Fayetteville,
remodeled in 1837, also combines Gothic arches with classic detail.
Probably the most noteworthy building in the State done wholly in
the Gothic Revival style is Christ Church in Raleigh with its slender
stone spire; it was erected between 1848 and 1853. Richard Upjohn,
architect of Trinity Church in New York, based the design upon the
principles of the English medieval parish churches that he had known
before his emigration to America.
During the later years of the Greek and Gothic Revivals came other
movements, of which one new current is discernible in the church of
St. John's-in-the-Wilderness at Flat Rock, built in 1833-36, remodeled
in 1854. In plan and in its tower buttresses it belongs to the Gothic
Revival, but its round-arched windows, and the wide eaves of its tower
roof are features of the Early Renaissance in Italy.
Perhaps the South was fortunate in that the lean years of Reconstruc-
tion coincided with a period of dubious architectural taste, for it was in
some measure spared the plague of ugly buildings that sprang up in
Europe and America alike, from the 1860's through the 90's; spared,
that is, except for the array of ponderous post offices through which a
paternal government proclaimed its renewed stability.
Henry Hobson Richardson, noted for his revival of Romanesque de-
sign, probably had no immediate connection with North Carolina, but
imitation of his use of rugged masonry, towers, and broad low arches
is noted in a number of public buildings, such as the old post office at
Wilmington, 1889-91, in Carr Building at the university, and in a few
houses.
A later phase of the Gothic Revival, often called Victorian Gothic,
also had its protagonists in North Carolina. Old Memorial Hall at the
ARCHITECTURE I3I
university, built by Samuel Sloan about 1885, embodied this movement,
as do many heavy brick churches standing throughout the State. The
exterior of the brick Governor's Mansion in Raleigh (1884), with its
many gables, patterned roof, paneled chimneys, and lathe-turned
porches, illustrates the features of the fashionable "Queen Anne" style
of the '70's. Many lesser buildings are dated unmistakably by an
assortment or combination of such features. Even Egyptian details ap-
peared, as in the cornice of the old memorial arches at Guilford Battle-
ground (one of which has been restored on the Davidson College
campus), and Moorish details as in the Jewish synagogue in Wilming-
ton. But most popular of all for courthouses, city halls, hotels, banks,
theaters, and other public buildings was the ornate and showy late
French Renaissance, with its mansard roof and baroque detail. The
Second Empire phase appeared in somewhat restrained form in the old
post office in Raleigh, 1874-79, an< ^ the Flemish version, with stepped
gables and scroll ornaments, in the old city hall in Charlotte, built
before 1895.
The interminable revivals of misunderstood historic styles were pro-
longed by the material expansion of the industrial era. One of the few
voices crying aloud in this architectural wilderness was that of Richard
Morris Hunt, the first American to be trained in architecture at the
Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. North Carolina has a distinguished
example of his work in Biltmore House, erected between 1890 and 1895
on the George W. Vanderbilt estate outside of Asheville. Biltmore House
is a veritable French chateau of the period of Francis I; but in Hunt's
intelligent handling of the mass of the building and of the beautifully
executed details, there is revealed an understanding of the spirit that
produced the original style, instead of the copybook attitude of most
of his contemporaries.
This understanding of the structure beneath surface ornament has
guided the worthiest successors of Hunt who have worked in the his-
toric styles during the present century, of whom but a few may be men-
tioned. Rafael Guastavino, a Spaniard who developed a light acoustical
tile much used for vaults even today, is said to have been inspired by the
Chapel of Nuestra Sefiora de los Desamparados in Valencia when he
created the St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church in Asheville. The
main altar and Chapel of Our Lady have been attributed to Stanford
White of the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White.
Alfred Charles Bossom, a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Archi-
tects, adapted Greek forms to modern needs in his Charlotte National
Bank; and in the Fidelity Bank of Durham, which he designed in
1914-15, Mr. Bossom used to good effect the characteristic forms of the
Early Renaissance in Italy.
I32 NORTH CAROLINA: GENERAL BACKGROUND
Charlotte and Durham are two among the cities of the State which
have developed systematic plans for further expansion, closely related
to architectural practice. In 191 1, Aymar Embury II had an opportunity
seldom afforded to city planners and architects — the creation of a new
settlement. In the Sandhills region of the State, the lumber and fruit
center of Aberdeen, and the resort towns of Pinehurst and Southern
Pines, this architect is known not so much as a designer of country
homes, on which he has written books, nor as the architectural member
of the Triborough Bridge Authority in New York, but as a man who
can turn his hand with equal success to inns and country clubs, office
buildings and stores, theaters and schools. Since the section possessed no
particular architectural tradition of its own, Mr. Embury employed in
many of the buildings, such as that for the Mid-Pines Country Club, a
modern derivative of the Georgian Colonial and early Classical Revival
styles.
In Pinehurst also is the Village Chapel, designed by Hobart Upjohn,
the grandson of the architect of old Christ Church in Raleigh, whose
wide practice in the State has included churches, parish houses, and
other buildings in many towns. Some of his work continues the stylistic
traditions of the coastal region; some represents a modern rendering of
the Gothic style.
Similar styles have been reinterpreted by Horace Trumbauer on the
two campuses of Duke University in Durham. The earlier of the two
groups, completed in 1928, is the Woman's College, built on the site
occupied by Trinity College until 1924. Its open quadrangle and rotunda
are reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia; but the
individual buildings are put to different uses and bear a stronger stamp
of the Georgian Colonial style than do those of Jefferson's "academical
village." The later group of buildings, situated about two miles dis-
tant from the Woman's College, includes Trinity College for under-
graduate men, the graduate and professional schools, the hospital, and
the dominating chapel, which was the first of the buildings to be de-
signed (1923) and, with the exception of the graduate dormitory (1938),
the last to be finished (1932). The Woman's College follows the archi-
tectural traditions of the South; but the buildings of the university
proper are designed in the traditional Tudor Gothic style of Oxford and
Cambridge. Their fidelity to this style recalls the intellectual heritage
of these older universities.
The first thought of the earliest builders in North Carolina was to
utilize known methods and the materials at hand. So it has been with
succeeding generations. But the intervening years have brought a need
for new and complex structures such as railroad stations, hospitals and
prisons, libraries and social centers, hotels and office buildings, in addi-
ARCHITECTURE I33
tion to the older and simpler needs for shelter and worship, govern-
ment and education. The architect of today must be able to solve the
problems involved in all these varied types of building, and he has at
his disposal all the mechanical and decorative resources that scientific
invention has provided in steel and its alloys, in concrete, in glass, and
in electrical illumination, heating, cooling, and humidifying.
When confronted with new problems and new materials, architects
who had been designing in terms of the whole range of historic orna-
ment attempted quite naturally to clothe their steel skeletons in the
garments of the past. Of the many stylistic garments tried, perhaps the
most suitable was the Gothic, which had developed as an expression of
the desire for height. The towering Jackson Building, built in Asheville
in 1924 by Ronald Greene, was designed in that spirit. But to many
architects it seemed that the new materials should express, not the forms
originated for heavy stone construction, but forms derived from their
own especial properties: the lightness and potential height of steel and
reinforced concrete construction; the textures and decorative possibili-
ties of concrete, of glass, and of metal alloys; and the effective values
of modern lighting.
These are some of the means by which architects today are working
toward a new style designed to utilize new materials in meeting new
needs. Some call it Functionalism, which in its logical clarity and com-
plete honesty it may well be. Two commercial structures in the State
that represent worthy efforts in this direction are the R. J. Reynolds
Building, erected in Winston-Salem in 1927 by Shreve, Lamb, and
Harmon; and the One Eleven Corcoran Street Building in Durham,
completed in 1937 by George Watts Carr of Durham in consultation
with the same firm. Nevertheless, a better correlation of materials and
human needs remains a challenging problem for the architects of the
future.
Part II
CITIES AND TOWNS
ASHEVILLE
Railroad Stations: Depot St. (Asheville) and Biltmore Village for Southern Ry.
Bi:s Station: Union Bus Terminal, 99 Patton Ave., for Greyhound, Smoky Mountain
Trailways, Queen City Coach Co., East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, Carolina
Scenic Coach Lines, and Carolina Stages.
Suburban Buses: Leave Pack Sq.
City Buses: Meet at Pack Sq. and Pritchard Park, fare 6$.
Sightseeing Buses: Operated by private concerns to Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, Mount Pisgah, and other scenic points; inquire Chamber of Commerce.
Airport: Asheville-Hendersonville, 11 m. S. on US 25 to Calvary Church; L. 2 m.; no
scheduled service.
Taxis: 25$ and up.
Traffic Regulations: Turns prohibited at intersections indicated by signs on traffic lights.
Accommodations: 19 hotels (2 for Negroes); boarding houses, tourist inns, and tourist
camps; no seasonal rates.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, 19 O. Henry Ave.; Carolina Motor Club,
16 S. Pack Sq.
Radio Station: WWNC (570 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: City Auditorium, Haywood St. at head of Flint St.
(under construction 1939); Lee H. Edwards Auditorium, McDowell St., occasional
productions, concerts, etc.; 8 motion picture houses (2 for Negroes).
Swimming: Recreation Park, 5 m. E. on Swannanoa Rd.; Aston Park, S. French Broad
Ave. and Hilliard St.; Horney Heights Park, Haywood Rd., West Asheville; Beaver
Lake, Merrimon Ave.
Golf: Asheville Country Club, off Kimberly Ave., 18 holes, greens fee, $1.50; Biltmore
Forest Country Club, 18 holes, greens fee, $2; Beaver Lake Golf Course, 18 holes,
greens fee, $1; Municipal Golf Course, 5 m. E. on Swannanoa Rd., 18 holes, greens
fee, 50</-; Malvern Hills Golf Course, Haywood Rd., 9 holes, greens fee, 50^.
Tennis: Free courts, Aston Park, Montford Park, Horney Heights Park, inquire City Hall.
Baseball: McCormick Field, Biltmore Ave. at Valley St., leased to Asheville Tourists,
Piedmont League (Class B).
Football: Memorial Stadium, off Biltmore Ave. near McCormick Field.
Riding: Grove Park Riding Academy, off Macon Ave.; Biltmore Forest Riding Academy,
Biltmore Forest.
Shooting: Skeet and Gun Club range, Rhododendron Park, inquire Chamber of Com-
merce.
Camping: Free camping sites in National Forests, inquire U. S. Forest Service, Arcade
Bldg., or Chamber of Commerce.
Hunting and Fishing: Inquire Chamber of Commerce.
Annual Events: Land of the Sky Open Golf Tournament, late Mar. or early Apr.; Sunrise
Service, Easter Sunday; Women's Spring Golf Tournament, 3rd week Apr.; Rhodo-
dendron Festival, 2nd or 3rd week June; North Carolina Open Tennis Tournament,
2nd week July; Women's Invitation Golf Tournament, 4th week July; Mountain Folk
and Dance Festival, Aug.; Men's Invitation Golf Tournament, 2nd week Aug. and
3rd week Aug.; Negro Fair, Sept.; Kennel Club Show, Oct.; Big Game Hunts in
Pisgah Forest, Nov. and Dec.
ASHEVILLE (2,216 alt., 50,193 pop.), is situated on a plateau ringed by
ranges of the Blue Ridge. It is the economic and cultural center of 18 moun-
i37
I38 CITIES AND TOWNS
tain counties in western North Carolina and combines the features of a
tourist and health resort with those of an industrial center.
Near the eastern entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
and bordered by national forest lands, the city is in the midst of recreational
areas containing more than a million acres. Some of the finest primeval for-
ests in the United States are accessible by motor roads and hiking trails.
Asheville's streets roll and twist to follow natural contours. The business
section presents an uneven mixture of old and new buildings, with Pack
Square in the center at the junction of the principal highways and dominated
on the east by the civic center. The French Broad River, whose gorge pro-
vides the only railroad outlet to the north, borders the western section known
as West Asheville. Along the river's banks, as well as those of its tributary,
the Swannanoa, are railroad yards and numerous industrial plants.
The city's population, coming from all parts of the country, is cosmopoli-
tan rather than typically southern. The finer homes are in such sections as
Lake View Park, Grove Park, suburban Biltmore Forest, and on some of
the older streets. On the west slope of Beaucatcher Mountain, surrounding
the modern high school for Negro children and a few churches, are numer-
ous houses occupied by Negroes. Hundreds of white millworkers and other
families of the low-income group reside in the West End. The preponderant
tone of the residential sections, however, is that of the middle-income group
who live in new subdivisions or on the more attractive streets.
The 14,255 Negroes in Asheville, 28.4 percent of the total population,
maintain a business center on Eagle and Valley Streets and another on
Southside Avenue. The better Negro homes are on the east end of College
Street and on streets in the north central part of town. While the bulk of the
race is employed in unskilled and domestic labor, the Negroes are represented
in most of the professions as well as in business. They have their own
churches and schools, including the fully accredited Stephens-Lee High
School.
The site of Asheville was a part of the Cherokee Indian hunting ground.
In 1673 James Needham and Gabriel Arthur came into Cherokee territory
to establish trade with the Indians, who, by 1700, were bartering skins for
guns. Long before the Revolution white hunters explored what is now Bun-
combe County.
There were no settlements before the Revolution because the English had
fixed the boundary of white domain at the foot of the Blue Ridge and
guaranteed the territorial integrity of the Indians. This assurance made the
Cherokee allies of the British during the Revolution, and inspired their raids
upon Colonial settlements. To end Indian aggression, Gen. Griffith Ruther-
ford led his Colonial force through the region in 1776, marching down the
Swannanoa River as far as present Asheville, then proceeding westward to
crush the Cherokee and destroy their villages.
In 1792 Buncombe County was formed from Rutherford and Burke Coun-
ties, its territory extending to the western boundary of the State. It was
named for Col. Edward Buncombe, a Revolutionary War figure.
The definition of "buncombe" (spelled also bunkum and contracted to
bunk), as meaning anything said, written, or done for mere show, had its
ASHEVILLE I39
origin in a speech made in the Sixteenth Congress by Felix Walker, Repre-
sentative from the district of which Buncombe County was a part. The
address was a masterpiece of fence-sitting, and when a colleague asked the
purpose of it, Walker replied: "I was just talking for Buncombe."
In 1794 John Burton laid out a town tract of 21 acres for the county seat
near the heart of the present business district and named it Morristown in
honor of Robert Morris who helped finance the American Revolution and
who once had large land holdings in this section. Three years later when
the settlement was incorporated it was renamed in honor of Samuel Ashe,
Governor of North Carolina (1795-98).
With the construction of the Buncombe Turnpike in 1824 the region
became more accessible from South Carolina, Georgia, and other Southern
States. Visitors and health seekers came in increasing numbers to escape
the summer heat of the southern coastal plains and many remained to build
homes. A fashionable resort grew up at Sulphur Springs, west of the town,
when Asheville was little more than a stage stop "between the two Green-
villes" (S. C. and Tenn.).
To the Confederate Army the county contributed seven of the ten com-
panies composing the 60th North Carolina Regiment, including the Bun-
combe Riflemen. Battery Park Hill took its name from an artillery unit
stationed on that eminence. Federal troops occupied the city during the
final months of the conflict after a minor skirmish a few miles north of
town, and burned an armory on Valley Street.
Tobacco became a profitable crop during the Reconstruction period and
several warehouses were built. Falling prices led to abandonment of the
industry until 1931, when, because of the successful cultivation of burley
tobacco in the region, the city again became a tobacco market center.
From 1880, with completion of the first railroad, Asheville experienced a
slow but steady growth as industrial plants increased in number and size
and new residents built homes. Textile mills were established and plants
were set up for the manufacture of wood and mica products, foodstuffs, and
other commodities.
The coming of George Vanderbilt, New York capitalist, in 1889, and of
E. W. Grove, St. Louis manufacturer, in 1900, and the improvement projects
they conducted, served to attract wider attention to the city and to accelerate
its growth. Vanderbilt founded Biltmore Village, south of the city, purchased
130,000 acres of mountain lands, and developed Biltmore Estate with its
great chateau. Grove established the residential section bearing his name,
built Grove Park Inn, and cut the top off Battery Park Hill, using the mass
of earth and stone to fill a ravine south of Patton Avenue, now the Coxe
Street section. The first streetcar was operated in 1889; the last was replaced
by buses in 1934.
In the middle 1920's the Florida real estate boom spread to Asheville.
Wild speculation and unwholesome overexpansion, both public and private,
caused several bank failures and a distressing public debt. In 1936 a debt
settlement, based on a long-time amortization plan, was effected with the
creditors of the city and county.
Among well-known writers who have made their homes in Asheville are:
I4O CITIES AND TOWNS
Edwin Bjorkman, author, critic, and translator; Olive Dargan (Fielding
Burke), poet and author of Highland Annals and Call Home the Heart;
Helen Topping Miller, novelist and short-story writer; William Sydney
Porter (O. Henry), short-story writer; Lula Vollmer, author of Sun-Up, and
Thomas Wolfe, author of hoo\ Homeward Angel and Of Time and the
River.
The Civic Music Association engages outstanding artists and groups dur-
ing the winter. The Asheville Art Guild conducts occasional exhibits
on the first floor of the city hall. The Negro Community Chorus of 40
voices, and the Gospel Chorus of Mount Zion Baptist Church, 30 members,
appear in public concerts featuring Negro spirituals.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. PACK SQUARE, at the intersection of Biltmore Ave., Broadway, and
Patton Ave., named for George Willis Pack, philanthropist, a native of New
York State, was formerly the courthouse square. The first courthouse, of logs,
erected in 1793, was succeeded in turn by four other buildings. The fifth, a
three-story brick structure, was torn down in 1903 after Mr. Pack had given
land on East College Street for a new building.
The Vance Monument, on the west side of the square, is a 75-foot hewn-
granite obelisk erected in 1897 to honor Zebulon Baird Vance (1830-94).
A native of Buncombe County, Zebulon Vance was in succession a member
of Congress, Colonel of Confederate troops, twice Governor of the State, and
at the time of his death United States Senator. It is said that he loved every
foot of North Carolina soil from the Dismal Swamp to Cherokee, and that
he gave $5 to every baby named for him until they became too numerous.
The monument was financed through popular subscription aided by a gift
from Mr. Pack.
2. THE PACK MEMORIAL LIBRARY (open 9-6:30 Mon.-Fri., 9 - 7 Sat.),
4 S. Pack Sq., is the outgrowth of a private library organization started in
1879; a building was donated to the group by Mr. Pack in 1899. The asso-
ciation in 1919 conveyed its property to the city. The three-story limestone
structure was erected in 1925.
3. The CITY-COUNTY PLAZA, E. of Pack Sq., is terraced and land-
scaped with winding streets and walks. Behind it rise the city hall and the
county courthouse.
The CITY HALL (R), is built of brick, marble, and terra cotta in shades
harmonizing with the natural colors of the clay soil. Designed by Douglas
Ellington and built in 1927, the nine-story building is surmounted by a
tower covered with varicolored tiling. A feather-motif, recalling early Indian
history, is the prevailing feature of the decorations. The trim and wainscot
of the entrance loggia are of Georgia pink marble; the vaulted ceiling is of
dull gold tile, bordered in pink, black, and orange. Symbolic murals in the
council chamber on the second floor, the work of Clifford Addams of New
York, depict the story of the Indians and white settlers. The carillon in the
ECCE HOMO, ST. JAMES CHURCH, WILMINGTON
ST. THOMAS, BATH
ST. PAUL S, EDENTON
INTERIOR OF ST. THOMAS CHURCH, BATH
^
^j I .
OLD BETHABARA CHURCH, OLD TOWN 1 , NEAR WINSTON-SALEM
MORAVIAN CHURCHYARD, WINSTON-SALEM
t&M
■ ^Emmftf^^^ 0**>*
HOME MORAVIAN CHURCH AND SALEM COLLEGE, WINSTON-SALEM
..» »«iM>iiiilii.ii..«rf I' ■^MTi
CHRIST CHURCH, RALEIGH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NEW BERN
ST. LAWRENCE CATHOLIC CHURCH, ASHEVILLE
CEDAR GROVE CEMETERY, NEW BERN
"■#■■ mJJi/:; ft'^. ■■Mrv ^,-:.S, A: «#.'■ ; 4^:*.' ^'^I
...
ST. JOHN S-IN-THE-WILDERNESS, FLAT ROCK ST. PETERS CHURCH, WASHINGTON
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, GREENSBORO
~s&:
COUNTRY CHURCH OX US 70, NEAR MORRISVILLE
ASHEVILLE 141
tower was presented to the city by the Buncombe County War Mothers as a
memorial to the World War dead. On the seventh floor is the Sondley
Reference Library {open 9-6 weekdays), of which 29,000 books and
pamphlets have been catalogued (1939). It was bequeathed to the city by
Dr. Forster Alexander Sondley (1 857-1 931), lawyer, scholar, and book col-
lector. The oldest printed volume here is the St. Jerome's Epistles, published
in Parma, Italy, in 1480. The earliest imprint in the fine collection of Caro-
liniana is Harriot's Brief e and true report of the new found land of Virginia,
published by DeBry in Germany in 1590. The library has the second printing
of the first edition in Latin, and a reprint of the English. The notable col-
lection of North Carolina law books includes the famous Yellow Jacket
(named for the color of its cover), being a Collection of all the public Acts
of the province of North Carolina, published at New Bern in 1752. In the
Indian collection are 300 books including the Acts of the Apostles, printed
in the Cherokee syllabary in New Echota, Ga., in 1833, and a copy of Vol. 1,
No. 50 of the Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate (Feb. 25, 1829), a
weekly newspaper published by E. Boudinott at New Echota. The 2,100-
volume collection of Bibles and related works includes works in Greek,
Burmese, Cherokee, Armenian, and English, the Breeches Bible, and a
reprint of Coverdale's translation known as the Bug Bible.
The BUNCOMBE COUNTY COURTHOUSE (L), 15 stories in height,
was designed by Milburn and Heister of Washington, D. O, and built
during the boom period (1925-27). The structure is of cream-colored brick
with classic details of Indiana limestone and granite. The upper five stories
serve as a county jail.
4. The FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, SE. corner Oak and Woodfin Sts,
is constructed of buff brick, wood, and metal with tall brick columns front-
ing the facade. Designed by Douglas Ellington and completed in 1927, it has
an octagonal dome of varicolored tile, surmounted with a copper lantern.
5. The ST. LAWRENCE CHURCH {Roman Catholic), NW. corner
Haywood and Flint Sts., completed in 1909, was designed by Rafael Guasta-
vino, whose body rests in a crypt near the entrance of the Chapel of Our
Lady. Guastavino, a native of Spain, won a wide reputation for originating
Key to Asheville Map
1. Pack Square. 2. Pack Memorial Library. 3. City-County Plaza. 4. First Baptist
Church. 5. St. Lawrence Church. 6. McDowell House. 7. Biltmore Estate. 8. Col-
burn Museum. 9. Lee H. Edwards High School. 10. Riverside Cemetery. 11. Grove
Park Inn. 12. Sunset Mountain. 13. Tobacco Market. 14. Site of the Swain House.
15. Beaucatcher Mountain.
a. Post Office, b. Chamber of Commerce, c. Carolina Motor Club. d. Bus Station.
e. Southern Railway Station, f. Southern Railway Station — Biltmore. g. Airport.
h. Play Park. 1. Aston Park. k. Recreation Park. l. Horney Heights Park. m. Base-
ball Park. n. Football Stadium, o. Asheville Country Club. p. Beaver Lake Country
Club. q. Malvern Hills Golf Course, r. Biltmore Forest Golf Course, s. Municipal
Golf Course, t. Skeet Club & Rhododendron Park.
144 CITIES AND TOWNS
a cohesive type of self-supporting arch. He came to the United States in
1 88 1, and to Asheville as a consulting architect on the Biltmore House.
Finding the facilities of the Catholic church inadequate, he proposed con-
struction of a new building to which he contributed his services and part
of the funds. The architecture of the brick structure is of modified early
Renaissance design. The entrance is flanked by twin towers and surmounted
with statues of St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, and St. Aloysius Gonzaga. The
auditorium is spanned by a large elliptical dome having a clear span of 82
by 58 feet. The self-supporting dome is built wholly of tile, so woven that
of its three layers no two joints coincide. The main altar and that of the
Chapel of Our Lady were designed by Stanford White. The reredos, in
carved walnut, was obtained from an old church in northern Spain. Sur-
rounding the reredos are figures of the saints in polychrome terra cotta by
Guastavino.
6. The McDOWELL HOUSE (private), 283 Victoria Rd., the oldest house
in Asheville, was built in 1840 by James M. Smith, the first white child
born (1787) west of the Blue Ridge. The brick structure of post-Colonial
architecture has 18-inch brick walls, massive end chimneys, and a two-story
gallery porch on the front. There is a fan transom over the front door. The
original mahogany doors and mantels are retained.
BILTMORE VILLAGE, lying south of the Swannanoa River at the
south end of Biltmore Avenue, now a part of the city of Asheville, was
designed and built by George Vanderbilt as a model English-type com-
munity of which Biltmore House was the manor. A native of Staten Island,
N. Y., Vanderbilt in 1889 began buying land southeast of Asheville, includ-
ing Mount Pisgah and several other forested mountains and valleys. A
village plaza and a score or more of houses were erected, in the medieval
half-timber type of construction. All Souls Episcopal Church became the
cultural center of the village and Biltmore Hospital, later replaced by a
modern structure, the health center. The village proper was sold to an
investment company after Mr. Vanderbilt's death. The original architectural
style has given way to modern brick stores and filling stations but many of
the old houses, the stores on the plaza, and the church remain.
7. The BILTMORE ESTATE (open 9:30-6 daily; adm. $2 per person),
entrance on Lodge St. from Biltmore Village, comprises 12,000 acres of farm
and forest lands including the landscaped grounds surrounding Biltmore
House, the Biltmore Dairies, a reservation for wildlife propagation, and 15
highly developed farms operated by tenants.
In 1892 Mr. Vanderbilt appointed young Gifford Pinchot superintendent
of the Biltmore forests, enabling him to institute the first large-scale refor-
estation project in the United States. On the appointment of Pinchot as chief
of the United States Division of Forestry he was succeeded in 1895 by Dr.
Carl Alvin Schenck, forest assessor of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, whose
work as a practical forester and as founder of the Biltmore School of For-
estry contributed to the development of scientific forestry in this country.
ASHEVILLE 145
The reforestation project was later made the object of special study by the
Appalachian Forest Experiment Station.
In 19 1 6, Mrs. Vanderbilt sold 80,600 acres to the United States Govern-
ment to form the nucleus of the Pisgah National Forest. Later she sold a
tract from the estate for development into the Biltmore Forest residential
village. The 50 acres immediately surrounding Biltmore House are laid out
in terraces and gardens. The front approach is a grass-carpeted esplanade
with a circular pool in the center. At the eastern end of the esplanade the
Rampe Douce, an ornate stone structure designed in the manner of the one
in the gardens of the chateau of Vaux le Vicomte in France, gives access
to bridle paths that traverse the thickly wooded slopes. Beyond a hedge are
the spring gardens containing one of the most complete collections of trees
in the South.
The BILTMORE HOUSE (guides on duty), designed by Richard Morris
Hunt in the early French Renaissance style of Francis I, recalls the palatial
chateaux at Blois and at Chambord. Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., designer
of Central Park in New York City, was landscape architect, and Chauncey
D. Beadle, landscape engineer.
Completed in 1895 after five years of construction, with skilled artisans
from this country and from Europe, the house covers an area of 4 acres with
frontage of 780 feet. The facade rises in three distinct stories, graduating
in height from the elaborate portal to the finial cresting on the roof. The
severity of the mass is relieved by the characteristic French peaked roof with
dormer windows and lofty chimney stacks. The walls are of hand-tooled
Indiana limestone; the roof is of slate.
The main portal opens into the front hall, 75 feet in height, with Guasta-
vino tile ceiling. At the left of the hall a spiral stairway, modeled after that
of the Chateau de Blois, and supported by its own arch construction, leads
to the topmost floor. The hand-wrought bronze railing of the stair encircles
a chandelier of wrought iron with a cluster of lights for each landing.
Adjoining the front hall is the court of palms containing a fountain orna-
mented with the figures of a boy and a swan by Karl Bitter, Austro- American
sculptor.
The dining room walls are covered with Spanish leather above a marble
wainscot. At one end is a Wedgwood fireplace. The banquet hall is designed
in the Norman tradition. Over the triple fireplace that almost covers one
end of the room is a frieze by Bitter, representing the Return from the Chase.
Five 16th-century tapestries depicting the story of Vulcan and the loves of
Venus and Mars, hang from the wall. They are said to have been made in
Brussels after the original cartoons by the Bolognese painter Primaticcio. At
the end of the hall opposite the fireplace is a great rack of Swedish copper-
ware reaching to the ceiling.
In the print room are engravings by McArdell, Earlom, C. Turner,
Cousins, Ward, and Cole. On the center pillar of the entrance, an engraving,
the Executioner, by Prince Rupert after Spagnoletto, hangs above the Virgin
and Child by Theodore Caspara Furstenberg after Correggio. The large
assembled engraving on the left wall shows the family tree of Maximilian
the Great by Albrecht Diirer (1516). The six engravings on each side of
I46 CITIES AND TOWNS
this piece are likewise by Diirer. In this room is an inlaid chess table
reputed to have been used by Napoleon I during his exile on St. Helena. A
dull stain in the table drawer, tradition relates, marks the place where the
heart of the Emperor lay hidden until it could be smuggled into France
for burial.
In the tapestry gallery, adjoining the print room, covering almost the
entire 100-foot length of the walls, are three Flemish tapestries of the late
15th century depicting Prudence, Faith, and Charity. The library is paneled
in Circassian walnut. The ceiling painting is the work of Giovanni Battista
Tiepolo (1696-1770), last outstanding artist of the Venetian school. The
canvas was obtained from an Italian palace with Mr. Vanderbilt's agreement
that the name of the original owner should never be revealed. The shelves
contain some 25,000 volumes, among them rare works on art, architecture,
and gardening. An upstairs corridor displays the red velvet train of Cardinal
Richelieu.
BILTMORE FOREST, a suburban area lying south of Biltmore Village,
was developed from a portion of the Biltmore Estate. With its natural
wooded setting, landscaped drives, country club, riding academy, and a few
shops, this incorporated village, which has its own municipal facilities, is
considered one of the most attractive in the South.
8. The COLBURN MUSEUM (open to mineralogists by permission of
owner), at the residence of Burnham S. Colburn, Greystone Court, Biltmore
Forest, contains one of the finest collections of southern Appalachian minerals
and Cherokee Indian relics in existence, including specimens of almost
all the 300 minerals found in North Carolina. Hiddenite, the rare emerald-
green variety of spodumene which occurs in this form only in North Caro-
lina is displayed. Native minerals and gems are shown with similar gems of
foreign origin. The Cherokee relics include ancient clay pots found in
graves, stone weapons, and gorgets, carved from conch shells.
9. The LEE H. EDWARDS HIGH SCHOOL, McDowell St., was de-
signed by Douglas Ellington in 1927. It is constructed of granite in tones
ranging from white through gray to pink. A tower, banded in orange brick
and terra cotta, rises above the central rotunda. Besides the class rooms the
structure contains an auditorium seating 1,800.
10. In RIVERSIDE CEMETERY, entrance on Birch St., is the Grave of
William Sydney Porter (O. Henry), short-story writer (1862-1910), whose
second wife was Miss Sarah Lindsay Coleman of Weaverville. O. Henry
did some of his writing while living near Weaverville, 9 miles north of
Asheville.
A Monument marks the grave of 18 interned German sailors who died
of typhoid fever during the World War in the United States hospital,
Kenilworth. With several hundred others, they were held in an internment
camp at Hot Springs (see tour 22a) after being taken from German mer-
chant ships in United States harbors. The monument was erected in 1932
ASHEVILLE 147
by Kiffin Rockwell post of the American Legion, and other legionnaires
throughout the State.
Here also is the Grave of Thomas L. Clingman (1812-97), Representa-
tive in Congress and later United States Senator, who served as brigadier
general in the Confederate Army. After the war he measured several moun-
tain peaks in western North Carolina and assisted in developing the mineral
resources of the section.
The Grave of Zebulon Baird Vance is marked by a rough block of
granite, and nearby is the Grave of Gen. Robert B. Vance (1828-99), his
brother. General Vance served in the Confederate Army as commander of
the military district of western North Carolina.
n. GROVE PARK INN, off Macon Ave., on the west slope of Sunset
Mountain, a resort hotel built in 1912-13 for E. W. Grove, resembles a Swiss
mountain hostelry. With a frontage of almost 500 feet, the mass of the
building rises in a series of terraces, giving a rambling, horizontal effect. The
walls are of native granite boulders. Massive dormer windows lend variety
to the red-tiled roof. The lobby is notable for two fireplaces of unusual size.
The Biltmore Industries {open g-5 Mon.-Fri., 9-12 Sal.), adjoining the
Grove Park Inn premises, are housed in a group of buildings including work-
shops, offices, and salesrooms. Here are produced the Biltmore homespuns
(piecegoods), made on hand-operated looms from yarns dyed in the wool.
12. SUNSET MOUNTAIN (toll 50$ for one-seated cars, J5<f- for two-seated
cars), at end of Macon Ave., presents an extensive view of Asheville and
the surrounding mountain ranges. The mountain was named because of the
impressive sunsets that can be seen from its summit (3,100 alt.). The moun-
tain may be reached by a hiking trail (free) starting near the end of Macon
Avenue.
13. The TOBACCO MARKET (open in season). Two warehouses for the
sale of burley tobacco are operated in Asheville: the Carolina, on Valley
Street, and Bernards, in Biltmore. The market usually opens the second week
in December and closes about January 15. Mountain farmers bring in their
tobacco to be sold by auctioneers who use the rapid-fire jargon peculiar to
the trade. In 1937-38 season sales on the local market aggregated 5,500,000
pounds.
ELK MOUNTAIN SCENIC TOUR— 17 m.
The Elk Mountain Scenic Tour along the ridges of mountains skirting
the city on the northeast and east affords views of mountain peaks, coves,
and valleys from numerous vantage points.
North from Pack Square on Broadway; R. on Merrimon Ave. to junction
with Beaverdam Rd., 2.5 m. ; R. on Beaverdam Rd. to the junction with
a dirt road, 5.1 m. Left on the dirt road to (14), the SITE OF THE SWAIN
HOUSE (private), 200 yds., birthplace of two cousins, David Swain and
Joseph Lane, who became Governors of different States. The original log
148 CITIES AND TOWNS
dwelling was built in 1795 by George Swain. The present two-story struc-
ture was built of hewn logs taken from the original house. David Lowry
Swain, son of George and Caroline Lane Lowry Swain, who was born here
Jan. 4, 1801, served as Governor of North Carolina (1832-35), the youngest
man who ever occupied that position, and was president of the University
of North Carolina from 1835 until his death in 1868. Joseph Lane was born
in the Swain house on Dec. 4, 1801, the son of John and Elizabeth Street
Lane. He moved to Kentucky, later to Indiana, and was brevetted major-
general for service in the Mexican War. In 1848 he was commissioned by
President Polk as Governor of the Territory of Oregon, was elected United
States Senator in 1859, and Governor of the new State in 1861. In i860 he
was candidate for Vice President with Breckinridge.
Retrace dirt road to Beaverdam Rd. At 5.2 m. the Scenic Loop takes R.
fork, following State 694 markers. The route ascends the mountain by a
steep climb following a sand-clay road.
At 9.2 m. is MOUNTAIN MEADOWS INN (open in summer), a
rustic hotel set in mountain surroundings with a sweeping view of the
Swannanoa Valley.
At 12 m. is the junction (R) with the toll road to Sunset Mountain, and
at 13.7 m. is another junction (R) with the Sunset Mountain toll road.
The Scenic Drive turns sharply L. at this junction.
At 14.9 m. the route turns R. to pass through an underpass at the gap
of (15) BEAUCATCHER MOUNTAIN, 15.1 m., at the eastern edge of
the city overlooking Asheville and the ranges to the west. According to tra-
dition the mountain received its name because young women kept trysts
with their beaux here.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Birthplace of Zebulon B. Vance, 13.5 m., Craggy Rhododendron Gardens, 29 m.
(see tour 21 a); American Enka Plant, 7 m., Spivey Mountain observation tower, 7 m.,
Lake Junaluska (Methodist summer assembly), 27 m. (see tour 21b); Mount Pisgah,
25 m. (see tour 21 A); Montreat (Presbyterian summer assembly), 17 m., Blue Ridge
(Y.M.C.A. summer assembly), 17 m., Ridgecrest (Baptist summer assembly), 18 m.
(see tour 30); Mount Mitchell, 29 m- (see tour 30A); Chimney Rock and Lake Lure,
25 m. (see tour 31c).
CHAPEL HILL
Railroad Station: Nearest at Durham, N. C, 12 m.
Bus Station: 121 N. Columbia St. for Carolina Coach Co.
Airport: Martindale Field, 2 m. NE. on old Hillsboro Rd.; no scheduled service.
Accommodations: 1 hotel; boarding houses.
Information Service: Alumni Headquarters, Carolina Inn; campus Y.M.C.A.; Graham
Memorial.
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Playmakers Theater, campus; Forest Theater, Coun-
try Club Rd.; 2 motion picture houses.
Athletic Fields: Kenan Stadium (football); Emerson Field (baseball); Fetzer Field (track
and intramural contests).
Golf: Chapel Hill Country Club, Country Club Rd., 9 holes, greens fee, 50^.
Annual Events: State-wide Dramatic Festival and Tournament of the Carolina Dramatic
Association, Mar.; High School Week, Apr.; University Day, Oct. 12.
CHAPEL HILL (501 alt., 2,699 P°P-)> seat °f the University of North Caro-
lina, first of the Nation's State universities, is situated on a granite elevation
250 feet above the eastern Coastal Plain near the center of the State. The
village takes it name from the little New Hope Chapel that stood in the late
1 8th century at the crossing of the roads from Petersburg, Va., and New
Bern, N. C.
The single business block is as undistinguished as the main street of any
southern small town but on the 552-acre campus are dignified ivied buildings
bearing the names of men and women outstanding in State and university
affairs. Pleasant streets are shaded by lichened oaks, hickories, hollies, cedars,
flowering fruit trees, redbud, and dogwood. Homes, old and new, are set in
shady yards and banked with flowers and shrubs. Stone walls clad with ivy
or rambler rose vines border university as well as private property. Fraternity
houses, mostly Georgian, cluster about the edges of the campus among the
village churches, the post office, and the Carolina Inn. Forested Battle Park,
with brooks, springs, and picnic grounds, is at the east end of the campus.
With no industries and no commercial interest other than to serve the uni-
versity community, Chapel Hill has remained a friendly village, its sociability
interwoven with intellectual liberalism.
In 1776 the Halifax convention framed a constitution which provided that
"All useful learning shall be duly encouraged and promoted in one or more
universities." Sponsored by Gen. William R. Davie, "father of the univer-
sity," a charter issued by the general assembly in 1789 stipulated that the
university should not be "within five miles of the seat of government or of
any place holding courts of law or equity." In 1792 the commissioners,
"because of its healthiness," chose this hill where "the flat country spreads
M9
150 CITIES AND TOWNS
out below like the ocean," and where "an abundance of springs of the
purest and finest water . . . burst from the side of the ridge." The first
trustees, with Gen. William Lenoir as president, were men who had been
or later became Governors, legislators, Senators, and State and Federal
judges.
The village grew with the new institution. On Oct. 12, 1793, when Davie
as grand master of Masons laid the cornerstone of Old East, the first build-
ing, the first town lots were sold. Oct. 12 is annually celebrated as University
Day.
On the opening day, Jan. 16, 1795, in spite of bitter weather and almost
impassable roads, many prominent men, including Gov. Richard Dobbs
Spaight (see new bern), assembled at Chapel Hill. The first student,
Hinton James, who walked the 170 miles from Wilmington to Chapel Hill,
did not arrive until Feb. 12; for two weeks he was the student body. By
the end of the second term there were 100 students. Although the young
institution was accused of being "aristocratical," tuition fees were low and
living conditions primitive. The boys seldom saw a newspaper and weeks
intervened between letters. The only way to travel the red clay roads was
by horseback, cart, "chairs," or double sulkies. Feather beds were rented
from the steward for $24 a year or the boys slept on hard boards; meals at
commons were $40 for the year. Some of the boys brought body servants
from home to forage for firewood, carry water, and sometimes cook their
meals.
The university's original endowment consisted of old claims on sheriffs
and other officers, and escheats, including unclaimed land warrants granted
to Continental soldiers, collection of which was uncertain and often made
enemies for the new school. By constant struggle and periodic appeals for
private benefactions, the institution grew despite general poverty, opposition
to taxation, denominational hostility, and sectional controversies between the
east and west. The general assembly did not appropriate public funds for
its maintenance until 1881.
Joseph Caldwell came from Princeton in 1796 to accept the chair of
mathematics and until he was elected the first president in 1804, the school
was under a succession of "presiding professors." Notable in Caldwell's
regime (1804-12, 1817-35) was tne erection in 1830 of a modest observatory,
the first in connection with an American university, to house instruments he
had purchased in London. Under Caldwell, the institution grew from a
small classical school into a creditable college. He was succeeded by David
Lowry Swain, youngest Governor of the State (1832-35), an astute poli-
tician and practical financier who did much to popularize the university
over the whole State and to build up its endowment before the termination
of his long tenure (1835-68).
The university remained open during the War between the States, although
as each Southern State seceded its student sons summarily departed until, at
the 1865 commencement, there were but four graduates and 10 or 12 students.
Union troops protected college property when they occupied the village in
April 1865. Unable to weather the storms of Reconstruction, its endow-
ment dissipated in worthless securities, the institution was closed by a
CHAPEL HILL 151
carpetbag administration in 1868. It was not successfully reopened until
1875 after a heroic fight led by Cornelia Phillips Spencer and friends and
alumni headed by Kemp Plummer Battle. Dr. Battle, president (1876-91),
established the first summer normal session in the South (1877), and wrote
a comprehensive two-volume history of the university.
During the administration of Dr. Francis Preston Venable (1900-14) the
university's finances were set in order, student athletics were encouraged,
and creative scholarship was required of the faculty. Venable Hall, the
chemistry building, recalls his eminence in that field.
The brief administration of Edward Kidder Graham (1914-18) was no-
table for the enlargement of the university's service to the State at large,
increased resources for administrative and building purposes, and a strength-
ening of student morale and honor standards. During his regime, Mrs.
Robert Worth Bingham (Mary Lily Kenan Flagler) endowed the Kenan
professorships in memory of her parents and her uncle. Under President
Harry Woodburn Chase (1918-30), the university achieved an international
reputation for high standards of scholarship and for freedom in research
and teaching. In 1922 the institution was elected to membership in the
Association of American Universities and in 1931 to its presidency. The
administrative consolidation of the university, the woman's college at
Greensboro, and the college of agriculture and engineering at Raleigh into
the Greater University with Frank Porter Graham as president, was effected
in 1932.
In the regular session (1936-37) there were 250 faculty members and
3,052 students, 1,077 correspondence students, and 868 in extension classes,
with an estimated 2,000 for the summer session. The student body includes
representatives of 36 States other than North Carolina, though most of the
21,000 alumni live in the State. Women, who in 1938 constituted 10 per-
cent of the enrollment, are not admitted to the general college (freshman
and sophomore classes) except in the School of Pharmacy.
The College of Liberal Arts has been expanded into the Schools of
Commerce, Law, Library Science, Medicine, Pharmacy (largest in the
South), Public Health, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School,
the Summer School, the School of Fine Arts, and the Extension Division.
The Institute for Research in Social Science was organized in 1924 with
Howard W. Odum as director. It promotes social science and research.
Numerous specialized studies on southern life have been published, with
the attainment of a cultural inventory of the whole region as the ultimate
objective.
The Carolina Playmakers have made a distinguished contribution to
American folk drama, finding their sources in the life and history of the
State. Their founder and director, Frederick H. Koch, came to the uni-
versity in 1918. The Playmakers annually present six plays, six experimental
productions (written and directed by students), and eight readings of con-
temporary plays. Four volumes of original plays have been published. Koch
also organized the Bureau of Community Drama and helped organize the
State-wide Carolina Dramatic Association. Among "Prof" Koch's pupils
have been Maxwell Anderson, Paul Green, Hatcher Hughes, Lula Vollmer,
J.S NVN3X
IS N0S8311Vd
CHAPEL HILL 153
Anne Preston Bridgers, Shepherd Strudwick, Sidney Blackmer, and Thomas
Wolfe.
Faculty members include Archibald Henderson, mathematician, historian,
and biographer of George Bernard Shaw; Paul Green, philosopher and
Pulitzer prize playwright; Phillips Russell, biographer of John Paul Jones,
Emerson, and others; Howard W. Odum, sociological writer. Judge Robert
W. Winston, who reentered the university at the age of 60, has since written
biographies of Andrew Johnson, Jefferson Davis, and Robert E. Lee.
The University Press publishes annually about 30 books and issues five
periodicals and technical journals. The press specializes in books about the
South's social, economic, and racial problems, and experimental textbooks.
POINTS OF INTEREST
{Unless otherwise stated, all university buildings are open during school
hours.)
1. The OLD WELL, in a little classic temple on maple-shaded Cameron
Avenue, in the heart of the campus, is the shrine and symbol of the univer-
sity, and center for outdoor "pep" meetings, though for years its chief
mission was to furnish the only water available to students.
2. SOUTH (MAIN) BUILDING, opposite the well, modeled after Prince-
ton's Nassau Hall, is a three-story brick building with a Westover River
Front entrance and a two-story Ionic porch at the rear. It dates to 1798 when
its cornerstone was laid and walls for a story-and-a-half building erected.
Students made little huts in the structure, which remained roofless until a
lottery and President Caldwell's canvass of the State in his stick-back gig
provided money for its completion (1814). When the university was closed
in 1868, horses and cows were stabled on the lower floor. Remodeled (1926),
South Building houses administrative offices.
3. OLD EAST, flanking the well on the E., is the country's oldest standing
State university building. Designed and built by the "mechanic," James
Patterson, its cornerstone was laid in 1793. It is a simple well-proportioned
three-story brick building, without architectural distinction. Originally in-
Key to Chapel Hill Map
1. The Old Well. 2. South (Main) Building. 3. Old East. 4. Old West. 5. The
Davie Poplar. 6. Person Hall. 7. Hill Music Hall. 8. New West. 9. Memorial Hall.
10. Gerrard Hall. 11. The University Library. 12. The Morehead -Patterson Bell Tower.
13. Kenan Stadium. 14. The Playmakers Theater. 15. New East. 16. Davie Hall.
17. The Coker Arboretum. 18. The President's House. 19. Spencer Hall. 20. The Stone
Cottage. 21. The Widow Puckett House. 22. The Hooper House. 23. The Chapel of the
Cross. 24. Graham Memorial. 25. The Sprunt Memorial Presbyterian Church. 26.
Gimghoul Castle.
a. Post Office, b. Bus Station c. Information Service, d. Emerson Field, e. Fetzer
Field. f. Golf Course.
154 CITIES AND TOWNS
tended as the south wing of a larger structure to face east along a mile-long
avenue, Old East was two stories high and had 16 rooms, each accom-
modating four students. Bricks were burned from clay with wood taken
from university lands. Sea shells given by a Wilmington friend were brought
by boat to Fayetteville and thence by wagon to Chapel Hill where they were
converted into lime. In 1824 Old East was lengthened and made one story
higher to conform to Old West, built in that year. In 1924 the danger of
collapsing walls and foundations entailed remodeling the interior of Old
East, but the work did not destroy the original lines.
4. OLD WEST (1824), flanking the well on the W., matches Old East, and
serves as a dormitory.
5. The DAVIE POPLAR, N. of the well in the heart of the old campus,
is a great ivy-covered tree named for the father of the university. Under it
the commissioners supposedly paused to eat lunch when they were inspecting
the site for the new university.
6. PERSON HALL, W. of the poplar, first chapel of the university, was
started in 1793 and finished in 1797 through the gift of Gen. Thomas Person.
It was built in three sections, the original laid in Flemish bond with care-
fully designed post-Colonial details. The H-shaped one-story building is,
architecturally, one of the most notable structures in Chapel Hill. It is used
(1939) by the School of Fine Arts.
7. HILL MUSIC HALL, NW. of Person Hall facing the poplar, is a white
sandstone and buff brick building originally the Carnegie Foundation Li-
brary (1907-29). Through the gift of alumnus John Sprunt Hill and his
wife, it was remodeled as a center for university musical activities. The
auditorium seats 796, has a four-manual pipe organ, can accommodate a
chorus of 125 and a 60-piece orchestra.
8. NEW WEST, W. of Old West, was begun in 1857, as was its companion
building, New East, to provide much-needed accommodations, when, after
the gold rush, the enrollment increased from 170 students in 1850 to 456
in 1858. It is a three-story building of stuccoed brick and sandstone trim,
with a large central pavilion flanked by wings. The architecture is of Italian
influence with well-executed detail. New East is similar in design but has
four stories. New West houses the department of psychology and has on its
third floor the Dialectic Society Hall {open on application to janitor).
The "Di" and the "Phi" literary societies, organized in 1795, were long in
charge of all student activities and expulsion from the society was tanta-
mount to dismissal from the university. Their tradition of violent political
disagreement arises from the fact that the Di was for western and the Phi
for eastern students. Sectionalism still plays a part in the choice of members,
but the organizations are largely forensic and parliamentary. They annually
sponsor State-wide high school triangular debating contests; finals are held
in Chapel Hill.
CHAPEL HILL 155
9. MEMORIAL HALL, opposite New West, is a white-columned, buff-
painted brick convocation hall. Erected in 1 931, it contains memorial tablets
to war dead, prominent alumni, and benefactors of the university. One
honors James Knox Polk, nth President of the United States, who was
graduated with the first honors of his class in 1818 and "never missed a duty
while in the institution." He attended the 1847 commencement while he was
President.
10. GERRARD HALL, between Memorial Hall and South Building, built
in 1822, is a small rectangular brick structure, which served for many years
as a chapel. It was named for a university benefactor, Maj. Charles Gerrard.
There was formerly a classic portico on the south side intended to face an
east-west avenue, abandoned when merchants complained that it would
divert traffic from Franklin Street. It was used for years to accommodate
small audiences, but in 1938 was condemned for use, awaiting restoration.
11. The UNIVERSITY LIBRARY {open 8:15 a.m.-u p.m. weekdays; 2-6
Sun.), at the end of the unfinished quadrangle behind South Building,
erected in 1929, is the heart of the new campus. It is an impressive lime-
stone structure with monumental granite steps, a Corinthian portico, and a
low dome. The interior, conservatively decorated in the classic style, is finished
in plaster and travertine. The 343,832 volumes constitute one of the three
largest book collections in the South. The extension service lends some
50,000 volumes yearly. Among important special collections are those dealing
with North Carolina and the South, consisting of books, letters, diaries,
plantation records, and maps. The Hanes Collection for the Study of the
Origin of the Book includes Babylonian tablets, Egyptian papyri, 1,000
medieval manuscripts, and 560 books printed in the 15th century. There
are separate departmental libraries and a union catalogue showing also
holdings of the Library of Congress, the John Crerar and Duke University
libraries.
12. Rising behind the dome of the library, facing on South Road, is the
MOREHE AD-PATTERSON BELL TOWER, erected in 193 1, an impos-
ing Italian Renaissance campanile in a setting of boxwoods, presented by
John Motley Morehead and Rufus Lenoir Patterson. Names of their fami-
lies, long associated with the university, are inscribed on the bells. Each
afternoon at 5 o'clock the chimes ring out old hymns, university songs, and
occasionally popular music.
13. KENAN STADIUM, behind the bell tower, built in 1927, is approached
by roads and paths through the woods that encircle it. This concrete amphi-
theater nestles in a natural bowl and seats 24,000 in its permanent stands.
The end walls of the oval are terraced in native shrubs and slope down to a
gateway on the western end and a field house on the eastern end. The
stadium was the gift of William Rand Kenan, Jr., in memory of his parents.
It is used for major athletic events and commencement exercises and in
the summer for plays, pageants, and concerts.
I56 CITIES AND TOWNS
14. The PLAYMAKERS THEATER, SE. of South Building, when built
in 1849, was called the Smith Building for Gov. Benjamin Smith, first bene-
factor of the university, who gave land warrants for 20,000 acres. It was
designed by Alexander J. Davis at the height of the Greek Revival and has
a portico of the Corinthian order. The column capitals are designed with
ears of corn and other grains in place of the traditional acanthus leaves.
This was the first library of the university (used only by faculty and visitors)
and scene of the annual commencement balls. After a period as the law
school it was converted into the experimental theater of the Carolina Play-
makers who also maintain a Forest Theater for occasional outdoor produc-
tions on Country Club Road in Battle Park.
15. NEW EAST, opposite the Playmakers Theater, erected in 1857, houses
the geology department. On the 1st floor is the Geological Museum {open
9-4 Mon-Fri.; 9-1 Sat.; and on special occasions). In the collection are
specimens of rare North Carolina gems, fossil wood from sedimentary rocks,
and itacolumite, flexible sandstone from Stokes County. On the 4th floor is
the Philanthropic Assembly Hall {open all hours).
16. DAVIE HALL, E. of New East, built in 1908 and named for the uni-
versity's founder, houses the botany and zoology departments. In the build-
ing are many specimens of mounted plants and animals and the Herbarium
{open 9-5 weekdays), one of the largest in the South.
17. The COKER ARBORETUM, NW. corner Cameron Ave. and Hills-
boro St., is a 5-acre university garden transformed from a boggy cow pasture
by Dr. W. C. Coker. It is one of the most complete botanical gardens of its
kind in America and contains almost every shrub or tree that grows in the
temperate zone. A loose rock wall marks its boundaries and a wistaria
trellis borders Cameron Avenue.
18. The PRESIDENT'S HOUSE, SE. corner Franklin and Hillsboro Sts.,
built in 1909, is a large dwelling with colonnaded portico and porches on
three sides, erected in President Venable's regime on the site of President
Swain's former home. President Graham holds open house Sunday nights
for students and faculty.
19. SPENCER HALL, SW. corner Franklin and Hillsboro Sts., women's
dormitory, bears the name of Mrs. Cornelia Phillips Spencer (1825-1908),
ardent supporter of the university after the War between the States. She
climbed to the tower of South Building and rang out the glad tidings when
word was received that the university would reopen. The LL.D. conferred
upon Mrs. Spencer in 1895 was the first honorary degree bestowed upon a
woman by the university. Among her many writings was Last Ninety Days
of the War (1866), written at the request of Gov. Zebulon B. Vance.
20. The STONE COTTAGE {private), NE. corner Franklin and Hills-
boro Sts., was originally the law office of Judge William H. Battle and_
Samuel F. Phillips, later United States Solicitor General. Italian in style it
is of field stone construction covered with stucco. Here in 1845 began the
university's first professional school, that of law.
CHAPEL HILL 157
21. The WIDOW PUCKETT HOUSE {private), 501 E. Franklin St.,
built about 1799 by John Puckett, is one of the few remaining houses with
the narrow front porch and open-work "veranda supports" peculiar to early
Chapel Hill dwellings. A characteristic loose rock wall borders the lawn.
For many years this was the home of the Rev. Dr. James Phillips, mathe-
matics professor and father of Cornelia Phillips Spencer.
22. The HOOPER HOUSE {private), NE. corner Franklin St. and Battle
Lane, was built in 18 14 by William Hooper, grandson of the signer of the
Declaration of Independence of the same name, and once professor at the
university. The original lines and proportions of the frame structure are well
preserved. It has a gambrel roof and end chimneys which step back unat-
tached above the second story.
23. The CHAPEL OF THE CROSS {Episcopal), Franklin St. adjoining
Spencer Hall, has three buildings connected by a cloister. The original
church, built with slave labor (1842-46), is a small brick building in the
Gothic Revival style, and contains an old slave gallery. The new church
building and the parish house, designed by Hobart B. Upjohn in the same
style and built in 1924-25, were the gift of the Durham industrialist, William
A. Erwin, in memory of his grandfather, Dr. William R. Holt. The brick
parish house forms the rear of the garth, connecting the two church buildings.
The new buildings were constructed of pink Mount Airy granite; the
stained-glass windows were designed by Bacon, of London.
24. GRAHAM MEMORIAL (1932), off Franklin St. on the old campus,
student union and major center of student activity, was a gift to the uni-
versity from alumni and friends, including an anonymous donation of $80,000.
The red brick building has an 8-columned portico with balustraded parapet.
It was named in honor of Edward Kidder Graham, whose portrait hangs in
the lounge with those of other university presidents.
25. The SPRUNT MEMORIAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (191 8),
opposite Graham Memorial, is a noteworthy example of village church archi-
tecture, designed by Hobart B. Upjohn in the Wrenn tradition. An oval
stairway connects the parish house with the main body of the church.
26. GIMGHOUL CASTLE, on Point (Piney) Prospect, Gimghoul Rd., is
a turreted, native stone structure which affords a sweeping view of the
countryside. It belongs to the Gimghouls, a junior social order. Beneath
Dromgoole Rock at the castle entrance, according to college legend, is the
grave of Peter Dromgoole, killed in a duel with a fellow student over his
sweetheart and buried secretly by the terrified survivor and the seconds.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Fossil Forest, 3 m. (see tour 10); University Lake, 3 m. (see tour //); Duke Uni-
versity, 12 m. (see durham).
CHARLOTTE
Railroad Stations: 60 1 W. Trade St. for Southern Ry.; 401 W. 4th St. for Piedmont &
Northern R.R.; N. Tryon at 13th St. for Seaboard Air Line R.R.
Bus Station: Union Terminal, 410 W. Trade St., for Atlantic Greyhound, Carolina Coach,
Queen City Coach, and Smoky Mountain Trailways; Selwyn Hotel, 132 W. Trade St.,
reservations for Pan-American Bus Line.
Airports: Municipal Airport, 7 m. W. on US 74-29, for Eastern Air Lines; Cannon
Airport, 2.5 m. W. on Tuckaseege Rd., sightseeing trips.
Taxis: Cruisers 10^, baggage extra; cabs on call, four passengers 25$ within city limits.
City Buses: Fare 7^; meet on Independence Sq.
Traffic Regulations: No turns on Independence Sq.; 30 min. parking in downtown sec-
tion; other regulations indicated by signs.
Accommodations: 18 hotels (2 for Negroes); boarding houses, tourist camps.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, 123 W. 4th St.; Carolina Motor Club,
437 S. Tryon St.
Radio Stations: WBT (1080 kc), WSOC (1210 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Armory Auditorium, 310 N. Cecil St., festivals,
concerts, etc.; Charlotte Little Theater, 211 E. 9th St., occasional productions; 10
motion picture houses (3 for Negroes).
Swimming: Wilora Lake, 3 m. NE. on State 27; Willamette Pool, 5 m. SW. on US 29;
Fairview Pool for Negroes, Fairview Park, Martin St.
Golf: Carolina Golf Club, 3 m. SW. on US 74-29, 18 holes, greens fee, 75^; Sharon Golf
Club, 3 m. SE. on State 262, 18 holes, greens fee, 75^; Hillcrest Golf Club, 1412
Westover, 9 holes, greens fee, 40^.
Baseball: Hayman's Field, off S. Mint St., Piedmont League (Class B).
Football: Municipal Stadium, N. Cecil St. and Park Dr.
Riding: Marsh-Connell Riding Academy, 1 m. S. on US 21.
Annual Events: Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament, Jan. or Feb.; Kennel Club Show,
Apr.; Garden Club Show, May; Food Show, usually in Sept.; County Fair, Oct.; Tex-
tile Show, variable date in autumn; North Carolina-South Carolina High School
Football Championship, 1st Sat. Dec.
For further information regarding this city, see Charlotte, a Guide to the Queen
City of North Carolina, another of the American Guide Series, sponsored 1939
by Hornet's Nest Post No. 9, American Legion.
CHARLOTTE (732 alt., 82,675 P°P-)> trie population of which more than
quadrupled during the first 30 years of the 20th century, is characteristic of
the industrial North Carolina Piedmont. Towering business buildings, great
warehouses, and numerous factories betoken its importance as a commercial
and manufacturing center. Near the South Carolina boundary, a score of
miles east of the Appalachian foothills, the city reaches into fertile, cultivated
lands from which it draws much of its life and wealth.
158
CHARLOTTE 159
Independence Square, formed by the intersection of Trade and Tryon
Streets, is the center of the city, within six blocks of which are tall office
buildings and the principal stores. In the shadow of the larger buildings,
on side streets, are old structures of dull red composition stone or crumbling
brick, giving way gradually to buildings of mirrored surfaces, expanses of
plate glass, and chromium trim.
A few blocks north of the square and extending to the Seaboard Air Line
passenger station are some remnants of early Charlotte — old houses and
spreading lawns, once the charm of the community — most of which have
disappeared in the expansion of the business area.
Fine old trees, landscaping and gardening characterize the residential sec-
tions of Eastover, Myers Park, and Dilworth, east and southeast of the center
of the city, where many of the finer homes are situated. Beyond these devel-
opments are large estates, marking the trend of the wealthy toward the coun-
try. The bulk of the city's population lives in middle-class homes on attrac-
tive, tree -shaded streets and in the newer suburbs.
Save on the southeastern edge, the city is surrounded by textile-mill villages
where long rows of square, identical four-room houses are occupied by
hundreds of white operatives. These suburbs, chiefly Chadwick-Hoskins on
the west and North Charlotte, are sizable towns in themselves, having their
own stores and branch post offices.
Charlotte's 25,163 Negroes, 30 percent of the total population, live in
scattered, segregated districts. Biddleville, the western suburb where Johnson
C. Smith University is situated, contains the homes of the business and pro-
fessional groups. Lying between South McDowell and South Brevard Streets
is Blue Heaven, typical of the sections inhabited by the poorer Negroes.
Although the bulk of the Negro population is employed in common labor
and in domestic service, the race is well represented in business and in the
professions. A religious publication firm and two insurance companies oc-
cupy their own office buildings.
The present Charlotte area was occupied by the Catawba Indians when
the first permanent settlers began arriving about 1748 — Scotch-Irish and Ger-
mans who came south through Pennsylvania and Virginia, and English,
Huguenots, and Swiss from Charleston, S. C. Catawba and passing Cherokee
Indians gave the settlers trouble and there were skirmishes with some hostile
northern Indian allies of the French. In 1761 the Catawba withdrew into the
territory that had been assigned them just inside the South Carolina Line
and by 1763 the settlers were no longer molested by the Indians.
The section was a part of Anson County until 1762 when Mecklenburg
County was formed. The original conveyance of 360 acres for the town site
was made by Henry E. McCulloch, agent for George A. Selwyn, in 1765
for "ninety pounds, lawful money." The county seat was built around a
log courthouse and chartered in 1768. Town and county were named for
Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of George III.
Fertility of the soil brought more settlers and prosperity to the region.
In 1 77 1 a college was established. The area around Charlotte became a focal
point of dissatisfaction with British rule under Gov. Josiah Martin because
of the imposition of ever-increasing taxes and disallowance of the college
l6o CITIES AND TOWNS
charter by the English Crown due to Whig and Presbyterian influence on
the board of trustees. Finally, news that the blood of colonists had been shed
by the British at Lexington and Concord was climaxed by a meeting of 27
representative men, called by Col. Thomas Polk, a military leader, county
assemblyman, and great-uncle of President Polk. The session convened May
19, 1775. On the following day, according to local history, the delegates
affixed their signatures to a declaration of independence (Mecklenburg Dec-
laration). It met with wild acclaim by the excited crowd milling about the
courthouse. The date is inscribed upon the State flag and upon the Great
Seal of North Carolina and is observed as a State holiday.
Capt. James Jack was chosen to take the message to Philadelphia where
Congress was then sitting. After a hazardous ride on horseback, partly
through Tory country, he arrived at the Congress only to meet with refusal
on the part of the members to consider the measure. The records containing
the declaration were destroyed by fire in 1800.
Because of the controversy that later arose over the authenticity of the
Mecklenburg Declaration, Captain Jack in 18 19 issued a statement attesting
that he rode to Philadelphia with the document. This statement, along with
those of delegates, is believed by many to establish proof of the genuineness
of the first declaration of independence in the Thirteen Colonies. However,
other historians hold that there is no evidence of the May 20, 1775 meeting.
Proof exists of a meeting in Charlotte on May 31, 1775, which adopted a
set of resolves more moderate in tone than the so-called declaration.
On Sept. 26, 1780, Charlotte was occupied by the British under Cornwallis,
but not until the invader's advance had been hotly contested by the local
militia. The Whigs harassed the British outposts and a number of skirmishes
took place in the vicinity. At the Mclntyre Farm, angry bees helped a hand-
ful of Whigs to disperse the British raiders.
A week after Cornwallis learned of the defeat and death of Colonel Fer-
guson at Kings Mountain (Oct. 7, 1780), he withdrew into South Carolina,
asserting: "Let's get out of here; this place is a damned hornets' nest." The
epithet is perpetuated on the city's seal, and in the names of local organi-
zations.
Shortly before the British invasion, 13-year-old Andrew Jackson, his
mother and two brothers moved from the Waxhaw settlement, then a part
of Mecklenburg County where Andrew was born (1767), into South Caro-
lina. One of the brothers, Hugh, was killed at the Battle of Stono. Andrew
and the other brother, Robert, were taken captives. Tradition relates that
British soldiers ordered the boys to blacken the soldiers' boots and when
they refused, they were set upon by the British and severely wounded. Robert
died from the effects of his wounds and Mrs. Jackson died a few days later.
The future President carried the scars of his wounds the rest of his life.
He lived in the Waxhaw settlement for a few years, spending part of his time
in Charlotte.
President Washington visited the town in 1791. James Knox Polk, nth
President (1845-49), was horn near Charlotte in 1795.
At the end of the 18th century Charlotte was the center of a gold rush
and until the discovery of gold in California in 1848 this was the most
CHARLOTTE l6l
productive region in the country. A branch of the United States Mint was
built in Charlotte in 1836, and with the exception of the years of the War
between the States, was operated until 1913.
Charlotte and Mecklenburg County sent several units to the Confederate
Army, including the Charlotte Grays, the Hornets' Nest Rifles, and officers
of the Bethel Regiment. The last meeting of the Confederate Cabinet was
held in the city and at the end of the war there were 1,200 soldiers in local
hospitals. While in Charlotte, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy,
learned of Lincoln's assassination (Apr. 15, 1865).
The abolition of slavery and the introduction of wages into the economy
of agriculture changed the principal occupation of this and other sections
of the Piedmont from farming to manufacturing. Development of enormous
quantities of hydroelectric power on the Catawba River, which flows a short
distance west of the city, aided the expansion of industry.
Textile mills are the lifeblood of the Piedmont and in Charlotte they are
the barometers of prosperity, though the city's 265 manufacturing plants
produce a wide variety of other goods. Its central position and shipping facili-
ties have made the city the most important distribution point in the Caro-
linas. Numerous wholesalers and jobbers maintain warehouses and offices
here and employ fleets of trucks to transport materials over an area of several
hundred square miles.
Charlotte is headquarters for the Duke Power Company's system in North
and South Carolina, serving 160 communities, with 3,000 miles of high-
tension transmission lines.
Churches have played a prominent part in Charlotte's life. Founded by
staunch Presbyterians at a time when the Church of England dominated the
church and school life of the Colony, this has always been a Calvinist strong-
hold. Not until 1771, however, were Presbyterian ministers allowed to
perform marriage ceremonies. Virtually all denominations are now well rep-
resented and Sunday observance has long been a contention between church
leaders and those who would have a more "open" town.
Since the World War there has been an increasing interest in music, lit-.
erature, the fine arts, and the drama. A symphony orchestra of 60 members
is supported by popular subscription. Queens-Chicora College maintains a
student symphony orchestra. The Community Concert Association brings
artists to the city; the Charlotte Festival Chorus of 400 singers gives outdoor
performances of light opera and concerts sponsored by the municipality. The
North Carolina Poetry Society has a membership of 90. The Little Theater
group presents 12 programs each season in its own auditorium. Works of
art, historic relics, and handicraft products are displayed in the Mint
Museum.
The faculty and student body of Johnson C. Smith University exert an
important influence on the cultural advancement of the Negroes. The music
department of the institution is widely known and the university quintet
tours the continent presenting programs of spirituals.
l62 CITIES AND TOWNS
POINTS OF INTEREST
i. INDEPENDENCE SQUARE, at the intersection of Trade and Tryon
Sts., is the Site of the First Courthouse, indicated by a circular iron marker
at the center of the intersection. The courthouse, built about 1765, was a log
structure, set upon piers 10 feet high, and had an outside stairway. The upper
floor was used for sessions of court, church, and public meetings, while the
lower floor served as a market house. Here the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence was read, and here militiamen and armed citizens resisted
the advance of Lord Cornwallis and his British regulars. During their occu-
pancy of the city the British damaged the courthouse and court was held
at the home of Joseph Nicholson until 1782. The Site of Cornwallis' Head-
quarters is marked by a plaque in the sidewalk at the northeast corner of
Trade and Tryon Streets.
2. A MONUMENT TO CAPT. JAMES JACK, 211 W. Trade St. marks
the site of the tavern conducted by Patrick Jack, father of "The Paul Revere
of the South." The stubby gray stone with a bronze plaque showing a rider in
bas-relief bears the roster of the Capt. James Jack Chapter of the Children
of the American Revolution, who subscribed for the monument.
3. The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, W. Trade St. between N.
Church and Poplar Sts., rebuilt in 1894, is a stuccoed brick building of
Norman-Gothic design. Its spire rises above old trees shading a broad yard
in the midst of business structures. The McAden memorial window, on
the left of the front entrance, is by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. In 1815, when
this block was set aside for the church, the first structure served all denomina-
tions, though Presbyterians predominated. In 1832 this group paid a small
debt and took over the church. During Reconstruction meetings of the Ku
Klux Klan were held in the basement, many of Charlotte's first citizens
being members. Within two years the group came to believe that the organi-
zation was getting out of hand and they resigned. Thereafter meetings were
no longer held in the church.
The Old Cemetery, lying at the rear of the church and fronting on West
5th St., served the town as a common burying ground until about 1854 and
was used for interments by the Presbyterians until 1870. Among the out-
standing citizens buried here are Nathaniel Alexander, Governor of North
Carolina (1805-7), Col. Thomas Polk, and Gen. George Graham. Many of
the headstones are crumbling from age. One epitaph reads: "Her Breach
in the Social Circle Will Long Be Severely Missed."
4. The SHIPP MONUMENT, corner" S. Mint St. and W. 4 th St. at the
rear of the post office, memorializes the military reinstatement of the South-
ern States after the War between the States. The granite shaft is 30 feet high
and weighs 15 tons. Lt. William Ewen Shipp, the first southerner graduated
from West Point after the conflict, chose service with the 10th Cavalry
(Negro), and was killed in the Battle of Santiago, Cuba, July 2, 1898. His
CHARLOTTE 163
body was interred at Lincolnton. Subscriptions to defray the cost of the
monument were made by school children throughout the State.
5. The BIRTHPLACE OF JULIA JACKSON (private), 832 W. 5th St.,
built in the 1820's, is a two-story, white frame structure of Classic Revival
design, with a wide Ionic portico and green blinds. Here Mrs. Anna Jack-
son, wife of Gen. Stonewall Jackson, came from Virginia to live with her
sister, Mrs. James P. Irwin, and here the general's only daughter, Julia, was
born Nov. 23, 1862. Two other sisters of Mrs. Jackson married men who
became Confederate generals: D. H. Hill and Rufus Barringer.
6. The CHARLOTTE PUBLIC LIBRARY (open 9-9 weekdays except
Wed., 9-1), 310 N. Tryon St., is a stone building designed in the Renaissance
manner, with a four-column central portico rising the full height of the
building. On each side of the portico are three tall arched window openings
with pilasters between. The hip roof has a square base at its center and is
surmounted by a dome. The library contains the collection of Gen. Stone-
wall Jackson, a small library of only 300 volumes, but of a diversity that
reveals the intellectual depth of a man remembered principally for his mili-
tary genius — and the Bessie MacLean Memorial Collection of Musical Ref-
7. The HOME OF WILLIAM PHIFER (closed), 722 N. Tryon St.,
built in 1848-52, was the scene of the last meeting of the Confederate Cab-
inet (Apr. 20, 1865). The session convened at what is now 122 South Tryon
Street but adjourned to the Phifer house to consult with Secretary of the
Treasury George A. Trenholm, who was ill and a guest in the home. The
two-story, square, brick building with square tower and cupola was closed
about 1915. Plans were being considered in 1939 for restoring the building.
8. The LITTLE THEATER (open; apply to director), 211 E. 9th St.,
occupies the auditorium of the old Presbyterian College building, which was
converted into the College Apartments. The theater section has a portico
Key to Charlotte Map
1. Independence Square. 2. Monument to Capt. James Jack. 3. The First Presbyterian
Church. 4. The Shipp Monument. 5. The Birthplace of Julia Jackson. 6. The
Charlotte Public Library. 7. The Home of William Phifer. 8. The Little Theater.
9. The Public Buildings. 10. The Site of the Confederate Navy Yard. n. The Site of
Liberty Hall Academy. 12. The Mint Museum. 13. The Martin L. Cannon Residence.
14. The Queens-Chicora College for Women. 15. Dilworth Methodist Church. 16. The
Tulip Gardens. 17. The Rudisill Gold Mine. 18. Johnson C. Smith University.
a. Post Office, b. Chamber of Commerce, c. Carolina Motor Club. d. Southern Ry.
Station, e. Piedmont & Northern R.R. Station, f. Seaboard Air Line R.R. Station.
g. Union Bus Station, h. Armory Auditorium. 1. Municipal Stadium, k. Hyman's
Field (baseball), l. Independence Park. m. Latta Park. n. Bryant Park. o. Carolina
Golf Club. p. Sharon Golf Club. q. Hillcrest Golf Club. r. Charlotte Country Club.
s. Myers Park Golf Club. t. Municipal Airport, u. Cannon Airport.
CHARLOTTE
1939
l66 CITIES AND TOWNS
with Ionic columns, and seats about 400. The theater has a membership
of more than 900, and publishes its own magazine. The group presents six
major productions and six workshop programs each season.
9. The PUBLIC BUILDINGS (C. C. Hook, architect), 600-700 blocks of
E. Trade St., erected in the early 1920's, are in a landscaped setting. The
City Hall, of modified classic design with limestone exterior and fireproof
construction, houses the offices of mayor, city manager, and various depart-
ments and contains the council chamber. Three other buildings of the munici-
pal group are of gray brick with limestone trim, standing behind the city
hall and harmonizing in design. The County Courthouse, of neoclassic
design, contains the county executive offices, superior and county court rooms,
and the county jail. In the plaza at the entrance is a Monument to the
Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration, a granite shaft erected in 1898
and moved from the former courthouse to the present site.
10. The SITE OF THE CONFEDERATE NAVY YARD is indicated by
a marker on the wall of the railway underpass near 226 E. Trade St. In
May 1862 it was decided to move the center of naval ordnance from Norfolk,
Va., to Charlotte, which had the advantage of safety from invasion from the
sea yet rail connection with the port of Wilmington.
11. The SITE OF LIBERTY HALL ACADEMY is commemorated by a
marker at the SE. corner of 3rd and S. Tryon Sts., now occupied by a filling
station. Until the early 1920's the county courthouse stood on the site. In
December 1770 Governor Tryon suggested to the assembly that a school for
higher learning was needed in the back country. Within a month a bill was
enacted providing for the establishment of Queen's College in Charlotte.
Controversy over land titles and the Regulator movement hampered progress.
In June 1773 Governor Martin issued a proclamation to the effect that the
King had disallowed the charter. A local historian states that "the King
objected to the number of dissenting ministers among the trustees," and
complained that "a College under such auspices was well calculated to ensure
the growth of a numerous democracy."
The school continued in spite of fruitless efforts to obtain a charter under
the name of Queen's Museum. The meetings that led to the drafting of the
Mecklenburg Declaration were held in the building. Diplomas were issued
under the name of Queen's Museum in 1776, but soon after, for patriotic
reasons, the name was changed to Liberty Hall Academy, and thus it was
incorporated in 1777. When Cornwallis occupied the town in 1780 he
burned the building.
12. The MINT MUSEUM (open 10-5 Tues.-Sat.; 3-5 Sun.), corner Hamp-
stead Place and Eastover Rd., now an art gallery, was reconstructed from
materials of the original branch of the United States Mint, being an almost
exact reproduction. The original building was designed by William Strick-
land (1787-1854) of Philadelphia, who was architect for the United States
Customhouse, the Masonic Temple, and the Merchants Exchange in Phila-
CHARLOTTE 167
delphia. Designed in the Federal style, the two-story structure is T-shaped
in plan, the stem of the letter forming a long well-proportioned gallery on
the main floor. The cross arm is formed by the foyer with rooms to the
right and left of the entrance. The interior has vaulted ceilings and walls of
local stone.
The long facade of the central section is broken by a severe pedimented
portico approached by a flight of steps. Beneath the sloping eaves of the
pediment a golden American eagle is perched with outspread wings. Stuart
Warren Cramer, Sr., assayer of the mint (1889-93), wr °te: "This eagle was
a landmark in Charlotte when I first came here and a pet of Charlotte people,
as well it might be, for it was perhaps the largest eagle in the world,
being 14 feet from tip to tip, and five feet high. When I had to re-
decorate it, it took over 165 books of gold leaf and 10 books of silver leaf
to cover it."
The assay office, established as a coinage mint in 1835, began operations
two years later. It served the gold-producing districts of the southern Ap-
palachian region, at that time the only gold-yielding territory in the country.
The new building was occupied in 1845. During the War between the States
it served as Confederate headquarters and hospital. Closed in 1913, the
structure was razed in 1933 and rebuilt on the present site the following
year. In the galleries are exhibited historic relics, ceramics, native and foreign
handicrafts. The works of art include a canvas, Madonna and Child, by
Francesco Granacci, from the Samuel H. Kress collection.
13. The MARTIN L. CANNON RESIDENCE {grounds open by permis-
sion), 400 Hermitage Rd., is the former home of James B. Duke, tobacco
and power magnate {see Durham). The original house, erected by Z. V.
Taylor about 19 15, was purchased in 1920 by Mr. Duke who enlarged and
remodeled it. The landscaped 10-acre estate, from early spring to fall, blooms
with flaming azalea, pink and white dogwood, and other plants and shrubs.
14. QUEENS-CHICORA COLLEGE (Women) {buildings open during
school hours), between Queens Road and Radcliffe Ave., has seven buildings
of dark red brick trimmed with white stone, on a large wooded campus.
Its small sorority houses are of the bungalow type. This institution was
founded in 1857 as the Charlotte Female Academy, and first occupied a
building on North College Street. Continuing under various names until
closed in 1890, it was reopened in 1895 as the Presbyterian College for
Women. In 1912 the name was changed to Queen's College, in honor of the
Colonial institution, and the college was moved to its present site. In 1930
it was consolidated with Chicora College of Columbia, S. C, and the present
name was taken. Operated by the Presbyteries of Mecklenburg, Kings Moun-
tain, and Greenville in the Synods of North Carolina and South Carolina,
the college has an enrollment of about 350 and is a member of the Southern
Association of Grade A Colleges.
15. DILWORTH METHODIST CHURCH, 603 E. Boulevard, a lime-
stone structure of English Gothic design with lofty twin towers, was erected
l68 CITIES AND TOWNS
in 1922 with funds raised by private subscription and augmented by a con-
tribution of the Duke Foundation.
16. The TULIP GARDENS {open during blooming season in March), at
the residence of J. B. Ivey, 1628 E. Morehead St., contain about 20,000 plants
in numerous varieties that bloom usually the last two weeks of March.
Plantings of tulips border the walks and driveway. Each variety is marked
for the information of visitors.
17. The RUDISILL GOLD MINE {closed), corner Gold and Mint Sts., pro-
duced from 40 to 60 tons of ore per day averaging about $12 a ton until the
company suspended work in 1938 on account of the low gold content. Hav-
ing operated from 1826 until the California rush, the mine lay inactive until
1934 when operations were resumed.
18. JOHNSON C. SMITH UNIVERSITY (Negro) {buildings open dur-
ing school hours), entrance on Beatties Ford Rd., between Martin and
Mill Sts., occupies an 85-acre wooded campus with 22 buildings most of
which are of Greek Revival design. Degrees are conferred in liberal arts,
science, and theological courses. A premedical course is under supervision
of a branch of the American Medical Association. Students from other col-
leges make use of the well-equipped laboratories. The senior division of the
College of Liberal Arts is coeducational. The library has an extensive musical
collection, including facsimiles of the original manuscripts of Stephen Collins
Foster. Although controlled by the Presbyterian Church of the U.S.A., the
university is nonsectarian. Student enrollment is about 350.
The first land acquired was by gift of Col. William R. Myers, a former
slave owner, who saw the need of educational facilities for the Negro race.
When founded in 1867 the school was known as Biddle Memorial Institute.
In recognition of a substantial endowment made by the widow of Johnson C.
Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., the present name was adopted in 1923. James B.
Duke made a large contribution to the institution in 1925.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Sugaw Creek Crossroads (Revolutionary battle), 3 m. {see tour 12); Birthplace of
James K. Polk, 12 m. {see tour 16); St. Joseph's Church, 15 m., Rhyne Homestead,
16 m. {see tour 19A); Mclntyre Farm (Battle of the Bees), 6.5 m., Capps Hill Gold
Mine, 6 m., Old Hopewell Church, 10 m., Birthplace of Andrew Jackson, 26 m. {see
tour 31b); Steel Creek Church, 9 m., Belmont Abbey and schools, 14 m. {see tour
Sic); Wallis Rock House, 5 m. {see tour 32).
DURHAM
Railroad Station: Union Station, Peabody St. for Southern Ry., Seaboard Air Line R.R.,
Norfolk Southern R.R., Norfolk & Western R.R., Durham & Southern R.R.
Bus Station: Mangum, Chapel Hill, and Riggsbee Sts. for Atlantic Greyhound, Carolina
Coach, Virginia Stage Line, and Queen City Bus.
Taxis: 25^-45^, 1-5 passengers.
City Buses: io(\ 4 tokens for 25^; meet at Five Points.
Accommodations: 8 hotels (2 for Negroes) ; boarding houses, tourist camps. Duke Uni-
versity cafeteria open to public.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, Washington Duke Hotel, 207 N. Corcoran
St., Market St. entrance; Carolina Motor Club, 206 E. Chapel Hill St.
Radio Station: WDNC (1500 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Carolina Theater, corner Roney and Morgan Sts.,
opera, legitimate plays; Page Auditorium, Duke campus, concerts, lectures; Little
Theater, 1st floor City Hall, 120-24 Morris St., lectures, musicales, amateur productions;
Erwin Auditorium, corner W. Peabody St. and Erwin Rd., W. Durham, plays, con-
certs; 6 motion picture houses (1 for Negroes).
Swimming: Duke Park, end of N. Mangum St., US 501; Forest Hills Clubhouse, 1639
University Dr.; Crystal Lake Park, 6 m. NW. on Guess Rd.
Golf: Hope Valley Country Club, 4 m. SW. on Chapel Hill Rd. (US 15-501), 18 holes,
greens fee, fi weekdays, $1.50 Sat. and Sun.; Hillandale Golf Club, 2 m. NW. on
US 70, 18 holes, greens fee, 50^ women, $1 men.
Tennis: Forest Hills Park, Duke Park, Hope Valley Club, Duke University courts.
Hunting and Fishing: Inquire Chamber of Commerce.
Baseball: El Toro Park (municipally owned), N. end Morris St., Piedmont League
(Class B).
Football: Duke Stadium.
Riding: Fisher Riding Academy, 2 m. W. on S. Erwin Rd.; Hope Valley Riding Club,
6 m. SW. on Hope Valley Rd.
Polo: 1 m. N. on US 501.
Annual Events: Kennel Club Show, Apr.; Flower Show, May; Carillon Recitals by Anton
Brees, Thursdays at dusk and Sundays, 4:30 p.m., June-Sept.; Horse Show, Sept.;
County Fair, 3rd wk. Sept.; Dahlia Show, Oct.
DURHAM (405 alt., 52,037 pop.), is a modern industrial city in the eastern
Piedmont. The universal demand for tobacco, coupled with the business
genius of the Duke family, is exemplified in long rows of red-faced factories
where thousands toil daily, filling whole trains with their products. Here was
created the fortune that endowed Duke University.
Three streets converge at Five Points, center of the business district, which
in the 1860's was a country crossroads. A few skyscrapers along the principal
streets tower above crowded rows of lesser buildings. The great tobacco fac-
tories lie close to the heart of the business district and the railroad tracks that
serve them cross up-town streets.
Many of the finer homes are in the southwest part of the city along Chapel
169
I70 CITIES AND TOWNS
Hill Road and beyond in the Hope Valley subdivision. Commonplace dwell-
ings throughout the town house the families of mill and factory workers.
In South Durham is a section known as Hayti, where 12,000 Negroes live and
operate their own business firms.
The two campuses of Duke University lie to the northwest and west of
the city's center. Throughout the town are parks and playgrounds for both
races.
Often the air is permeated by the pungent scent of tobacco from the stem-
meries, and the sweetish odor of tonka bean used in cigarette manufacture.
From 9 to 5 o'clock Durham's streets reflect the activity of its business houses
and professional offices. Then the hoarse bellow of the bull whistle at the
American Tobacco factory reverberates over the town, joined by the shriek-
ing blasts of the Liggett and Myers whistle. The iron gates of the factory
yards are flung wide and an army of workers pours forth — men and women,
white and colored. Buses and trucks, heavily laden, rumble along the thor-
oughfares. For an hour or two the streets are alive with the hurry and noise
of a big city. Then the bustle subsides and relative calm is resumed.
The region around Durham was occupied by the Occoneechee, Eno, Schoc-
coree, and Adshusheer Indians, who had migrated elsewhere before 1750
when the first white settlers, of English and Scotch-Irish extraction, secured
land grants from the Earl of Granville. The section was then a part of Orange
County, and by 1777 contained only a few hundred inhabitants.
Durham is new by North Carolina reckoning, dating from the 1850's
when a settlement known as Prattsburg contained wheat and corn mills serv-
ing the farmers. Construction of the North Carolina Railroad in 1852-56
gave some impetus to growth. William Pratt, a large landowner, refused to
give a right-of-way or land for a station. Dr. Bartlett Durham offered 4 acres
about 2 miles west of Prattsburg and the station was named for him. The
railroad detoured around Prattsburg and the Pratt property.
The town of Durham was incorporated in 1867, and when Durham County
was created from Orange and Wake in 1881, it was made the seat. In 1865
there were fewer than 100 people in Durham, but by 1880 the number had
increased to 2,041. In the spring of 1865 Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered
to Gen. William T. Sherman at the Bennett House near Durham.
The rise of the tobacconists marked the beginning of the town's industrial
life. As early as 1858 Robert F. Morris was manufacturing tobacco. Sher-
man's soldiers liked the product of this factory, which in 1865 was being
operated by John R. Green, originator of the Bull Durham blend; later
William T. Blackwell joined the business.
Meanwhile Washington Duke, mustered out of the Confederate Army in
1865, walked 137* miles to his old farm near Durham to start life over again.
He began grinding tobacco, which he packed, labeled Pro Bono Publico, and
sold to soldiers and others. This venture proved so successful that soon he was
joined by his three sons, Brodie, Benjamin N., and James B. (Buck); by
1874 a ^ f° ur were established in Durham as manufacturers of smoking to-
bacco. To escape the sharp competition in this field, "Buck" Duke decided
to start making cigarettes, which by 1880 had become important. A few
years later the installation of cigarette machines increased daily production
DURHAM 171
from 2,500 to 100,000 and made large-scale exportation to Europe pos-
sible.
After a period of sharp competition, during which Blackwell and others
were gradually absorbed, the Duke organizing genius formed (1890) the
American Tobacco Company, embracing practically the entire tobacco indus-
try in the United States, with James B. Duke as its guiding spirit. The adver-
tising campaign inaugurated about that time was unusually comprehensive.
Billboards, signs, and even cliffs displayed the giant figure of the Bull of
Durham. When Anne Thackeray called upon Lord Tennyson "she found
the poet laureate peacefully smoking Bull Durham."
In 191 1 the American Tobacco Company was dissolved into smaller units
as a result of a decree by the United States Supreme Court, but by that time
the Duke fortune was firmly founded and Durham was established as the
world's tobacco capital. The city manufactures about one-fourth of all the
cigarettes produced in this country and nine warehouses conduct sales of
leaf tobacco. In addition to this domestic supply, several million pounds of
foreign-grown tobaccos are imported annually.
James B. Duke did with tobacco what Rockefeller did with oil and Car-
negie with steel. Through bartering at crossroads he became adept at trade.
Unwilling to spend much time in school, he did not consider college training
essential to success. After amassing a fortune, however, he provided the
means for establishing a great university. In the latter part of his life he
engaged in the development of water power in the Piedmont and Mountain
sections of North and South Carolina. The Southern Power System (the
Duke Power Company and its subsidiaries) was the result.
In December 1924 the Duke Endowment of $40,000,000 for numerous
benefactions, including aid for hospitals but particularly for Duke University,
was announced. Mr. Duke died the following October and by the provisions
of his will the endowment was increased to nearly $80,000,000. This benefac-
tion is the largest emanating from the South and the largest yet made for
the exclusive benefit of the region.
The other large industries of Durham are cotton-textile and hosiery mills.
In all some 87 manufacturing establishments employ 13,000 persons. The
city is an important medical center.
Notable in Durham is the status of the Negro population. The Negroes
have a college and operate business firms, including banks, a large insur-
ance company, schools, newspapers, a library, and a hospital. In 1887 Negroes
owned but two lots in the city and 1,366 acres in the county. In 1935 their
city holdings alone amounted to more than $4,000,000, and their business
assets aggregated $7,000,000. Negro industry has expanded since 1865 from
a single blacksmith shop owned by Lewis Pratt, a former slave. Gen. Julian
S. Carr lent the Negro John Merrick money to start his business career, first
as a barber then as a real estate investor. Washington Duke gave the print-
ing press used in publishing the first Negro newspaper. White bankers
helped organize the first Negro bank.
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company has grown from
a small beginning in 1898 into the largest Negro insurance company in the
world, operating in eight States and employing 1,067 persons. Oldest among
172 CITIES AND TOWNS
the 23 churches for Negroes in the city are St. Joseph's African Methodist
Episcopal, and the White Rock Baptist.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The DURHAM HOSIERY PLANT {open by permission), 115 S. Cor-
coran St., manufactures full-fashioned and seamless silk hosiery and cotton
socks. A branch mill on Walker Street spins cotton yarn. In 1925 the plant
was the largest producer of hosiery in the country — 300,000 pairs per day.
About 1,000 persons are normally employed.
2. TRINITY M.E. CHURCH (1922), W. corner Church and Liberty Sts.,
was designed in the neo-Gothic style by Ralph Adams Cram. It is built of
rough local stone with semicircular steps and stained-glass windows.
3. The DURHAM PUBLIC LIBRARY {open 10-6 Mon,Fri., g-g Sat.),
311 E. Main St., erected in 1921, contains about 27,000 volumes and a col-
lection of foreign dolls. It was first opened at Five Points in 1898.
4. The EPHPHATHA EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NW. corner Geer and
North Sts., is one of four churches in the United States built exclusively for
deaf-mutes. Services are in the sign language.
5. THE LIGGETT AND MYERS PLANT {open 8-11, 1-4 Mon.-FrL;
guides), W. Main between Cigarette and Fuller Sts., produces Chesterfield,
Picayune, and other cigarettes, as well as smoking tobaccos. Acres of brick
buildings, mostly three stories in height, contain the mass of machinery that
processes the tobacco from redrying the "hands" to the packed products.
After aging in storage for two or three years the tobacco is carefully blended
and placed in the hoppers of cigarette machines where it is encircled by
cigarette paper, and issues as a continuous cylinder to be cut into proper
lengths. Each machine turns out 1,200 cigarettes a minute. After inspection
the cigarettes are transferred to another machine for packaging and then
to another for incasing in cellophane covers. Finally cases filled with cartons
are loaded into freight cars from conveyor belts.
6. The ERWIN COTTON MILLS {not open to public), between 9th and
14th Sts., Mulberry St. to Hillsboro Rd., manufacture wide sheeting, sheets,
and pillow cases. Denims are made at the company mills in Erwin; outing
flannels, suitings, coverts, and ticking in the mill at Cooleemee. The three
local mills employ 1,800 workers, most of whom occupy company-owned
houses around the mills. The Erwin Auditorium (1922) contains a library,
reading room, and game room. Since 1892, when the Erwin chain of mills
began making muslin tobacco bags, it has become the second largest con-
cern in the State manufacturing cotton goods.
7. The DUKE MEMORIAL M.E. CHURCH (1914), 500 Chapel Hill St.,
of cream-colored pressed brick with limestone trim, is designed in a modified
£■»•'■ v
ti f
i
OLD EAST AND THE WELL, CHAPEL HILL
PLAYMAKERS THEATER, CHAPEL HILL
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CARILLON TOWER, DUKE UNIVERSITY
EAST CAMPUS, DUKE UNIVERSITY
WAIT HALL, WAKE FOREST COLLEGE
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AYCOCK AUDITORIUM, WOMAN S COLLEGE, GREENSBORO
CHAMBERS BUILDING, DAVIDSON COLLEGE
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PERFORMANCE IN FOREST THEATER, CHAPEL HILL
MINT MUSEUM OF ART. CHARLOTTE
JEFFERSON STANDARD BUILDING,
GREENSBORO
OFFICE BUILDING, R. J. REYNOLDS
TOBACCO CO., WINSTON-SALEM
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COTTON MILLS ON TAR RIVER, ROCKY MOUNT
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TRYON STREET, LOOKING NORTH, CHARLOTTE
CUSTOM HOUSE, WILMINGTON
ASHEVILLE FROM BEAUCATCHER MOUNTAIN
DURHAM 173
English Gothic style. Chimes in the tower were given by Mrs. J. Edward
Stagg, granddaughter of Washington Duke, as a memorial to her husband.
They are played each day at noon.
8. In old MAPLEWOOD CEMETERY, both sides of Chapel Hill St., S. of
Duke University Rd., is the mausoleum of the Duke family, an austere
building shadowed by overhanging trees; and the grave of Gen. Julian S.
Carr (1845-1924), who made a fortune in the tobacco business, contributed
to Trinity and other colleges, helped equip and maintain two Durham
companies in the Spanish-American War, and was prominent in the affairs
of the Methodist Church, the Democratic party, and the Confederate
veterans.
9. The AMERICAN TOBACCO COMPANY PLANT {open g-11, 2-3
weekdays; guides), SW. corner Pettigrew and Blackwell Sts., manufactures
Bull Durham smoking tobacco, Lucky Strike, and some 35 other brands of
cigarettes and smoking tobaccos. It employs about 2,500 persons. Although
this is the smallest unit for production of Lucky Strikes, the plant manu-
factures about 5,000,000 of these cigarettes an hour. The entire process from
the "toasting" to the packed product is handled by machinery.
10. The DURHAM COTTON MANUFACTURING PLANT (open,
apply at office), 2002 E. Pettigrew St., is a continuation of the community's
first textile mill, established in 1884. Various kinds of colored cotton cloth
are manufactured by a force normally numbering 400.
11. The PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR NEGROES (open 10-8 Mon.-Fri., 9 -6
Sat.), 501 S. Fayetteville St., was established by Dr. A. M. Moore in 1913.
From a small Sunday school library in the White Rock Baptist Church it
has grown to 7,000 volumes.
12. The NORTH CAROLINA COLLEGE FOR NEGROES (coeduca-
tional), 191 1 S. Fayetteville St., is housed in eight buildings on a 50-acre
Key to Durham Map
1. The Durham Hosiery Plant. 2. Trinity M. E. Church. 3. The Durham Public
Library. 4. The Ephphatha Episcopal Church. 5. The Liggett and Myers Plant. 6. The
Erwin Cotton Mills. 7. The Duke Memorial M.E. Church. 8. Maplewood Cemetery.
9. The American Tobacco Company Plant. 10. The Durham Cotton Manufacturing
Plant. 11. The Public Library for Negroes. 12. The North Carolina College for
Negroes. 13. The Tobacco Warehouses.
DUKE UNIVERSITY
14. East Campus. 15. West Campus.
a. Post Office, b. Union Station, c. Bus Terminal, d. Chamber of Commerce.
e. Carolina Motor Club. f. Five Points, g. El Toro Baseball Park. h. Hope Valley
Country Club. 1. Hillandale Golf Course, k. Duke Park. l. Forest Hills Club House.
m. Crystal Lake Park.
DURHAM
1939
1^6 CITIES AND TOWNS
campus. The school was begun in 191 as a training school for ministers,
through the efforts of the Rev. James E. Shepherd, who raised funds by sub-
scriptions. The emphasis on religious training was dropped in 191 6 and
the name was changed to National Training School. Ownership was trans-
ferred to the State in 1923. A faculty of 22 teaches a student body of about
280. The institution is a member of the Association of Colleges for Negro
Youth and of the Association of American Colleges. It confers A.B., B.S.,
and B.S.C. degrees. The college mixed chorus of 50 members gives con-
certs and broadcasts. The college plant includes an administration building,
a gymnasium, dining hall, two dormitories for men, a dormitory for women,
laboratories, and a library with more than 12,000 volumes.
13. The TOBACCO WAREHOUSES {open during season), Morgan St.,
N. of Main St., in the center of the bright-leaf belt, sold a total of 35,446,826
pounds of tobacco in 1935-36. The season opens about the middle of Septem-
ber and closes the first of March. Buyers representing the large manufac-
turers and independents purchase tobacco at daily auctions.
DUKE UNIVERSITY
{Buildings open during school hours unless otherwise indicated.)
Duke University has two separate campuses covering more than 5,000
acres: the East, or Woman's Campus, and the West, or University Campus.
The two are connected by a 1.5-mile drive bordered by the homes of faculty
members.
Springing from Union Institute, a community school founded by Meth-
odists and Quakers in Randolph County in 1838, the university has an
unbroken history. Brantley York was the first director. Under Braxton
Craven, Union Institute expanded (1852) into a teacher-training school.
Seven years later the name was changed to Trinity College and the institu-
tion became Methodist sectarian. Under Dr. John Franklin Crowell, the col-
lege was moved to Durham in September 1892, where it was established on
the present East Campus. The administration of Bishop John C. Kilgo (1894-
19 10) was notable for strong denominational emphasis and a courageous
defense of academic freedom.
Rapid expansion followed increased benevolences by the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, South, and by private contributions. In 1924 the Duke Endow-
ment Fund was established by James B. Duke and the name was changed
in his honor. Since then the university has been nonsectarian except in the
School of Religion.
Including the Woman's College, the university occupies 55 buildings and
has a faculty and administrative staff of more than 500. Enrollment gen-
erally exceeds 3,400, and for the summer term averages 2,000, more than
half of them graduate students.
The professional Schools of Law, Religion, and Medicine overshadow all
other features of the institution. Emphasis on religion was one of the inten-
tions of the founder. The Medical School, adjoining Duke Hospital, is the
DURHAM 177
only school granting the M.D. degree in North Carolina; it has excellent
equipment for the work, and its faculty members are active in research. A
germicidal ray is used for sterilizing the air of operating rooms.
Among the authors who are or have been connected with the university
are: John Spencer Bassett, William K. Boyd, Charles Abram Ell wood, Hope
Summerell Chamberlain, Edwin C. Mims, and William McDougall. The
Duke University Press publishes books of educational significance and nine
scientific and literary periodicals.
The university maintains a symphony orchestra and glee clubs for men
and women. The Duke University Choir has 150 members. The Artist
Series brings famous musicians to the city.
14. EAST CAMPUS (WOMAN'S COLLEGE), W. Main between Bu-
chanan and Broad Sts., 120 acres in area, has a quadrangle of buildings
designed in the Federal style, with a domed auditorium forming the focal
point. The rotunda of the auditorium is flanked by a library and a student
union. The older buildings were utilized by Trinity College; eleven were
added 1925-27. Trees and rolling lawns surrounded by a wall of local stone
provide an attractive setting.
15. On the WEST CAMPUS are Trinity College, undergraduate school
for men; the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Schools of Religion,
Law, Medicine, Nursing, and the Duke Forest. The buildings, designed by
Horace Trumbauer, were erected (1923-32) of stone from the university's
quarries near Hillsboro. The Law School, the Chemistry Building, and the
Nurses' Home are designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, based upon the
Tudor Gothic and Elizabethan traditions of the early Renaissance in Eng-
land. The campus is penetrated by walks and drives winding about rock
gardens and terraces, while rolling wooded hills form a background.
a. The campanile of DUKE UNIVERSITY CHAPEL rises above the
buildings of the entire unit. The tower, 38 feet square at the base, rises to a
height of 210 feet, and is similar in composition to the Bell Harry Tower
of Canterbury Cathedral. The cruciform chapel seats 2,000. The stained-
glass windows are designed in the medieval manner but the decorative com-
positions are the original work of G. Owen Bonawit. The choir of Amiens
was the source of inspiration for the woodwork. In the tower is a carillon
of 50 bells, the gift of George A. Allen and William R. Perkins, chairman
and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Duke Endowment. Recitals are
given by Anton Brees, Belgian carilloneur for the university and for the
Bok Singing Tower in Florida.
b. The DUKE MEMORIAL CHAPEL, adjoining the western transept of
the main chapel, contains three sarcophagi wherein lie the bodies of Wash-
ington Duke, and his sons, James B. and Benjamin N. Duke. These are
carved with life-size reclining figures, the work of Charles Keck of Phila-
delphia, who also executed the bronze statue of James B. Duke, which
stands, cigar in hand, in a plot before the main chapel. The design of the
DURHAM 179
grisaille windows is based upon that of the windows of Norbury, Derbyshire,
England. Subscriptions from all parts of the United States paid for the
memorial chapel.
c. The GENERAL LIBRARY {open 9-10:30 weekdays, 2-6, y-10 Sun.),
stands between the Schools of Law and Religion. It houses departmental
libraries in religion, chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering. The uni-
versity's library facilities provide 421,517 volumes, 2,154 periodicals, and files
of 76 newspapers. The Peacock Collection is Caroliniana. In the Treas-
ure Room, 2nd floor, are out-of-print early editions and documents. Por-
traits of men prominent in the growth of the university hang in the reference
d. The UNION has rooms for visitors and two dining halls. In Hall A are
corbels on which are carved the shields of 14 colleges of the University of
Cambridge. Sixteen college shields of the University of Oxford are on the
corbels of Hall B.
e. The GRAY BUILDING has a Fossil Collection on the 3rd floor {open
8:30 0.171.-12:30 p.m. M on. -Sat.), one of the most complete in the South.
/. DUKE HOSPITAL, a $4,000,000 plant, opened in July 1930, maintains
a public dispensary of 14 clinics (open 12:30 daily). The hospital contains
406 beds and 50 bassinets. Besides the usual departments of surgery, gen-
eral medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecology, there are subsidiary
divisions including pathology, medical instruction, radiology, and social
service. Braces and special shoes for orthopedic patients are made in a shop
in the building. The hospital employs more than 500 aides, including 100
staff members and 100 workers engaged solely in research.
g. The MEDICAL SCHOOL LIBRARY {open 8:30 a.m.-n p.m. Mon,
Fri., 8:30 a.m.-io p.m. Sat., 9 a.m.-io p.m. Sun.) contains 13,941 volumes.
On its paneled walls hangs a collection of Chatham prints.
h. DUKE STADIUM, seating 40,000 in its permanent stands, is of horse-
shoe shape built in a natural hillside amphitheater.
i. In the SARAH DUKE IRIS GARDEN are 50,000 iris of more than 500
varieties; 100,000 daffodils of almost 300 varieties; 20,000 tulips of nearly
100 varieties; 500 Japanese cherry trees, and thousands of other plants,
shrubs, and trees.
Key to Duke University Campus
a. Duke University Chapel, b. Duke Memorial Chapel, c. The General Library,
d. The Union, e. The Gray Building, f. Duke Hospital, g. The Medical School
Library, h. Duke Stadium, i. The Sarah Duke Iris Garden, j. The Herbarium.
l8o CITIES AND TOWNS
/'. Behind the University Chapel is the HERBARIUM, covering 300 acres,
a project of the forestry department.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Duke Homestead, 6 m., Fairntosh Plantation, 10 m., O'Kelly Grave, 10 m., Quail
Roost Farm, 14 m. (see tour 10); Bennett Memorial, site of the Johnston surrender to
Sherman, 6 m., Hillsboro, Colonial borough town, 12 m. (see tour 25); University of
North Carolina, 12 m. (see chapel hill).
E D E N T O N
Railroad Station: E. Queen St. for Norfolk Southern R.R.
Bus Station: E. King and Broad Sts. for Carolina Coach Co. and Norfolk Southern Bus
Corp.
Accommodations: 2 hotels; boarding houses.
Information Service: Carolina Motor Club, 116 E. King St.; Edenton-Chowan Chamber
of Commerce, Municipal Building, E. King St.
Motion Picture Houses: 1.
EDENTON (16 alt., 3,653 pop.), seat of Chowan County and one of the
three oldest communities in the State, is a placid town on a peninsula formed
by Pembroke and Queen Anne's Creeks near the western extremity of Albe-
marle Sound. Here lived men who helped shape the Colony's destiny and
made the town a political, commercial, and social center. Its citizens played
prominent parts in defying the British Crown, assisting the Revolutionary
forces, and launching the new State.
The business section occupies a few tidy blocks along and adjacent to Broad
Street, which bisects the town in its course to the bay front. Once distin-
guished by a double row of great elms and a public well, the thoroughfare
has been modernized to provide parking space. Old wharves, with fish houses
and packing plants, oil-storage tanks and lumber mills, edge the bay. Inter-
secting Broad Street are mulberry- and elm-shaded King, Queen, Eden,
Church, Gale, Albemarle, and Carteret Streets, named long before the Re-
public was established. Along the sound are old plantation estates that have
always been a part of the community's life. The Negroes, 33 percent of the
total population, live on the sprawling northeast and northwest fringes of
the town, and are largely employed in lumber, veneer, peanut, and fishing
operations.
In 1622 John Pory, secretary of the Virginia Colony, explored the rich
bottom lands to the Chowan River and by 1658 settlers had come down from
Jamestown. In 1710 the Edenton settlement was a borough of some impor-
tance, virtual capital of the Colony, and the Governor's residence. The Indians
called it the Town in Matecomak Creek and it was also known as the port of
Roanoke. The assembly in 1715 passed an act "... to build a Courthouse and
House to hold the Assembly in ... in the forks of Queen Anne's Creek." The
forks were known as Queen Anne's Towne until 1722 when the place was in-
corporated as Edenton in honor of Governor Charles Eden, who had just
died, having, according to the inscription on his tombstone, administered the
affairs of the Province for eight years "to ye great satisfaction of ye Lords
Proprietors and ye ease and happiness of ye people." In time the town was
l82 CITIES AND TOWNS
outstripped by contemporaries and the seat of government moved to a "more
sentrical" location.
Two early shipyards did a thriving business and "against the delicate hori-
zon stretched a fairy lattice, the masts and riggings of ships . . . deep sea
ships, full-rigged ships, men-o'-war, merchantmen, sneaking coasters, rum
boats, whalers." Hewes' shipyard was off the point where Pembroke Creek
empties into Edenton Bay. A severe storm in 1936 revealed for a short time
large bulkheads and ways put together with wooden pegs, indicating that
ships of considerable size had been built there. As early as 1769 seine
fishing was employed; great catches were salted and shipped over a wide
area.
Matching the patriotism of Edenton matrons who held the first feminine
Revolutionary tea party, the men dispatched to beleaguered Boston a ship-
load of corn, flour, and pork. Edenton's merchant prince, Joseph Hewes, one
of North Carolina's three signers of the Declaration of Independence, placed
his vessels at General Washington's disposal and Dr. Hugh Williamson, at
his own expense, provided cargoes of army supplies. Williamson, who was
surgeon general of the North Carolina militia (1780-82) and a signer of the
Federal Constitution (1787), began his political career as a member of the
general assembly from the borough of Edenton in 1782. From 1790 to 1793
he served in Congress, and in 1812 published a two-volume history of the
State. Samuel Johnston, whose home still stands, was outstanding in the
assembly and in both Provincial and Continental Congresses, Governor
(1787-89), and first United States Senator from North Carolina. Gen. Ed-
ward Vail, Col. Thomas Benbury, and Col. James Blount were among
those who organized troops to aid Washington.
In 1 78 1, when Jeremiah Mixson, 80-year-old town crier, brought the news
that a British force was coming from Suffolk to burn the town, the terrified
population evacuated by boat, skiff, and barge to Windsor on the Cashie
River. They returned to their undamaged homes a week later when the
British were recalled to join Cornwallis.
Edenton sent several units to fight in the southern cause, among them
the Edenton Bell Battery organized in 1861-62 by Capt. William Badham.
Artillery was scarce and, in response to Beauregard's request, virtually all
the bells in town were cast into cannon. Federal troops occupied town and
vicinity from February 1862 until the end of the war. Off Sandy Point in
the sound near Edenton the ironclad Albemarle engaged a Federal fleet,
May 5, 1864.
From the earliest days Edenton's principal occupation has been the shad
and herring fisheries. Cotton, corn, soybeans, tobacco, early and late truck,
cantaloupes, and watermelons are shipped out by boat, train, and truck.
However, the most important crop produced from the fine loamy soil of
the region is Jumbo peanuts; the town is the largest peanut market in the
State and the second largest in the world. There are storage warehouses and
two processing plants, shipping annually a half-million 85-pound bags. The
town's 23,000-spindle textile mills make it the cotton-yarn center of north-
eastern North Carolina. Nearby waters afford good angling for bass and
perch, as well as facilities for boating and bathing.
EDEN TON 183
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, NW. corner Broad and Church Sts., erected
1736-60, is the second oldest church standing in North Carolina. Its slim
steeple and ivy-covered brick walls are partly hidden by great elms, mag-
nolias, and crapemyrtles. Its graveyard forms a charming park. The Vestry
of Chowan Parish, afterwards St. Paul's, was organized in 1701. It was the
first religious body in the State and the first corporation. Parish records,
dating from 1701, preserve much of the recorded history of the day.
The original wooden building erected in 170 1-2 on what is now Hayes
Plantation (see tour id) was the first church in North Carolina. In 171 1 the
Rev. John Urmston wrote that "The Vestry met at an Ordinary where rum
was the chief of their business," that the church had "neither floor nor
seats," and that, as the key was lost and the door open, "all the Hoggs and
Cattle flee thither for shade in the Summer and Warmth in the Winter."
Ground was cleared for the present brick structure in March 1736 and the
vestry expended "for 250 bu. of shells £J& 7s. 6d." and "in part of bricks
^100." In 1740 the assembly provided a tax levy upon every tithable person
in the county for the church's completion and ordered that it be used for
vestry meetings as soon as "fit for Divine Worship," under penalty of fine if
it then met elsewhere. "Ye roof was righted" by 1745, but the first Divine
Worship was not held until Apr. 10, 1760. The interior woodwork was not
finished until 1774.
The exterior, although simple in design, is marked by a semicircular apse,
enlarged in 1828, and a square three-story tower with an octagonal spire.
The main entrance is in the base of the tower. The side doors are paneled
and framed with brick quoins. The plan of the building suggests a medieval
parish church measuring 40 by 60 feet, although in detail it follows the
Georgian Colonial mode. The interior is divided into nave and aisles by
rows of wooden columns supporting a sectional vaulted ceiling of ornamental
plaster. The high box pews, free since 1868, have doors; aisle galleries and
certain pews in the body of the church were once set aside "for the use of
our people of color." The church was lighted only with candles until 1869
when oil lamps were added.
The Rev. Daniel Earle, D.D., served the parish from 1757 until his death
in 1790, though not allowed to hold services during the Revolution because
he combined fiery Revolutionary activities with adherence to the Church of
England. He was also a planter and pioneer in the fishing industry. Before
the church windows were glazed in 1771, the rector arrived one morning to
find a verse attached to the church door:
A half-built church,
A broken-down steeple,
A herring-catching parson,
And a damn set of people.
Parson Earle presided over a mass meeting on Aug. 22, 1774, to protest
against the Boston Port Act, declaring that "the cause of Boston is the cause
of us all." Yet it was not until June 19, 1776, that his vestry signed the Test,
EDEN TON 185
an ecclesiastical declaration of independence, averring that "the people of
this Province singly and collectively are bound by the Acts and Resolutions
of the Continental and Provincial Congresses."
The Rev. Charles Pettigrew, first bishop-elect of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in North Carolina, served as rector of St. Paul's for a time in 1775
and in 1791, after Parson Earle's death.
The silver chalice and paten used every Holy Communion day bear the
maker's mark, crude capitals AK in a rectangle. There is mystery connected
with the silver's maker and donor. In 1703 Gov. Francis Nicholson of Vir-
ginia gave ;Tio to the church, whereupon the vestry ordered, according to
the minutes, "that the ten pounds in pieces of eight wt. 17 p.w.t. shall be
sent to Boston to purchase a chalice for the use of the church with this
Motto Ex Dono Francis Nicholson Esq. her Majesty's Lieutenant Govr. of
her Majesty's Colony and Dominion of Virginia." In July of 1714 Col.
Edward Moseley, a prominent early vestryman, wrote to inform Governor
Nicholson that his laudable design had been executed, though not without
difficulty, and that he had lodged the ^10 "in Mr. Pere Dummer's hands of
Boston towards procuring church plate." Jeremiah Dummer was a Boston
silversmith (1645-1718) who produced some of the finest ecclesiastical and
convivial pieces of the period, but the identity of the mysterious AK is un-
determined. When the actual presentation of the silver was made to the
parish in 1727, it was inscribed, not with the name of the donor, but as
"The Gift of Collonell Edward Mosely for ye use of ye church in Edenton
in ye year 1725." The church's pewter service, a chalice and paten (c. 1700),
was the gift of Queen Anne.
In ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD are buried the proprietary Governors
Henderson Walker, Thomas Pollock, and Charles Eden, other persons
prominent in Colonial times, and several Revolutionary patriots. The tomb-
stone of Mrs. Ann Booth Pollock Clark Cox carries an account of the Revo-
lutionary activities of her grandfather, Col. Edward Buncombe.
2. The SITE OF THE PENELOPE BARKER HOME, 213 Broad St., is
occupied by the Penelope Barker Hotel. Mistress Barker was the leading
spirit in the Edenton Tea Party. Tradition relates that she horsewhipped a
British officer whom she discovered trying to make off with her horses.
3. The JOSEPH HEWES HOUSE {private), 105 W. King St., was built
in 1750-60 by Maj. Nathaniel Allen, a Revolutionary figure; his uncle, Joseph
Key to Edenton Map
1. St. Paul's Church. 2. The Site of the Penelope Barker Home. 3. The Joseph Hewes
House. 4. Beverly Hall. 5. The Cupola House. 6. The Site of Hewes Store. 7. The
Site of Horniblow's Tavern. 8. The Chowan Courthouse. 9. Edenton Green. 10. The
Revolutionary Cannon. 11. The Site of the Edenton Tea Party. 12. The Site of
Edenton Academy. 13. The Iredell House. 14. Peanut Processing Plants.
a. Railroad Station, b. Union Bus Station, c. Carolina Motor Club. d. Federal Building
and Post Office, e. Mackey's Ferry.
100 CITIES AND TOWNS
Hewes, once made his home here with Major Allen. Here was born the
latter's son, William Allen (1803-79), who settled in Ohio and became Con-
gressman, Senator (1837-49), an d Governor of that State (1874-76). The
framework of the original house is intact, a two-story clapboarded structure
on a foundation of coral rock brought in as ship's ballast. The two-story ell
with upper and lower porches was added in 1825. The small Doric entrance
portico at the King Street entrance is a restoration (1934) of the original
one.
4. BEVERLY HALL {private; grounds and gardens always open), 114 W.
King St., stands in a setting of magnolias, cape jessamine, Japanese cherries,
weeping willows, and many plants and shrubs indigenous to the region. It
is a Georgian Colonial structure of white-painted brick with green shutters.
Shallow steps lead to the main porch on the east elevation, which has slim
Doric columns and a delicate second-floor latticed rail. The central columns
extend to the hip roof forming a two-story portico over the entrance. The
doorway is ornamented with fanlights and side lights. The west elevation
also has a portico. The four great chimneys are enclosed.
This house was built in 1810 for use as a State bank with living quarters
for two officers and their families. The vault, of solid brick walls 2 feet thick,
rises 12 feet above the foundation to the banking floor. Steel bars cover
bottom, sides, and domed roof of the vault. The 2-pound key is a curiosity.
After the bank ceased operations (1835) the house was converted into a
residence. For a time during the War between the States it was headquarters
for Federal Maj. Edward Terwilliger.
5. The CUPOLA HOUSE {open 3-5 daily; y-g p.m. Mon. and Fri.; adm.
25<f), 408 S. Broad St., is the oldest standing house in Edenton. Inscribed on
the front gable finial in raised letters is "F.C.-1758," indicating the year it
was built by Francis Corbin, the notorious land agent of Lord Granville. This
two-story early Georgian Colonial frame house with native pine clapboards
was originally painted white, with green shutters and trim. A 12-inch
framed overhang across the second-story front, reminiscent of 17th-century
structures, has corbeled brackets. Three great buttressed end chimneys rise
clear of the house from the eave line. The small entrance portico has a
vaulted, plastered ceiling. The fenestration is symmetrical, with solid shutters
fastened with large-headed bolts and slotted sticks securing first-floor win-
dows and louvered shutters at the others.
The house takes its name from its octagonal cupola, or "lantern," used
for sighting incoming ships and illuminated on the King's birthday, public
holidays, and other festive occasions. A Chippendale stair leads to the attic
whence a circular stair winds around an octagonal mahogany newel post
to the cupola.
Most of the rooms have the original hand-carved paneling, chair rails,
mantels, and over-mantels. The woodwork from one room was sold to the
Brooklyn Museum of Art, where it was reconstructed as part of the repro-
duction of the first floor of the Cupola House as it appeared in Corbin's day.
This sale was made before acquisition of the property by the Cupola House
Association.
EDEN TON 187
The drawing room on the first floor contains the Shepard-Pruden
Memorial Library, with a small collection of early Caroliniana. In an up-
stairs room is the Edenton Museum of relics and documents, including an
original treaty with the Tuscarora Indians (1712) written on parchment.
Other items are the tea set used at the Edenton Tea Party, a portrait of
Mistress Penelope Barker, and a large iron fireback bearing the likeness of
George II and the royal arms in bas-relief.
6. The SITE OF HEWES STORE, NE. corner Broad and E. King Sts., is
marked by a tablet in the south wall of a brick building. Hewes shipped
provisions for Valley Forge up the Chowan River to South Quay in Nanse-
mond County, Va., whence they were relayed by wagon to the Continental
Army.
7. The SITE OF HORNIBLOW'S TAVERN, E. King St. at head of
Colonial Ave., is occupied by the Hotel Joseph Hewes. This is one of the
five tavern sites in America continuously occupied as such since Colonial
days. Mrs. Horniblow was required to post bond as a guarantee that the
house would not "on the Sabbath day suffer any person to tipple or drink
more than is necessary." In James Boyd's Drums, the tavern is called Horn-
blower's, although it was first known (1729) as the King's Arms. A point on
the sound near Edenton is called Hornblower's Point.
8. The CHOWAN COURTHOUSE, E. King St. at the head of the green,
was built in 1767, supposedly by Gilbert Leigh who resided in Edenton at
the time. It replaced the first courthouse erected in 1719. This is one of
the finest surviving examples of Georgian Colonial public-building architec-
ture. It is constructed of warm red brick with white trim. A horizontal belt
course marks the second-floor line, white lintels accent the heads of the
windows, and a level cornice ornamented with modillions forms a continuous
line beneath the hip roof. The central pavilion, projecting slighdy from the
facade, has a classic pediment, and a pedimented, pilastered doorway fronted
by sandstone steps worn 3 inches deep. Two slender flues rise near the
center of the building on either side of the square clock tower whose domed
octagonal cupola is surmounted by a patriarchal cross. The "spring floor"
on the second story was both assembly and ballroom, modeled after such
rooms at Bath and Tunbridge Wells in England. It is one of the largest
solidly paneled rooms of the Colonial period, hand-carved, with painted
panels of native white pine 1/4 inches thick, 33 inches wide, and 48 inches
long.
On the second floor, in the master's station of the Unanimity Masonic
Lodge Room {open upon application at Chowan Herald office), is the
Washington Chair. Elaborately carved and embellished with Masonic sym-
bols, it was used by George Washington when he was master of the Alex-
andria, Va., lodge. Upon threatened British invasion, Alexandria lodge was
suspended and the chair given into the keeping of Capt. G. B. Russell, who
eventually found safety in Edenton Bay. In 1778, the Alexandria lodge
being still dormant, the captain presented the chair to the Edenton lodge.
100 CITIES AND TOWNS
Old courthouse records reveal that complaints of bewitchment were com-
mon in Colonial times. In one case Martha Richardson was charged with
"not having ye fear of God before her Eyes, but being led by ye Instigation
of ye Devil" into bewitching sundry of Her Majesty's subjects. The accusa-
tion against another defendant was that she did "Devilishly and Maliciously
bewitch and by assistance of the Devil afflict with Moral paynes of the body
of Deborah Bounthier whereby the sd. Deborah departed this life." The
husband of the alleged witch in this case insisted that the plaintiff "bring ye
same to proof" else he would "much bruse" the body of the plaintiff. How-
ever, most records of these cases close with the notation: "Wee of ye Jury
find no Bill."
9. EDENTON GREEN, lying between King St., Colonial Ave., Water,
and Court Sts., is without owner or record of title but is maintained by the
town. It was once called the "Publick Parade" and equipped with stocks,
rack, and pillory. The grassy lawn with flower beds, fountain, and casual
walkways, shaded by arching oaks, slopes gently down to the bay.
The Confederate Monument, N. edge of the green, is the granite figure
of a Confederate soldier atop a slim shaft.
The Hewes Monument, S. edge of the green, is the only marker erected
by Congressional appropriation to a signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence. The granite shaft, designed by Rogers and Poor, was dedicated in
1932. Joseph Hewes (1730-79) was a vestryman of St. Paul's, delegate from
North Carolina to the Continental Congress, and as chairman of the Com-
mittee of Marine of that body was virtually first Secretary of the Navy.
John Paul Jones wrote to his patron, Hewes: ". . . to your friendship I owe
my present enjoyments, as well as my future prospects. You more than any
other person have labored to place the instruments of success in my hands."
Hewes' presentation of North Carolina's Halifax Resolves to the Continental
Congress on May 27, 1776, was the first utterance for independence in that
body. He died while attending the Congress, and is buried in Christ Church-
yard, Philadelphia.
10. The REVOLUTIONARY CANNON, mounted on the sea wall at the
foot of the green, are 3 of a shipment of 45 purchased in France for the
Continental Army by Thomas Benbury and Thomas Jones, Edenton patriots.
They were cast in 1748 and brought to Edenton in 1778 by Capt. William
Boritz. Unable to collect transportation charges, the captain unloaded his
cargo, sank the ship, and became a citizen of Edenton. Tradition has it
that during the War between the States patriotic citizens mounted the old
pieces on wagon wheels with the intention of defending the town. When
forces from the Federal fleet disembarked Feb. 12, 1862, the commanding
invader ordered his men to break the trunnions and spike the guns, as "there
were more danger standing behind them than marching in front." Two of
the cannon were presented to the State and are mounted on Capitol Square
in Raleigh.
11. The SITE OF THE EDENTON TEA PARTY, Colonial Ave. facing
the W. side of the green, is marked by a large bronze teapot mounted on a
EDEN TON 189
Revolutionary cannon. Here stood the home of Mrs. Elizabeth King, where on
Oct. 25, 1774, gathered 51 ladies, with Mrs. Penelope Barker presiding. They
endorsed the resolutions of the First Provincial Congress (see new bern)
and further resolved: "We the Ladys of Edenton do hereby solemnly engage
not to conform to that pernicious practice of drinking tea, or ... ye wear
of any manufacture from England, until such time that all acts which tend
to enslave this our native country shall be repealed." The beverage con-
sumed was a concoction made from dried raspberry leaves. The names of
the signers of this pact are inscribed on a tablet on the courthouse facade.
An original mezzotint of this first feminine Revolutionary tea party is in
the Metropolitan Museum in New York, and a plaque in the rotunda of the
capitol at Raleigh commemorates the event, which elicited contemporary
reference to Edenton's "female artillery."
12. The SITE OF EDENTON ACADEMY, Court St. between E. Queen
and Church Sts., is occupied by a graded school. The academy, which stood
until 1906, was chartered in 1770. The first legislative enactment for the
promotion of schools in North Carolina was a bill to erect a schoolhouse in
Edenton, adopted by the assembly in April 1745.
13. The IREDELL HOUSE (open by permission), 107 E. Church St., is
a severely plain white-painted frame structure, the main portion erected in
1790 and the east wing added in 1821. In the chimney is a tablet to James
Iredell (1751-99), outstanding jurist and Revolutionary political leader. In
1 79 1 he published Iredell's Revision, the most comprehensive compilation
of North Carolina statutes up to that time. Judge Iredell was the ablest
defender of the Federal Constitution while it awaited ratification by the
people of North Carolina (see fayetteville), and was appointed Jus-
tice of the first United States Supreme Court by George Washington. His
son, Judge James Iredell, Jr., was Governor of North Carolina (1827-28).
In an upstairs room occurred the death of James Wilson (1742-98), a
Pennsylvania signer of the Declaration of Independence and United States
Supreme Court Justice. He was buried at Hayes (see tour ia), but in 1906
his remains were removed to Pennsylvania and a cenotaph was placed at the
original grave.
14. PEANUT PROCESSING PLANTS (open 8-5 weekdays; guides). The
Albemarle Peanut Co., 2nd St. and Badham Rd. in North Edenton, and the
Edenton Peanut Co., Soundside Rd. across Johnston's Bridge, are both five-
story structures. The two mills employ about 250 people, mostly Negroes,
and have an annual capacity of about 40 million pounds each. Goobers
grown in 12 northeastern counties are cleaned, sorted, and graded for sale
and shipment, shelled or unshelled, to roasters, salters, and makers of con-
fectioneries and salad and cooking oils.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
U. S. Fish Hatchery at Pembroke, 0.5 m., Hayes Plantation, 0.5 m. (see tour ia).
ELIZABETH CITY
Railroad Station: W. end of Main St. for Norfolk Southern R.R.
Bus Station: Virginia Dare Hotel, McMorine St. between Main and Fearing Sts., for
Carolina Coach Co. and Norfolk Southern Bus Corp.
Piers: Norfolk Southern docks, Water St. at foot of E. Burgess, for Elizabeth City (Nor-
folk-Hatteras), Wanchese, C. H. Mellison, and Cooper Bros.
Airport: i m. S. on US 170; no scheduled service.
Accommodations: 3 hotels, boarding houses, tourist homes.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce-Merchants' Association, Virginia Dare Hotel
arcade; Carolina Motor Club, 106 N. Road St.
Motion Picture Houses: 3(1 for Negroes).
Golf: Elizabeth City Country Club, 5 m. E. on State 30 and Country Club Rd., 9 holes,
greens fee, $1.
Swimming: Municipal pool, N. Pennsylvania Ave. {open in summer); river beaches.
Annual Events: International Moth Class Association National Regatta, 3 days in mid-
Oct.; Racing Pigeon Club, national shows, May and Dec.
ELIZABETH CITY (8 alt., 10,037 pop.), shipping point and retail trade
center for a large section of northeastern North Carolina, is connected with
outside markets by water, rail, and highway. It is the only town on the 40-
mile length of the Pasquotank River, and its landlocked harbor at the head
of the State's great system of sounds is 30 miles from the ocean in a direct
line. The town is a convenient base from which to visit the duck-hunting
country of Currituck, the game grounds of the Dismal Swamp, historic and
vacation spots along the sounds and ocean, and sport-fishing waters off the
banks and inlets.
Pasquotank River is a link in the Intracoastal Waterway, and at Elizabeth
City forms one of the finest inland harbors along the Atlantic seaboard.
Fresh water, free from teredos and barnacles, good wharfage, and marine
railways induce many yachtsmen to winter their craft here. The town is
headquarters for the 7th District, U. S. Coast Guard, which maintains a ship-
yard and supply base here. The Coast Guard Air Base (under construction
1938-39) occupies a 300-acre site with a mile of water frontage on Pasquo-
tank River.
Visible from any of a half-dozen streets that sweep down to the water or
parallel the shore, the river mirrors moving or anchored craft. The harbor
is the home port of freighters, tugs, barges, cruisers, yachts, bugeyes, and
catboats, as well as the locally developed moth boat. Elizabeth City is one of
the largest fish-marketing centers in the South. Fish houses, shipyards, and
other marine facilities cluster about the water front. Upon occasion the box-
like James Adams Floating Theater is moored at the foot of Main Street.
For years this old river queen has opened her season at Elizabeth City,
190
ELIZABETH CITY I9I
though her annual tour extends from Wilmington, Del., to Wilmington,
N. C.
The business district is concentrated around the three blocks of Main Street
between the river and the public square. On the north and west outer edges
of the town near the railroad tracks are the lumber, veneer, cotton, and
hosiery mills, as well as the sections where the cotton-mill workers live. The
Negroes, representing 37 percent of the population, live in rambling, scat-
tered districts, the most populous at the south end of town along Shepard
and South Road Streets and Roanoke Avenue.
The harvesting of the Irish potato crop about the middle of June brings
an influx of buyers, inspectors, and truckers, impartially referred to by the
townsfolk as "potato bugs." A similar situation exists during the May pea
and early fall sweet potato seasons. Cotton, corn, peanuts, and soybeans are
the staple crops. The latter are grown mainly for seed purposes and are
gathered with harvesters manufactured locally. Lumber and cotton manu-
factories are the chief industries.
As early as 1666 Bermudians established themselves on the Pasquotank
River where they engaged in shipbuilding. In 1672 Pasquotank County,
named for an Indian tribe in the region, was constituted a precinct in the
Great County of Albemarle and the first courts were held at Relfe's Point.
William Edmundson and George Fox made Quaker converts through the
section the same year. In 1706 the first meetinghouse of that faith in the
State was erected in the county near the earliest school. Blackbeard roved
these waters for a time and maintained headquarters at the Old Brick House.
Trading vessels called at the port and customs inspections were held as
early as 1722 at the Narrows of Pasquotank, as the town site was then
called. In 1739 Pasquotank was erected into a county.
The West India trade, spurred by the cutting of the Dismal Swamp Canal
in 1790, and the attendant swarm of "shingle-getters" who came to grub
out the swamp timber, led to the formation of the town. The 50-acre Nar-
rows Plantation of Adam and Elizabeth Tooley was conveyed to the town
commissioners to be laid off in small tracts and assigned by lot. First in-
corporated (1793) as Reading, the name was changed to Elizabeth Town,
either in honor of Elizabeth Tooley or of Queen Elizabeth. In 1799 it re-
placed Nixonton (Old Town) as county seat and in 1801 was named Eliza-
beth City.
In the early 1800's ocean-going vessels crowded the docks where Negro
slaves loaded shingles, barrel staves, and ship parts to be exported to the
West Indies, or unloaded cargoes of molasses, rum, sugar, and tropical fruits.
Three shipyards did a thriving business building, overhauling, and repairing
sailing vessels. Many of the builders, blacksmiths, and caulkers were Negro
slaves. Oak bark stripped from staves was used to tan leather and William
Steiger's combined tannery and bakeshop at Canal Bridge gave the name
Leather Hill to the slight rise at the south end of town. Stagecoaches made
regular stops, traveling along the canal bank from Norfolk, Va.
Federal occupation of the town in 1862 was a "grand, gloomy, and peculiar
time." The sheriff and many citizens set fire to their own houses at the
approach of the Federal fleet and the brick courthouse was also burned.
ELIZABETH CITY 193
Elizabeth City experienced a slow but steady growth after the War
between the States, particularly in connection with the farming, lumbering,
and fishing interests in the surrounding territory, and the establishment of
cotton and hosiery mills. However, in this period the town's interests, like
those of all the section east of Chowan River and north of Albemarle Sound,
were much more closely linked with those of neighboring Virginia cities
than with the rest of North Carolina. Before 1921 a north-south railroad
and a few sound steamers formed the only oudet. The construction of good
roads, begun in 1921, and the Chowan River Bridge (1926) connected the
town and the surrounding section economically with North Carolina, and
the Albemarle country was "bought back from Virginia, which long had
held it as hostage."
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The PUBLIC SQUARE, lying between Martin, Main, and Elliott Sts.
and Colonial Ave., is a broad double square of grassy lawn shaded by great
elms, oaks, and pecans, and flanked on three sides by residences.
The FEDERAL BUILDING (open 6 a.m.-n p.m.), NW. corner Main
and Martin Sts., erected in 1908 and enlarged in 1938, occupies half of the
square. In proportion and detail, this building is in the style of the later
Italian Renaissance.
The PASQUOTANK COUNTY COURTHOUSE {open 9-5 week-
days), SW. corner of the square, was designed and built by A. L. West in
1882 of red brick heavily trimmed with granite. Four stone-faced piers sup-
port a columned and pedimented porch above the Main Street entrance. The
porch is surmounted by a cupola with a clock and bell. The latter strikes the
hours, rings the alarm for fires and lost children, and sounds the summons
to court. Deed books date from 1700 and will books from 1752.
Behind the courthouse, facing Colonial Avenue, is the Agricultural
Building, a red brick structure in the Georgian Colonial style erected
(1937-38) with Federal aid. It houses county offices and the Elizabeth City
Public Library (open 10-1 Mon., Wed., Thur., Sat.; 2-6 Mon.-Fri.; j-y p.m.
Tues. and Fri.). On the 2nd floor is an auditorium seating 240.
2. The JUDGE SMALL HOUSE (private), 204 Colonial Ave., long the
Pool home, was erected in 1800 on the site of the present Federal Building,
from which it was removed in 1902 to make way for that structure. It is a
weatherboarded frame house painted white with green blinds. Doric columns
Key to Elizabeth City Map
1. The Public Square. 2. The Judge Small House. 3. The Nash House. 4. The Site
of Tooley's Grog Shop. 5. Christ Church. 6. The Fearing House. 7. The Charles
House. 8. The Pasquotank River Yacht Club Barge. 9. The Elizabeth City Shipyards.
10. The Miles Clark House. 11. The Beveridge House.
a. Post Office, b. Courthouse, c. Chamber of Commerce-Merchants' Association.
d. Carolina Motor Club. e. Bus Station, f. Railroad Station.
194 CITIES AND TOWNS
rise across the front elevation to a level cornice beneath the gabled roof,
forming a portico with a second-story balustraded gallery. The building is
constructed of hand-hewn timbers, joined with wooden pegs and hand-
wrought nails. The interior is notable for hand-carved mantels, wainscot, and
arched doorways. Officers used the house as headquarters during Union
occupation of the town.
3. The NASH HOUSE (private), NW. corner Colonial Ave. and Martin
St., is a large white weatherboarded structure with massive chimneys, many-
paned windows, and dormers in the gabled roof. The facade is adorned with
a two-story Doric portico. The house was erected in the early 1800's and was
originally owned by Quaker Benjamin Albertson, who in 1834 published
the Herald of the Times, "a family newspaper devoted to news, literature,
science, morality, agriculture, and amusements."
4. The SITE OF TOOLEY'S GROG SHOP, 112 S. Water St., is occupied
by a hardware store. Here Elizabeth Tooley catered to the Dismal Swamp
"shingle-getters," her tippling house being one of several, also called "dog-
geries" or "three-cent shops." Thieving slaves found them a ready market
for plunder, according to a petition presented to the legislature by aggrieved
planters in 1859. The grog shops, however, met strong competition from
the grocery stores, whose proprietors kept a free whisky barrel and plenty
of honey and sugar to mix with the liquor.
5. CHRIST CHURCH (Episcopal), SE. corner Church and McMorine
Sts., is the oldest in the city. The original building was erected in 1825 on
ground deeded to the parish in 1790 by descendants of Isaac Sawyer, who
in 1761 purchased a 250-acre tract from Lord Granville for 10 shillings. The
present Gothic Revival structure with its ivy-clad walls and steeple was
erected in 1856.
6. The FEARING HOUSE (private), SE. corner S. Road and Fearing Sts.,
is the oldest residence in Elizabeth City. The original portion was built about
1740 by Charles Grice, a shipbuilder from Germantown, Pa., who was one
of the town's founders. Isaiah Fearing, a New Englander, moved to Eliza-
beth City after the War of 1812 and married the sixth and widowed Mrs.
Grice. Members of the Fearing family still own and occupy the house. The
original part of the structure includes four large rooms and two hallways
with hand-carved paneling and hand-hewn heartwood timbers, fastened with
wooden pegs and hand-wrought nails. The south ell was added in 1825 and
the two-story columned portico and the north ell were added shortly after
the War between the States.
7. The CHARLES HOUSE (private), 710 W. Colonial Ave., was built
in the early 1800's by William Charles. This Greek Revival mansion was
formerly surrounded by the broad acres of a plantation and was approached
by a characteristic double row of elms and boxwoods. The street facade is
adorned with a two-story Doric portico with six columns. The dentils,
ELIZABETH CITY I95
paneled eaves, and soffit of the cornice reveal a high order of craftsmanship.
Brick for the massive end chimneys and foundation were probably made on
the plantation. Inside are hand-carved mantels and two mahogany stair-
ways, one of which terminates in a gracefully proportioned "monkey tail."
Behind the big house are the old winery and dairy houses of red brick with
stout wooden doors and latticed windows. During the War between the
States the mansion served as a hospital.
8. The PASQUOTANK RIVER YACHT CLUB BARGE {private),
moored just offshore Riverside Ave. beyond the Coast Guard shipyard, is
club headquarters for moth-type sailboat enthusiasts. The moth is a small
sailing yacht developed by Capt. Joel Van Sant, after whose design the
original Jumping Juniper was constructed at Elizabeth City in 1929. There
are 1,500 registered moths. The n-foot craft with a 15-foot sail and center-
board is easy to maneuver and transport. The hull is of native juniper (white
cedar). The harbor is the scene of the annual International Moth Regatta for
the Antonia Trophy.
9. The ELIZABETH CITY SHIPYARDS (open all hours; telephone office
for guide and appointment to board yachts) on Riverside Ave. extend along
the river shore for several hundred yards on what has been a shipyard site
since the early 1800's. The marine railway accommodates boats up to 200
feet and 800 tons and there are facilities for repairing machinery and hulls
of wooden and steel vessels. Between Riverside Avenue and the Yacht
Basin just offshore, is a shaded, gardened lawn with an ingenious sun dial
showing the time in Eastern Standard and solar time.
10. The MILES CLARK HOUSE (private), 11 14 Riverside Ave., is some-
times mistaken for a yacht club; its spacious landscaped grounds, gay awn-
ings, and tall flagpole reflect the owner's hobby. The Clark yacht, the Dons,
a 77-foot cabin cruiser formerly the property of Doris Duke Cromwell, is
often at the sea wall at the edge of the lawn. The two-story house is of red
brick roofed with tile and topped with broad flat sun decks. The south ele-
vation in the form of a semicircular bay is topped with a low dome. Inside,
the circular stair well has a mural decoration representing the coast between
Cape Henry and Cape Hatteras with a lighting arrangement that produces
cloud, storm, or fair-weather effects. The floors are calked like a ship's decks,
and the vaulted ceiling and mahogany paneling of the drawing room suggest
the saloon of a palatial yacht.
11. The BEVERIDGE HOUSE (private), 1208 Riverside Ave., is a shingled
cottage built over the river on brick piers and reached only by a narrow rustic
bridge from the riverbank or by boat. This type of construction was long
used on the sound side at Nags Head (see tour iA).
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Old Brick House, 10 m., Great Dismal Swamp, 15 m. (see tour ic); Wright
Memorial, Kitty Hawk, 63.8 m., Fort Raleigh, 83 m. (see tour iA); Bayside Planta-
tion, 3 m., Enfield House, 3 m. (see tour iB).
FAYETTEVILLE
Railroad Stations: Hay and Hillsboro Sts. for Atlantic Coast Line R.R.; Russell and
Maxwell Sts. for Aberdeen & Rockfish R.R.; depot on Hay St. at E. end of Rankin
for Norfolk Southern R.R.
Bus Station: Franklin and Donaldson Sts. for Carolina Coach, Queen City Coach, Greens-
boro-Fayetteville, and Greyhound lines.
Airport: Municipal, 5 m. N. on US 15 A; no scheduled service.
Accommodations: 4 hotels (1 for Negroes); tourist homes, and camps.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, Carolina Motor Club, Prince Charles Hotel,
Hay St.; Travelers Aid, ACL station.
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Lafayette Opera House, Person and Dick Sts.,
concerts, local productions, occasional road shows; Little Theater, Bradford Ave., local
productions; 3 motion picture houses.
Swimming: Victory Lake, Faytex Mill, 2 m. S. on Cumberland Rd.; Page's Lake and
picnic grounds, 20 m. SE. on State 28.
Golf: Country Club of Fayetteville, 3 m. N. on US 15 A, 9 holes, greens fee, 50$.
Annual Events: Community Sing, 1st Sun. July: Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry
anniversary, Aug. 23; Cumberland County Fair and Gala week, usually in Oct.
FAYETTEVILLE (107 alt., 13,049 pop.), seat of Cumberland County, lies
on the west bank of the Cape Fear River. The most conspicuous point of
interest is the century-old Market House, standing "where all roads meet,"
and containing the old bell that still rings the curfew at 9 o'clock every
night.
Business houses line Gillespie, Green, Hay, and Person Streets at the foot
of the Haymount Hills. Older residential sections contain tree-shaded struc-
tures more than 100 years old. Sherwood Forest, in the western suburbs, has
some of the finer homes. Negroes of the city live in several communities, the
largest of which is Murchison Heights, on the north side of town.
The white population is largely descended from the first Scottish settlers.
While the majority of the city's 5,357 Negroes, 41 percent of the total popu-
lation, are at the bottom of the economic scale, a number have worked their
way to financial security. The State Normal School for Negroes has exerted
an important cultural influence upon the race.
Fayetteville dates from 1739 when Scots led by Colonel McAllister settled
Campbelltown, whose orderly streets are still distinguishable in the eastern
part of town along the river. In 1746-47, a group of expatriated Scots, men
who had escaped "the penalty of death to one of every 20 survivors of
Culloden," established a gristmill and village at Cross Creek, a mile north-
west of Campbelltown, where they found two streams crossing each other.
The preponderance of Scottish population made the town a center of
Tory influence. Here in 1774 came Flora Macdonald and her husband, Alan,
196
FAYETTEVILLE I97
who led troops of Highland Scots against Whigs at the Battle of Moores
Creek Bridge (see tour 29). Nevertheless, Whigs met here, at Liberty Point,
June 20, 1775, and signed resolutions pledging themselves to "resist force
by force," and to "go forth and be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes
to secure freedom and safety."
A number of minor encounters took place in and about Fayetteville dur-
ing the Revolutionary War and in 1781 Cornwallis occupied the town en
route to Wilmington. In 1783 the settlements of Campbelltown and Cross
Creek united and were incorporated. Having shifted their allegiance, the
citizens named the place Fayetteville, the first community so honoring the
Marquis de Lafayette.
Fayetteville served as the State capital from 1789 to 1793 and in the latter
year missed by one vote becoming the permanent seat of government. On
Nov. 21, 1789, the State convention held here ratified the Federal Consti-
tution. In the same year the general assembly, meeting in Fayetteville, char-
tered the University of North Carolina.
By 1823, with a population of 3,532, Fayetteville was second only to
Wilmington in size and commerce. The town was accessible to vessels of
light draft that brought imports from the Atlantic and carried back products
of the fields, looms, potteries, and forges. A network of roads radiated from
the town, the most important being the noted Plank Road of timbers upon
heavy stringers, which ran 129 miles northwest to Bethania.
On May 29, 1831, the most destructive fire in the United States up to that
time destroyed 600 homes, 125 business houses, several churches, and the
convention hall where sessions of the general assembly had been held. In
1865 Sherman occupied the town, wrecked the only printing press, and
burned some of the mills.
Railroads aided the town's growth after 1870 and the advent of the textile
mills offset the decline of the turpentine and lumber industries. River traffic
was suspended in 1923, but in 1936 a lock and dam built at Tolar's Land-
ing made a 9-foot slack-water channel available to Fayetteville. A dock
and terminal were built to provide facilities for revival of the river trade.
Six textile mills are operated, most of them in the southern part of the
city.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The MARKET HOUSE (open 10-6:30 weekdays), Market Sq., at the
intersection of Green and Gillespie, Person and Hay Sts., houses a public
library and relics of the War between the States. This three-bay brick build-
ing has a hipped-roof central section surmounted by a tower whose clock
has run accurately since 1838, when the building was erected. Three arched
passageways pierce the central section and Ionic pilasters on the upper walls
separate the many-paned arched windows. Single-story arcaded wings with
balustraded roofs flank the central section. The bell in the cupola is rung
each day at 7:30 for breakfast, at 1 p.m. for dinner, at sunset, and at 9 p.m.
for curfew. The building served originally as a slave market; later it housed
a public realty exchange and the town hall.
FAYETTEVILLE 1 99
The Market House occupies the Site of Convention Hall, destroyed by
the fire of 1831. Here was held the convention that ratified the Federal
Constitution (1789), and sessions of the general assembly (1789-93). On
Mar. 4, 1825, General Lafayette addressed a large crowd of people from a
stage erected at the door, thanking them for naming the town in his honor.
On the northwest corner is a bronze tablet commemorating events that took
place on the site.
2. The SANFORD HOUSE (private), 225 Dick St., is a two-story weath-
erboarded structure, painted white, with a hip roof. It rests on high brick base-
ment walls. The porch is four columns wide with Ionic details superimposed
upon Doric. The upper doorway has the original fanlight and side lights
but the lower door has been remodeled. The building housed a bank as early
as 1807 and the vault is intact in the basement. Lafayette was entertained
here in 1825. In one of the rooms is a marble mantel with a hand-carved
design of two doves in the center and vases of flowers on the posts. Here as
a boy resided Elliott Daingerfield (1 859-1932), painter.
3. LIBERTY POINT, Person and Bow Sts., was the scene of a meeting of
39 patriots who pledged resistance to Great Britain, June 20, 1775.
4. The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, E. corner Bow and Ann Sts,
was built about 1816, gutted by fire in 1831, and rebuilt with the original
walls in 1832. This oblong brick building has a spacious portico with six
square columns and a simple steeple. In the vestibule are a marble-topped
mahogany table and sacramental silver dating from 1824. For many years
whale oil was burned in the ornamental chandeliers.
5. The MACKEITHAN HOUSE (private), Cool Spring St. and Cool
Spring Lane, built in 1778, served in ante-bellum days as a tavern. This
white-painted frame house has a two-story porch across the front. The steep-
pitched roof is flanked by massive end chimneys.
6. COOL SPRING, NW. corner Cool Spring St. and Cool Spring Lane, on
the bank of Cross Creek, was a source of drinking water before the War
Key to Fayetteville Map
1. The Market House. 2. The Sanford House. 3. Liberty Point. 4. The First Pres-
byterian Church. 5. The Mackeithan House. 6. Cool Spring. 7. The Site of Pember-
ton's (McNeill's) Mill. 8. The Site of Cross Creek. 9. The McLaughlin House. 10. The
James Dobbin McNeill Monument. 11. The Site of Flora MacDonald's Home.
12. McNeill's Mill. 13. St. John's Episcopal Church. 14. The Masonic Building.
15. The Armory. 16. The Methodist Church. 17. The Hale (McNeill) Home. 18. The
Site of the Confederate Arsenal. 19. The State Normal School for Negroes. 20. James
Square. 21. Cross Creek Cemetery.
a-b. Chamber of Commerce and Carolina Motor Club. c. Norfolk Southern R.R.
Station, d. Atlantic Coast Line R.R. Station, e. Aberdeen & Rockfish R.R. Station.
f. Bus Station, g. Cross Creek Park. h. Highland Ball Park. 1. Fayetteville Country
Club. k. Victory Lake. l. Page's Lake.
200 CITIES AND TOWNS
between the States. At the head of the steps leading to the spring is the Site
of the Flora Macdonald Rally, where she spurred the Highland Scots
to fight for England. According to tradition Flora Macdonald, then 52 years
of age, rode up and down the line on a white horse, cheering the soldiers.
7. The SITE OF PEMBERTON'S (McNEILL'S) MILL, Cool Spring St.
opposite the spring, is occupied by a water-driven machine shop. In 1861
a mill that manufactured gray cloth for Confederate uniforms stood here.
8. The SITE OF CROSS CREEK is visible from the intersection of Grove
and Kennedy Sts. The name derives from two small creeks, Cross from the
west and Blount from the south, that met and apparently separated, forming
an island of some size. It was said that the streams, when swollen from the
rains, actually crossed each other in their rapid course. A cotton mill, built
about 1840 by De Gross, a Frenchman, eliminated the crossing. The mill was
razed by Sherman's troops in 1865.
9. The McLAUGHLIN HOUSE (closed), SW. corner Person and B Sts.,
is a century-old dwelling of hand-hewn weatherboards, 12 inches wide. A
winding stairway and a walnut mantel carved with a fan design are unusual
features of the interior.
10. The JAMES DOBBIN McNEILL MONUMENT, SE. corner Green
and Bow Sts., is a rough-hewn, flat-faced boulder carved with fire hose
winding around small bronze tablets surmounted by a bronze eagle. A cen-
tral tablet bears a profile and record of James D. McNeill (1850-1927), six
times mayor, commander of the Fayetteville Division of North Carolina
Naval Reserves, captain of the Red Shirts (see Wilmington), and organizer
and for 26 years president of the State Firemen's Association.
11. The SITE OF FLORA MACDONALD'S HOME, NE. corner Green
and Bow Sts., where she lived in 1775, is occupied by a filling station. Born
in the Hebrides in 1722, Flora was a member of the Clanranald branch of
the Macdonald clan, whose men supported Bonnie Prince Charlie, last of
the Stuart pretenders to Britain's throne. After his defeat at Culloden, the
royal fugitive, with a price upon his head, fled to the Hebrides. Determined
to save him, Flora disguised the prince as a servant girl and smuggled him
safely across the water to the Isle of Skye whence he escaped to France. Her
ruse discovered, she was arrested, but her courage and beauty won the public
heart and she was released to become an idol of London society. In 1750
she married Alan Macdonald, son of the Laird of Kingsbury, and in 1774,
the Macdonalds, with the blessing of George III, emigrated to America and
settled on Cross Creek. Because of their strong royalist sentiments, their
properties were confiscated and Alan Macdonald was imprisoned. Flora fled
to Wilmington, sold part of her possessions for passage, and returned to
Scotland. A college at Red Springs is named in her honor.
12. McNEILL'S MILL, NW. corner Green and Old Sts., a square wooden
building darkened by age, rests on the foundations of the town's oldest in-
FAYETTEVILLE 201
dustrial plant, a gristmill erected in 1764 by Robert Cochrane of Pennsyl-
vania. Capt. James D. McNeill, an early owner, evolved the slogan: "The
mill was here before the town was; the mill will be here when the town
ain't." The present mill, built in 1832 and still owned by the McNeill family,
uses parts that are more than a century old.
13. ST. JOHN'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 242 Green St., was erected in
1 8 17, burned in 1831, and rebuilt with the original walls in the Gothic Re-
vival style. The 181 7 structure was one of the most elaborate brick churches
of the period. It was "built something in the Gothic" and had a fine organ,
clock, and bell.
14. The MASONIC BUILDING (open to members only), 221 Mason St.,
home of Fayetteville Masons since it was built in 1858, is a two-story clap-
board structure with small porches on two sides, painted gray and trimmed
in white. When organized and chartered in 1760 by the Grand Lodge of
Masons in Scotland, it was called Union Lodge; in 1788 its name was changed
to Phoenix Lodge.
15. The ARMORY (open for dances, boxing matches, etc.), 214 Burgess
St., a one-story white brick building erected in 1933, is headquarters for the
Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry, organized in 1793 and reputed to
be the second oldest military organization in continuous service in the United
States. The unit has served in every national war since its founding and was
a part of the 30th Division in the World War. Its motto is: "He that hath
no stomach to this fight, let him depart."
16. The METHODIST CHURCH, NW. corner Hay and Old Sts., dedi-
cated in 1908, is the red brick steepled edifice of a Methodist organization
that originated in the late 1770's from a weekly "preaching" by Henry
Evans, a free Negro shoemaker. White members of the congregation erected
a chapel for themselves in 1803, and their Sunday school, organized in 1819,
is the earliest Methodist Sunday school in the State of which there is
authentic record.
17. THE HALE (McNEILL) HOME (private), NW. corner Hay and
Hale Sts., is a two-story brick dwelling built in 1847 and first called Green-
bank. The mahogany rails and posts of the interior stairway were made
in Scotland. Two rooms have mantels of black marble, fanciful heavy mold-
ings, and gas fixtures. The thick doors are dressed with huge locks. All
timbers are mortised and fastened with wooden pins.
18. The SITE OF THE CONFEDERATE ARSENAL, SW. corner Hay
St. and Maple Ave., destroyed by Confederates before Sherman's occupation
in 1865, is identified by a marker.
19. The STATE NORMAL SCHOOL FOR NEGROES, Murchison Rd.
at NW. city limits, established in 1877, is the oldest normal school in North
202 CITIES AND TOWNS
Carolina. The plant includes 12 brick buildings and a library of 30,000 vol-
umes. There are more than 500 students and a faculty of 52. Dr. E. E. Smith,
who served as principal (1 883-1 933), and during leaves was United States
Minister to Liberia and an adjutant in the Spanish-American War, is hon-
ored by a marble tablet on the campus. Charles W. Chesnutt (1 852-1932),
one-time principal, was the author of short stories and novels.
20. JAMES SQUARE, intersection Ramsey, Green, Rowan, and Grove Sts.,
is on the site of the first Cumberland County Courthouse, built about 1755.
In the center of a grassy circle is a Confederate Monument, the heroic iron
figure of a soldier, mounted on a 15-foot granite pedestal. The square was
named for James Hogg, a prominent early citizen.
21. CROSS CREEK CEMETERY, Grove St. between Ann St. and Cross
Creek, shaded by ancient cedars and pines, contains the graves of many
Scottish settlers. Confederate soldiers are buried around the Confederate
Monument, erected Dec. 30, 1868, earliest memorial to the Lost Cause. It is
a 10-foot octagonal shaft on a white marble base surmounted by a cross, de-
signed by George Lauder. Here also is the grave of the artist, Elliott Dainger-
field.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Old Bluff, Scottish Presbyterian Church, 14.5 m. (see tour 3); Fort Bragg, U. S.
Military Reservation, 10 m. (see tour 3A); the Parapet (earthen fortress), 1 m.,
Duncan Shaw House, 9.5 m., State Fish Hatchery and Game Farm, 10 rrr. (see
tour 9).
GREENSBORO
Railroad Station: Joint terminal, E. Washington and Forbis Sts., for Southern Ry. and
Atlantic & Yadkin R.R.
Bits Station: Union terminal, 226 E. Market St., for Carolina Coach Co., Atlantic Grey-
hound, and Greensboro-Fayetteville lines.
Airport: Greensboro-High Point (Lindley Field), 9.4 m. W. of Jefferson Sq. on US 421,
for Eastern Air Lines.
Taxis: 1 to 4 passengers, 25^ and up.
City Buses: Fare io</', trackless trolleys 7^; trolleys and buses meet at Jefferson Sq.;
4 tokens 25^ on each line.
Traffic Regulations: Turns prohibited at intersections indicated by signs on traffic lights:
parking restrictions indicated by signs.
Accommodations: 10 hotels (2 for Negroes); boarding houses and tourist homes.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Bldg. ;
Carolina Motor Club, 229 N. Elm. St.
Radio Station: WBIG (1440 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Aycock Auditorium, Woman's College, U. N. C,
Spring Garden and Tate Sts.; Odell Memorial Auditorium, Greensboro College, College
Place off W. Market St.; Senior High School Auditorium, Westover Terrace, concerts,
lectures, and plays; 8 motion picture houses (1 for Negroes).
Swimming: Hamilton Lakes, 3 m. W. of Jefferson Sq. on US 421; Greensboro Country
Park, 5 m. NW. of Jefferson Sq. on US 220, R. 0.5 m.; Nocho Recreation Park
(Negro), E. Bragg St. and Benbow Rd.; Ritter's Lake, 5 m. S. on US 220; Oakhurst
Swimming Pool, W. on US 29-70 at city limits.
Golf: Sedgefield Country Club, 9 m. W. of Jefferson Sq. on US 29-70, 18 holes, greens
fee, $1.50 weekdays, $2 Sat., Sun., and holidays; Starmount Golf Club, Hamilton
Lakes, 3 m. W. of Jefferson Sq. on US 421, 18 holes, greens fee, $1 weekdays, $1.50
Sat., Sun., and holidays.
Tennis: Memorial Stadium, Bagley and Dewey Sts., 8 courts; Sedgefield, 9 m. W. of
Jefferson Sq. on US 29-70. The city maintains 30 other courts; call City Recreation
. Dept. to reserve court for 1 hi.
Baseball and Football: Memorial Stadium, Bagley and Dewey Sts.
Riding: Sedgefield Riding Academy, 7.2 m. W. on US 29-70, L. on Groome Town Rd.;
Mary Lee Riding Academy, 4.1 m. W. of Jefferson Sq. on US 29-70, L. on Yow St.
Hunting and Fishing: Lake Brandt (municipal), 10 m. NW.; Greensboro Country Park,
5.5 m. NW. of Jefferson Sq. on US 220; inquire Chamber of Commerce, or game
warden, county courthouse.
Annual Events: State high school music contest, 3rd wk. Apr.; Garden Club show, around
May 15; golf tournaments, spring and fall for women, championship for men in fall;
Kennel Club show, in fall; Central North Carolina Fair, in fall; State high school
track meet, in fall.
GREENSBORO (838 alt., 53,569 pop.), at the eastern point of the triangle
of close-lying cities that includes Winston-Salem, the tobacco town, on the
west, and furniture-manufacturing High Point at the southern apex, is typi-
cal of the industrial Piedmont from which the community draws its raw
materials, electric energy, manpower, and trade. The city is an educational
203
204 CITIES AND TOWNS
and textile-manufacturing center, though its diversified industries also pro-
duce structural steel, chemicals, and terra cotta.
In the business section, new structures tower above old outmoded build-
ings. The Jefferson Standard Building dominates the sky line and marks
the city's center at Jefferson Square, where Market and Elm Streets cross.
The streets are broad, and in the residential sections are shaded by stately
oaks, maples, and other trees.
The newer homes are in such subdivisions as Sunset Hills, Westerwood,
Lake Daniel, Fisher, Lathan, and Irving Parks; many fine old houses lie
along the city's original streets. Trim lawns and gardens are everywhere in
evidence and public parks and playgrounds are numerous.
The industrial areas stretch along the railroads for 2 miles on either side
of town. Four white-cottaged mill communities in the northeast section
indicate the importance of the textile industry.
The city's 14,050 Negroes, 26 percent of the total population, live in more
or less scattered segregated areas. Warnerville, in the southwest part of the
city, has hundreds of commonplace houses occupied by Negroes of the labor-
ing class. The largest Negro section is in the eastern part of the city, where
the professional and cultural groups occupy attractive homes. Negroes of the
city maintain their own library, theater, dramatic and literary societies, and
have recreational facilities such as ball parks, swimming pools, and play-
grounds.
The earliest Quaker, German, and Scotch-Irish settlers in the country
around Greensboro were small freeholders, whose zeal for religious, eco-
nomic, and political freedom dotted the region with churches, wrested pros-
perity from the wilderness, and helped win independence from the British
Crown.
The city occupies part of the original grant in 1749 from John Carteret,
Earl of Granville, to the Nottingham Company, for settlement of a colony
of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians on the waters of North Buffalo and Reedy Fork
Creeks. To the east, on Stinking Creek, a German colony settled at the
same time, and to the west, along Deep River and its tributaries, two groups
of Quakers took up lands.
In 1770 Guilford County, also known as Unity Parish, was created from
portions of Orange and Rowan Counties. The name honors Lord North,
Prime Minister of England and Earl of Guilford. The first courthouse, of
logs, was built 5 miles northwest of Greensboro in 1774. Around it grew
up the straggling village of Guilford Courthouse, whose name, after the
Revolution, was changed to Martinsville in honor of Alexander Martin,
Governor of North Carolina (1782-85; 1789-92), and delegate to the Con-
stitutional Convention in Philadelphia. Of this village there is no remaining
trace.
Men from Guilford County played a prominent part in the Battle of
Alamance in 1771, where Regulators clashed with Governor Tryon's troops.
Cornwallis, who invaded the county in 1781, was all but defeated at the
Battle of Guilford Courthouse on Mar. 15 {see tour 13). Such leaders as
Colonels John Paisley, William Dent, and Arthur Forbis commanded troops
recruited from the region.
GREENSBORO 205
Because Martinsville was not centrally situated, the general assembly in
1808 authorized commissioners to purchase and lay off a tract of 42 acres
at the geographic center of the county. The new town was named Greens-
boro in honor of Gen. Nathanael Greene, leader of the Colonial forces at
Guilford Courthouse.
Two companies were recruited for the War of 1812. People of the county
were generally opposed to secession in i860, but when North Carolina took
its stand with the Confederacy, 180 men marched away with the Guilford
Grays, besides those who enlisted in other units. The city served as a Con-
federate depot for supplies and specie. Jefferson Davis, fleeing southward
after the fall of Richmond, met Gen. J. E. Johnston here to decide on sur-
render to Sherman and also held here a meeting with his cabinet in April
1865. Nearly 7,000 Confederate troops were paroled in Greensboro after the
surrender.
Early in the 19th century there were factories for making chairs, carriages,
wool and fur hats, and tobacco products. About 1833 the first steam cotton
mill, the nucleus of the textile industry, was placed in operation.
After the War between the States, the Negro district known as Warner-
ville was founded by Yardley Warner, a Quaker, who purchased 34 acres,
divided the land into half-acre tracts, and sold them to the freedmen on
liberal terms. In later years the land has been divided, added to, and resold.
Since 1890, when the city's population was 3,317, Greensboro's progress
has been rapid. Ceasar and Moses Cone established textile mills, which were
followed by other mills and factories. Greensboro's 115 manufacturing estab-
lishments employ about 12,000 persons and produce annually products val-
ued at 60 million dollars. The home offices of several large insurance com-
panies are maintained in the city.
Since Dr. David Caldwell established his "log college" in 1767, Greens-
boro encouraged learning and now has six colleges in the city or immediate
environs, three of them for Negroes. Minister, physician, teacher, and states-
man, Dr. Caldwell served as a delegate to the first constitutional convention in
Halifax in 1776. His log college had an enrollment of about 50 and served
as "an academy, a college, and the theological seminary." From it were
graduated men who became leaders in this and neighboring States. By 1820
the Greensboro Female Academy had been founded, and other academies,
boarding schools, and seminaries followed.
The Euterpe Club, organized in 1889 as the Coney Club, has helped
develop music appreciation, and the Civic Music Association brings noted
musicians to the city. Woman's College sponsors an annual North Carolina
High School music contest which in 1938 brought 5,100 participants. Well-
trained glee clubs are maintained by the Woman's College, Greensboro Col-
lege, and by two of the Negro colleges: Bennett, and the Agricultural and
Technical College.
William Sydney Porter (O. Henry, 1862-1910) was born in Greensboro
and as a boy worked in a local drug store. About 1880 he was playing second
violin in a string orchestra formed primarily for serenading the young
women of Greensboro Female Academy. The Greensboro Record quoted an
associate of Porter's: "I can see Will Porter right now with his foot on a
206 CITIES AND TOWNS
stump and his fiddle across his knee saying to Charlie Collins, 'Charlie,
gimme your A'. . . One number we sure could play — the old Saltello Waltz —
because we played it at every concert . . . The funny thing about this waltz
was that so far as we knew it had no stopping place, no end. We just kept
on playing and playing until Charlie Collins would say, 'Look out fellers,
I'm going to stop!' "
Other literary figures associated with the city are Wilbur Daniel Steele
(b. 1886), four times winner of the O. Henry Memorial Award, and Albion
Winegar Tourgee, a prolific writer of Reconstruction days, who came to
Greensboro in 1865, and is best known for his A Fool's Errand.
Richard Berry Harrison, Negro actor who played the character of "De
Lawd" in Marc Connelly's play, the Green Pastures, was for seven years
head of the dramatic department of the Agricultural and Technical College.
Charles Winter Wood, his successor in the role and organizer of the first
professional stock company for Negroes in America, is head of the drama
department of Bennett College.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The JEFFERSON STANDARD LIFE INSURANCE BUILDING
(1923), Jefferson Sq., NW. corner Market and Elm Sts., was designed by
Charles C. Hartmann. This 17-story structure of modified Gothic design, is
the tallest building in the city. The top floor, occupied by a restaurant, gives
a panoramic view of the surrounding country.
2. The MASONIC TEMPLE (open 9-1 1, 2-5 daily), 426 W. Market St., is
a two-story marble and granite structure of neoclassic architecture. It was
designed by John B. Crawford, and built in 1928. A marker in front recalls
that the building stands on the site of O. Henry's birthplace. The Masonic
Museum, founded in 1933, contains Masonic relics.
3. The SHERWOOD HOME {private), 426 Gaston St., was erected in
1843. This red brick dwelling with white colonnaded portico was built by
M. S. Sherwood, who once published the Greensboro Patriot, founded in
1826. Lyndon Swaim, a later editor, and his step-daughter, Mary Swaim —
mother of O. Henry — lived here.
4. The main building at Keeley Institute, 447 W. Washington St., is
BLANDWOOD (open; telephone for permission), a rectangular two-story
structure of gray stuccoed brick. At the entrance is a square flat-topped tower
of three stories with arches in three sides of the first story. Built in 1825,
Blandwood was originally the home of John Motley Morehead, Governor of
North Carolina (1841-45). Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard and his staff, mov-
ing troops to join Lee in Virginia, were guests here for several days in
1865. In 1897 the house was converted into a sanitarium. The east and west
wings were added in 1905.
5. GREENSBORO COLLEGE, main entrance on W. Market St. between
S. Cedar St. and College PL, is one of the oldest Methodist colleges for
GREENSBORO 1QT]
women in the world. Its ivy-covered brick buildings are set in a 25-acre,
tree-shaded campus. The 1937-38 enrollment was about 250.
A year before the charter was obtained (1838), the trustees of the Greens-
boro Female College purchased 210 acres west of Greensboro, 40 of which
they reserved, while the rest eventually was sold for nearly enough to pay
the original purchase price. The cornerstone of the first building was laid
in 1843 and the school opened in 1846 with the Rev. Solomon Lea, of Leasburg
{see tour 24b), as head of the first faculty. After a disastrous fire in 1863 the
school was rechartered in 1869, though not reopened until 1873.
The Main Building (1904) is a three-story brick structure of wide pro-
portions trimmed with white stone. From the central rotunda, supported
by Doric columns and topped with a low open cupola, wings extend in three
directions. The reception hall contains portraits of former officials of the
college. The second floor of the rotunda contains the library. The art depart-
ment is housed on the third floor. Fitzgerald Hall, erected in 191 2 and
named for J. W. Fitzgerald, is a two-story brick building ornamented with
three Doric porticoes. Hudson Hall, built in 19 17, a duplicate of Fitz-
gerald Hall, was named in honor of Mrs. Mary Lee Hudson. Odell
Memorial Building, containing the college auditorium {open for school
entertainments , etc.) on College Place just off the campus, erected in 1922
and named for J. A. Odell, is a two-story brick building with a Roman
arched entrance. Atop the structure is a flat balustraded promenade.
6. The OLD BUMPASS HOME {private), 114 S. Mendenhall St., was
erected in 1847 by the Rev. Sidney Bumpass, prominent Southern Methodist
minister. The red brick structure of modified Georgian Colonial architec-
ture is fronted by a portico with four limestone Doric columns and is shaded
by great oaks. A Methodist paper, the Weekly Message, was published here
and the house was used for religious meetings. After the death of the Rev.
Mr. Bumpass in 1857, his widow continued the work. Because of her active
participation in the temperance movement, community betterment, and the
religious life of the region, the section around this house became known
as Piety Hill.
7. The WOMAN'S COLLEGE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH
CAROLINA {buildings open during school hours unless otherwise noted),
Key to Greensboro Map
1. The Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Building. 2. The Masonic Temple. 3. The
Sherwood Home. 4. Blandwood. 5. Greensboro College. 6. The Old Bumpass Home.
7. The Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. 8. Idlewood. 9. The
Buffalo Presbyterian Church. 10. The Cone Textile Mills. 11. World War Stadium.
12. Dunleith. 13. Community Center. 14. The Agricultural and Technical College of
North Carolina. 15. Bennett College. 16. The Settle Home.
a. Post Office, b. Chamber of Commerce, c. Carolina Motor Club. d. Railroad Station.
e. Union Bus Terminal. F. Stadium, g. Central Carolina Fair Association Grounds.
h. Greensboro Country Club. 1. Sedgefield Country Club. k. Starmount Golf Club.
l. Airport.
210 CITIES AND TOWNS
Tate and Spring Garden Sts., one of the largest woman's colleges in the
United States, has a no-acre campus and 45 buildings. It was founded by
Dr. Charles D. Mclver as the State Normal and Industrial School, and
opened in 1892. The institution later became known as the North Carolina
College for Women. In 1931 it was made a unit of the Greater University.
The college confers five degrees for courses in liberal arts, sciences, educa-
tion, home economics, and music, and had an enrollment of 1,891 for the
The main entrance is from Spring Garden Street on College Street. A
driveway runs (R) from College Street past the Administration Building,
constructed in 1892 of red brick with Mount Airy granite and limestone
trim. Towerlike structures flanking the entrance and containing bay win-
dows rise to the roof level where they terminate in low spires. The McIver
Building, built in 1908, is a three-story structure of red brick with lime-
stone trim in three sections, east and west wings having been added. A
pedimented two-story Ionic portico rises from the second story level. The
building contains lecture rooms, laboratories, and offices. On the front lawn
is the life-size, bronze Monument to Charles Duncan McIver, founder,
by F. Wellington Ruckstuhl, a replica of that on the capitol grounds at
Raleigh.
The Alumnae Building, erected in 1935 of red brick and marble trim,
houses offices of the alumnae, student government association, and student
publications. Three brick walks approach the marble entrance portico,
adorned with Corinthian columns and a classic entablature. The Students'
Building, of red brick with granite and limestone trim, was erected in
1901. It is of modified Romanesque-Gothic design with ornamented gables.
The Library Building (open weekdays, summers y:^ a.m.-g:^o p.m.;
winter 8 a.m.-io p.m.) was erected in 1905, a gift of Andrew Carnegie,
damaged by fire in 1932, and rebuilt and enlarged in 1933. The two-story
red brick structure, trimmed with limestone, has a central entrance orna-
mented with Ionic pilasters. It contains 45,000 volumes.
Spencer Hall, built in 1904, is a succession of red brick buildings trimmed
with granite. On the Walker Avenue facade is a Georgian Colonial portal,
and on the College Street side are gabled entrances with colonnaded por-
ticoes and peaked dormers.
West of the dormitory group is the new athletic field and the new gym-
nasium. The Aycock Building (open for chapel, lectures, plays, etc.), cor-
ner Tate and Spring Garden Sts., contains offices and an auditorium.
8. IDLEWOOD (rose garden open May and ]une, day and night), Inde-
pendence Rd., estate of Mrs. C. C. Hudson, contains 8,000 varieties of plants
and flowers on an estate of 12 acres, including 1,500 varieties of roses.
9. The BUFFALO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, Church St. extension at
northern city limits, commonly called Old Buffalo, was built in 1827, the
third church on the site. The congregation was organized in 1756. The
structure of hand-made brick is of southern post-Colonial architecture. It
GREENSBORO 211
was originally designed as a one-story building, but space was added before
the War between the States for a loft, just over the entrance, to be occupied
by Negroes, and a portico with four white columns was erected across the
front. The fine oaks surrounding the structure are older than the church.
The old burying ground behind the church contains the graves of the first
pastor, Dr. David Caldwell, and other Revolutionary patriots including
Gen. Daniel Gillespie.
10. The CONE TEXTILE MILLS (not open to public) are situated in four
villages occupying the northeastern section of the city, in a 2V2 square-mile
area north of East Bessemer Avenue and east of North Elm Street. The
villages, once outside the corporate limits, are now incorporated with the
city. The Revolution mills and village lie in the north of the area, Proximity
mills and village in the south, and White Oak mills and village and Prox-
imity print works in the northeast. The combined population of the section
is 15,000, of whom 5,500 are employed in the mills. A Negro mill village
with a population of 750 has its own public school and Y.M.C.A. The mills,
established in 1895, are Greensboro's largest industry and one of the most
important textile-manufacturing groups in the South.
n. WORLD WAR STADIUM, on Bagley St. between Dudley St. and
Park Ave., with seating capacity of 10,000 including sections for Negroes,
was designed by Harry Barton, associated with Leonard White, and erected
by citizens of Guilford County in honor of local residents who lost their
lives in the World War.
12. DUNLEITH (private), 480 Church St., the home of Judge Robert P.
Dick, built in 1857, stands in a beautiful grove of elms, oaks, cedars, and
Norway pines. The white frame house is of three sections. The central
towerlike portion contains the main entrance, a Georgian Colonial doorway
with a fanlight and side lights. The portico, rising to the second story, is
surmounted by an iron balustrade. There are two-story gabled wings, extend-
ing north and south from the central section.
General Cox occupied the residence for a period during the War between
the States, when tents of Union soldiers dotted the spacious grounds. Robert
P. Dick was a member of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1868-72), and
later served as Federal district judge. For many years, with Judge John H.
Dillard, he conducted a private law school.
13. COMMUNITY CENTER (W. C. Holleyman, architect), Summit Ave.
and Church St., reconstructed in 1938 in the Romanesque style from the
old Presbyterian Church and Smith Memorial Building, was presented to
the city of Greensboro by Mrs. Lunsford Richardson, Sr., and her three
daughters. The original tower and exterior of the church are preserved and a
new structure unites the two buildings to form a single composition. The
center houses the public library, art center, and historical museum, besides
providing quarters for social welfare organizations.
The Presbyterian congregation was organized in 1824 with four slaves
212 CITIES AND TOWNS
among the 12 original members. The building, erected in 1892, third on the
site, was vacated in 1928 when a new church was built on Fisher Park Circle.
The adjacent cemetery contains many old graves including that of the first
pastor, John A. Gretter (d. 1853). The John M. Morehead Monument
marks the grave of a prominent citizen who became Governor.
The Greensboro Public Library {open 9-6 weekdays) has 36,365 vol-
umes, including a valuable collection of books on North Carolina with full
sets of Colonial and State records, and the complete O. Henry collection of
C. Alphonso Smith. In the latter is an original manuscript.
The Greensboro Historical Museum contains relics of the Revolutionary
period such as weapons, household furnishings, and coins.
14. The AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE OF
NORTH CAROLINA (Negro, coeducational), a standard four-year college,
occupies a 28-acre campus lying between Laurel, Dudley, Lindsay, and East
Market Streets. The institution was established in 1891 by an act of the
general assembly for the instruction of Negroes in agriculture and the me-
chanical arts. The course was later expanded to include the liberal arts. The
plant includes 11 buildings and two farms. The college maintains a Little
Symphony Orchestra which tours adjacent States, and a band. The enroll-
ment for 1937-38 was 655.
The buildings, two and three stories in height, are of brick with sandstone
trim, arched doorways, balconies, and balustrades. Forming sides of a quad-
rangle are the Dudley Memorial Building, housing the college library of
20,000 volumes; Morrison Hall, and Noble Hall.
15. BENNETT COLLEGE (Negro women), on E. Washington St., be-
tween Macon and Bennett Sts., occupies a landscaped campus of 40 acres
with 14 buildings. Established as Bennett Seminary in 1874 by the Methodist
Episcopal Church, the institution became Bennett College (coeducational)
in 1889, and Bennett College for Women in 1926. The college has a capital
endowment of nearly a million dollars, an enrollment (1937-38) of 305, and
is a member of the Association of American Colleges. The A.B. and B.S.
degrees are conferred. The Bennett College Dramatic Club has won a repu-
tation for the excellence of its presentations, and the glee club frequently
makes public appearances.
Most of the buildings were erected since 1922 and the older ones were
rebuilt in recent years. The Carnegie Public Library for Negroes {open
9-9 Mon.-Fri., 9-5 Sat.), a one-story building of mottled brick, on the
campus, serves the Negroes of the city. The L. Richardson Memorial Hos-
pital comprises a training school that enables student nurses to pursue a
college course.
16. The SETTLE HOME {private), 400 Asheboro St., was built in 1873 by
Judge Thomas Settle, who served twice as Associate Justice of the North
Carolina Supreme Court and was Minister to Peru when he was nominated
for Governor by the Republicans in 1876 and defeated by Zebulon Vance.
GREENSBORO 213
The structure stands well back from the street in a yard shaded by white
and red oaks. A porch extends across the Asheboro Street front with a small
second-story porch rising above the entrance. A Georgian Colonial door has
side lights and a fanlight. Of the four bay windows, three rise to the roof.
The building serves as an apartment house.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Sedgefield, 9 m. (see tour 12); Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, 5 m.
(see tour 13) ; Gudford College, 6 m., Lindley Nurseries, 9 m. (see tour 25) ; Alamance
Church, 6 m. (see tour 2g).
HIGH POINT
Railroad Stations: Southern Ry. passenger station, W. High and S. Main Sts., for Southern
Ry., High Point, Randleman, Asheboro & Southern R.R.
Bus Station: Union Terminal, 224 N. Wrenn St., for Atlantic Greyhound, Carolina Coach,
and Greensboro-Fayetteville lines.
Airport: Greensboro-High Point, US 311 to State 68, R. 9 m. to Friendship, R. on US
421, 0.6 m., for Eastern Air Lines.
Taxis: 25^ and upward.
City Buses: Fare io<?, 4 tokens 25^, meet at intersection of Washington and N. Main Sts.
Traffic Regulations: Street turns and parking restrictions indicated by signs.
Accommodations: 3 hotels; boarding houses, and tourist camps.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce (Giant Bureau), 415 N. Main St.; Carolina
Motor Club, 213 N. Main St.
Radio Station: WMFR (1200 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Paramount Theater in city hall auditorium, occa-
sional productions, concerts, lectures; Amphitheater, City Lake Park, 5 m. E. on US
29-70, open air spectacles and meetings; 4 motion picture houses.
Swimming: City Lake Park, 1.5 m. E. on US 29-70; Negro Park, Gordon St.
Golf: Emerywood Country Club, Country Club Dr. and Hillcrcst Dr., 9 holes, greens
fee, 50^; Blair Park links (municipal), S. Main St. (US 311) at city limits, 9 holes,
greens fee, 60^; Sedgefield Country Club, 8 m. E. on US 29-70, 18 holes, greens fee,
$1.50 weekdays, $2 Sundays.
Tennis: Blair Park, S. Main St. at city limits; City Lake Park, Jamestown; Negro Park,
Gordon St.
Hunting and Fishing: Quail, dove, and squirrel hunting in season, inquire Chamber of
Commerce; fishing at City Lake Park.
Riding: Sedgefield Riding Academy, 8 m. E. on US 29-70.
Shooting: Skeet Club, 5 m. W. on US 311.
Baseball: Willie Park, English and Oakdale Sts.; Thomasville Chair Company Park,
4 m. W. on US 29-70.
Annual Events: Southern Furniture Exposition (open to trade only) Jan. and July; Caro-
lina A.A.U. basketball championship meet, Feb.; Carolina A.A.U. wrestling cham-
pionship meet, Mar.; South Atlantic Intcrscholastic golf championship, Apr.; Western
North Carolina track meet, Apr.; Carolina A.A.U. swimming championship, July 15-16.
HIGH POINT (980 alt., 36,745 pop.), an industrial center on a level plateau
in the Piedmont, is known chiefly for its large-scale production of furniture.
The city, rectangular in shape, is divided north and south by the railroad
tracks, and east and west by the 100-foot-wide Main Street, with the railroad
station in the center.
On Main Street, from the railroad crossing, the retail business section
extends for several blocks on both sides of the tracks. The residential dis-
trict lies almost wholly on the north side of town, although many beautiful
homes still stand along South Main, Hamilton, and Willowbrook Streets.
On the northwest in Emerywood, a recent development with landscaped
214
HIGH POINT 215
grounds, are many of the finer homes. The streets of the city are shaded
by great oaks and elms extending to the outer edges of the business section.
Scattered about the city are 15 parks with a total of 132 acres.
Covering about 4 square miles on the south are scores of furniture fac-
tories, hosiery and silk mills, and other manufacturing plants. Two of the
cotton mills have their own villages containing hundreds of small modern
cottages for the factory workers, churches, community buildings, and play-
grounds.
Uptown streets show constant activity, for this industrial community is
visited by salesmen, buyers, and factory representatives. Several large con-
ventions are held here every year. On Saturday afternoons the streets take
on a carnival appearance and sidewalks are jammed with pedestrian traffic.
The city's 7,229 Negroes, 20 percent of the total population, live in scat-
tered sections on East Washington Street, Kivett Drive, Welch Street, Fair-
view Street, and on Burns Hill, where many own their own homes. They
have a well-equipped park on Gordon Street in the eastern part of town.
Guilford County, in which High Point lies, was originally settled by the
Quakers about 1750, but the town was not laid out until 1853 when the
State-built North Carolina & Midland Railroad was brought through. In
that year Solomon Kendall sold part of his farm for $5,000 for a town site
which was laid out exactly square, 2 miles long and 2 miles wide. So intent
were the surveyors on making the town of precise dimensions that they ran
the eastern boundary "through the doors of Jane Parson's house."
Named because it was the highest point on the railroad line between
Goldsboro and Charlotte, the new village became an important trading center
with completion in 1854 of the plank road between Salem and Fayetteville.
This road, 130 miles long, followed part of the old Indian trail and pioneer
wagon road from the mountains to the Cape Fear River and was the most
important highway in the State. Mileposts were placed along the west side
of the road, with the mile numbers carved instead of painted, so night trav-
elers could feel the figures. One of the old mileposts is in the Quaker Museum
at Springfield Meetinghouse (see tour 14).
High Point was incorporated in 1859 and soon became the trading center
of surrounding farm communities. In the late 1880's it had two tobacco fac-
tories and three warehouses, but this industry was overshadowed by its rapid
expansion in neighboring cities. In 1888 furniture manufacturers were at-
tracted by the abundance of hardwood timber available, and the quiet coun-
try town quickly changed into a modern industrial center. Since then the
population has increased ninefold. The city limits were extended in 1923.
The town's 160 manufacturing plants, which employ 12,000 people, in-
clude 30 furniture factories with an annual output valued above $21,000,000,
and 22 hosiery mills which produce 150 million pairs of hose per year.
Other industries produce rayon cloth, art glass, paints, paper boxes, and
electrical machinery. There is a local saying that "Only a wise man knows his
own factory whistle in High Point."
High Point's Negroes were at first employed in the tobacco plants. In later
years large numbers were attracted from Georgia and South Carolina by an
expanding program of local public works. Many are now engaged in busi-
2l6 CITIES AND TOWNS
ness and the professions. In 1891 the Society of Friends founded a school
to provide education for Negroes.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The GIANT BUREAU (open 8-12, 7-5 weekdays), 415 N. Main St.,
symbolizing the city's position as a furniture-manufacturing center, houses
the office of the Chamber of Commerce. It was built in 1925 of wood painted
white, is 32 feet high, 27 feet long, and 14 feet wide. A square screen on
the top represents a mirror. The front of the building is designed to simulate
a bureau with drawers and knobs.
2. The WORLD WAR MEMORIAL, W. Broad and College Sts., a gift to
the city by Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Wrenn, was sculptured in Italy by Maurecinni
from stone quarried at Flatresanti, and erected in 1923. The statue is of a
soldier, facing west. On the base are names of High Point men who served
in the World War.
3. TOMLINSON OF HIGH POINT PLANT (open by special permis-
sion), 305 W. High St., is one of the largest furniture factories in the South,
producing more than 200 patterns with an annual value of about $3,000,000.
Besides the office and mill on West High Street, there are three mills on
South Hamilton Street. The buildings, of red brick, ranging from three to
five stories in height, contain approximately 650,000 square feet of floor
space. The company, founded by S. H. Tomlinson, was organized in 1900
and began operation the following year in a small sheet-iron building. The
first few years of operation were devoted to production and jobbing of chairs.
The factory expanded in 19 12 and again in 19 16. Although the routine opera-
tions are by machinery, each piece is finished by hand. The Williamsburg
Gallery (open by permission), in the W. High St. office building, contains
reproductions of old furniture at Williamsburg, Va., representing the work
of early American craftsmen.
4. The OLD FIELD HOME (private), 217 W. High St., erected in 1852,
is the second residence built in High Point. This two-story brick structure
has a front portico level with the ground, with four Doric columns. An ell
contains the dining room and kitchen.
5. The HIGH POINT PUBLIC LIBRARY (open 9-9 weekdays), corner S.
Main and E. Commerce Sts., occupies the main floor of the old Federal
Building, a two-story stone structure with flat roof, surrounded by a stone
balustrade. The raised portico has six columns. The library contains 16,000
volumes and the Dalton collection of bird eggs.
6. The SOUTHERN FURNITURE EXPOSITION BUILDING (open to
trade only), 209 S. Main St., was built in 1921. The 10-story, red brick
structure, trimmed in granite, limestone, and marble, occupies the entire
width of the block between Main and Wrenn Streets and has 208,000 square
HIGH POINT 217
feet of floor space. Twice a year, in January and July, a furniture exposition
conducted in the building is attended by approximately 200 exhibitors and
2,500 buyers.
7. OAKWOOD CEMETERY, at the N. end of Steele St., contains the
graves of many Confederate soldiers. Here is the Grave of Laura Wesson,
called the Florence Nightingale of the War between the States. As a girl in
her teens she enrolled as a nurse in the Wayside Hospital, where 5,000 Con-
federate soldiers were treated. When a smallpox epidemic broke out, Laura
Wesson served the segregated patients until she contracted the disease and
died (Apr. 25, 1865).
8. The JOHNSON FARMHOUSE (private), 102 Louise Ave., bears the
date of its construction (1842) on an original chimney. Although additions
have been built, much of the old house, with its low beamed ceilings, re-
mains. The two-story, white frame residence has a portico with 10 Doric
columns arranged in clusters of two and three. Old elms, magnolias, and
large boxwoods grace the lawn.
Across the street, on a site occupied by an apartment house, was Johnson's
Camping Ground. Its position on the plank road between Fayetteville and
Salem made it popular with travelers in the early 19th century. Around a
blazing campfire news of the day was exchanged, ballads and hymns were
sung, and horses and other chattels were swapped. Construction of railroads
put an end to the camping grounds.
9. On the SITE OF WELCH'S INN, 1425 E. Lexington Ave., a section of
the original building remains. Probably used as a dining room, it is now a
residence (private). The oblong building of hand-made brick, erected in
1786, has a single story with gabled roof. Welch's Inn was a tavern on the
stagecoach road from Raleigh to Salisbury during the early 1800's, noted for
its comfortable beds and palatable food. A sign proclaimed "J. Welch, Enter-
tainment." The highway runs through the site of the main portion of the
building, leaving the remaining ell upon a bank close to the road.
10. HIGH POINT COLLEGE, Montlieu Ave. between E. and W. College
Drive, was established as a coeducational institution by the Methodist Prot-
Key to High Point Map
1. The Giant Bureau. 2. The World War Memorial. 3. Tomlinson of High Point
Plant. 4. The Old Field Home. 5. The High Point Public Library. 6. The Southern
Furniture Exposition Building. 7. Oakwood Cemetery. 8. The Johnson Farmhouse.
9. The Site of Welch's Inn. 10. High Point College. 11. William Penn High School.
12. Blair Park. 13. Log House of the Blair Family.
a. Post Office, b. Chamber of Commerce — Giant Bureau, c. Carolina Motor Club.
d. Southern R.R. — High Point, Randleman, Asheboro & Southern R.R. Station, e. High
Point, Thomasville & Denton R.R. Station, f. Union Bus Terminal, g. Airport.
h. Baseball Park. 1. Emorywood Country Club. k. Sedgefield Country Club. l. Blair
Park Links (municipal), m. Parks.
HIGH POINT
1939
220 CITIES AND TOWNS
estant Church in 1920, aided by a donation to the building fund and a gift
of 52 acres by the city of High Point. The college has a Grade A rating and
in the 1938-39 school year had 458 students. The long, red brick buildings
occupy a landscaped campus with winding walks and drives. Roberts Hall,
erected in 1922, faces Montlieu Avenue, near the center of the campus. The
building is three stories in height and houses the administrative offices, class-
rooms, assembly rooms, laboratories, dining room, and kitchen. Woman's
Hall (R), and McCulloch's Hall (men's) (L), were completed when the
college opened in 1924. The M. J. Wrenn Memorial Library {open during
school hours), erected in 1936-37 by Mrs. M. J. Wrenn in honor of her hus-
band, is on the east front of the campus near the highway. The Harrison
Gymnasium, just north of McCulloch's Hall, is well-equipped. The Stadium,
on the field near Lexington Avenue and East and West College Drives, has
a grandstand with a seating capacity of 3,000.
11. WILLIAM PENN HIGH SCHOOL (Negro), Washington St. exten-
sion 0.5 m. from center of city, was established in 1923 when the buildings
originally belonging to the High Point Normal and Industrial Institute
were taken over by the city. The first building was erected in 1892 by the
Society of Friends of New York to provide education for Negroes of the
town. James A. Griffin, the first Negro principal, served from 1897 to 1923.
In 1900 the men students made and burned 200,000 bricks and built Congdon
Hall for the girls.
Before the War between the States the site was used as a slave market
and during the war, for Camp Fisher, mobilization camp for Confederate
soldiers, named for Col. Charles E. Fisher, who was killed in the first Battle
of Manassas. Four regiments were trained here.
12. BLAIR PARK, S. Main St. at city limits, 86 acres in area, includes the
municipal golf course, clubhouse, tennis courts, and children's playgrounds.
The land was a gift to the city of High Point by the Blair family.
13. The original LOG HOUSE of the Blair family, S. Main St. at city
limits, stands across the highway from Blair Park, adjacent to the present
Blair home. Erected in 1798, the house remains as first built except for a
brick chimney and new floors.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Old Gold Mines, 5 m., Quaker Meetinghouse and Museum (Jamestown) 5 m., Brum-
mell's Inn (1814) 9 m. {see tour 12); Springfield Meetinghouse, museum, and ceme-
tery, 4 m., Deep River Meetinghouse, 5 m., Grave of Martha Bell (Revolutionary
heroine), 10 m. {see tour 14).
NEW BERN
Railroad Station: Union Station, Hancock and Queen Sts. for Atlantic Coast Line R.R..
Norfolk Southern R.R., and Atlantic & North Carolina R.R.
Bus Station: 140 Broad St. for Seashore Transportation and Norfolk Southern.
Airport: Trent Marsh, New, S. Front, and End Sts. at city limits; no scheduled service.
Taxis: 25^ anywhere in city.
Accommodations: 4 hotels (1 for Negroes); tourist homes, boarding houses; tourist
camps near city.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, Old City Hall, Craven St.
Motion Picture Houses: 3 (1 for Negroes).
Golf: New Bern Country Club, 4 m. W. on Pembroke Rd., 9 holes, greens fee, $1.
Hunting and Fishing: Inquire Chamber of Commerce or U. S. Forest Service, Post Office
Bldg.
Swimming: River beaches at Bridgeton, 2 m. E. on US 17; Minnesott Beach, 25 m. E.
and S. on State 306, 302.
Annual Events: Boat Races on Neuse River, Labor Day.
NEW BERN (18 alt., 11,981 pop.), one of North Carolina's oldest towns,
retains the flavor of past centuries. The community, which possesses a domes-
tic architecture of charm and distinction, is spread across a bluff at the
confluence of the Neuse and Trent Rivers, 35 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
Massive brick town houses, stately Georgian residences, and wistaria-cur-
tained clapboard cottages line narrow streets shadowed by oaks, poplars,
elms, and pecan trees. Many of the old streets retain their original brick
pavements. Residential East Front Street has aged homes, three lines of
arching trees, and a wide promenade along the Neuse River sea wall. The
outlying Negro sections are similar to those in other southern towns.
The first settlers were survivors of an expedition of 650 German Palatines,
Protestants expelled from Baden and Bavaria. Under the leadership of the
Swiss Baron Christopher de Graffenried, and aided by a gift of ^4,000
from Queen Anne of England, this group planned a colony in America.
De Graffenried placed Christopher Gale and John Lawson in charge of the
expedition. In January 1710, two ships sailed from Gravesend, England.
Storms impeded the vessels and disease ravaged the voyagers, more than half
of whom succumbed. A French vessel captured one of the transports as it
entered Chesapeake Bay in April, and plundered the colonists. Fever fur-
ther reduced the number and only a sickly remnant reached the Chowan
River, where Thomas Pollock, a wealthy planter, provided them with trans-
portation to the Neuse and Trent Rivers.
In September 1710, de Graffenried himself arrived with a colony of Swiss.
He purchased 10,000 acres, paying the Lords Proprietors at the rate of 5 cents
an acre. He recompensed King Taylor, Tuscarora Indian chief, and John
222 CITIES AND TOWNS
Lawson, who also claimed an interest because of his position as surveyor
general of the Colony.
The town was laid out, probably by Lawson, with the principal streets
in the form of a crucifix, one running northwest from the rivers' junction
and one from river to river. This served the dual purpose of religious ex-
pression and defense against the Indians, since ramparts were erected along
the transverse road. De Graffenried named the town for his country's capi-
tal, Bern.
In September 171 1 the settlement was almost wiped out by a Tuscarora
uprising. In the first attack 80 settlers were slain. Lawson and de Graffenried
were taken to the Indian fort, Nohoroco, where Lawson was tortured to
death and de Graffenried was held prisoner for six months. The war raged
intermittently for two years and the colonists were reduced to such despera-
tion that in 1713 many of them returned with de Graffenried to Switzerland.
The settlement made a new start under the leadership of Col. Thomas
Pollock, proprietary Governor (1712-14, 1722), who had acquired de Graffen-
ried's interests. In 1723 it was incorporated as a town, and made the seat of
Craven County, named for William, Earl of Craven, one of the Lords
Proprietors.
Sessions of the Colonial assembly met here from 1745 to 1761 with the
exception of 1752. From 1770 to 1774 it was the seat of the royal Governors.
On Aug. 25, 1774, Col. John Harvey, former speaker of the assembly, called
a convention, which met in New Bern, formed a provincial congress, and
elected Harvey moderator. This First Provincial Congress decided that after
Sept. 1, 1774, all use of East India tea should be prohibited; after Nov. 1,
1774, importation of African slaves should cease, and after Jan. 1, 1775, no
East India or British goods should be imported.
The Provincial Congress appointed Richard Caswell, Joseph Hewes, and
William Hooper delegates to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, on
Sept. 5, 1774. The following April, the royal Governor, Josiah Martin, or-
dered dissolution of the assembly, then fled aboard a British man-of-war,
thereby ending royal rule in North Carolina.
After the Revolution shipbuilding became an important activity, and tim-
ber, iron, and rope were produced locally. Race tracks, fox hunts,
and balls were popular. New Bern became noted for its gay social life.
Trade was carried on chiefly with the New England ports of Salem and
Boston; exports consisted mostly of leaf tobacco, molasses, lumber, and
naval stores. The Bank of New Bern was chartered by the general assembly
in 1804.
This commerce is perhaps the most logical explanation of the late 18th-
century New England character of many New Bern houses, preservation of
which is due to a series of favorable circumstances. The town was spared
the ravages of the War between the States because of continued Federal
occupation after Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's defeat of Confederate Gen. L.
O'Bryan Branch on Mar. 14, 1862. The Confederates tried to retake the
town Mar. 14, 1863, and Feb. 1 and 5, 1864, but were unsuccessful. New
Bern also escaped the effects of rapid progress. With the advent of the rail-
road in 1858, its importance as a port and distributing point declined and
NEW BERN 223
gradually it subsided into a placid river town. A 40-block, 3-day fire in 1922
was confined, by a shift of the wind, to the Negro section.
New Bern has a few industries connected with agriculture and fishing, a
shipyard, tobacco warehouses, lumber and wood-working mills. Nearby
waters afford good fishing and hunters take duck, goose, quail, turkey, deer,
and squirrel from the surrounding area. New Bern is connected with the
Intracoastal Waterway by the Neuse River. The municipality owns its
water and electric systems.
Prominent early citizens were Richard Dobbs Spaight, and his son of
the same name, and Abner Nash, Governors; Martin Howard, Provincial
Chief Justice (1767-73), who presided at all the Regulator trials; and Eliza-
beth Shine, mother of Admiral David G. Farragut. Later figures were
William Gaston, jurist and orator; Gabriel and'George W. Rains, prominent
Confederate Army officers, and Furnifold M. Simmons, U. S. Senator
(190 1 -31), and outstanding political leader. The most prominent Negro citi-
zen was John Cook, brought to the city as a slave in 1805. Obtaining his
freedom, he devoted his life to charitable works. When he died in 1856 he
was buried in the white cemetery and a monument was raised to his
memory by popular subscription. In 1916 his body was removed to Green-
wood Cemtery.
Negroes, who represent 52 percent of the city's total population, work in
the mills, on the farms, and in domestic service, though a few are engaged
in business and professional activities. The first public schools for Negroes
in North Carolina were established at New Bern in 1862, when soldiers of
a New England regiment volunteered as teachers.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The city has identified its points of interest with numbers and signs of the Bear of Bern.
In the following section these numbers are indicated in parentheses.
i (1). UNION POINT, junction of the Neuse and Trent Rivers, at the
SE. corner of E. Front and S. Front Sts., was occupied by the Indian village
Chattawka before de Graffenried erected a government house and fort here
in 1710. Successively occupied by oyster plants, wharves, turpentine stills,
and a trash dump, it was converted in 1932 into a public park surrounding
the modern Woman's Clubhouse.
2 (2). The SIMPSON-DUFFY (OAKSMITH) HOUSE {private), SE.
corner E. Front and Pollock Sts., a large three-story brick house with dormer
windows in the hip roof and a captain's walk, was built about 18 10 by
Samuel Simpson. In the late 1860's it was acquired by Capt. Appleton Oak-
smith, who remodeled it, and placed over the Pollock Street entrance a
stone panel, carved with the head of a woman between two lions' heads.
Legend ascribes the panel to de Graffenried, and the woman's head as a
representation of Queen Anne, since de Graffenried is supposed to have
been in love with the queen. The Site of the Treaty Tree, near the house,
is the spot, tradition relates, where de Graffenried signed a peace pact with
the Indians.
NEW BERN 225
3 (3). The HASLEN HOUSE KITCHEN {private), 46 E. Front St., is
locally credited with being the oldest standing building in Craven County,
though the date of its construction is not known. The kitchen has been
converted into a Dutch-type house of two stories with a gambrel roof. John
Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury (1842-62), was a visitor in the
house during his boyhood. His mother was a sister of Dr. Thomas
Haslen.
4 (4). The SITE OF THE FIRST PRINTING OFFICE IN NORTH
CAROLINA, SW. corner E. Front and Broad Sts., is indicated by a marker.
James Davis set up his press here in 1749 and two years later began publi-
cation of the North Carolina Gazette, first newspaper in North Carolina. In
1 75 1 he published Swann's revisal of North Carolina laws, familiarly known
as the "Yellow Jacket" because of the yellow cover on the second edition
(1752). This was the first book published in the State.
5 (8). The EMORY-BISHOP HOUSE {private), NW. corner E. Front
and New Sts., was originally the home of wealthy Sir George Pollock, who
in 1819 here entertained President Monroe and Vice President Calhoun.
Later it became the home of Matthias Manly, Justice of the North Carolina
Supreme Court (1860-65). The two-story frame house has been remodeled
and enlarged. Dormer windows and broad porches have been added and
the small-paned windows replaced with single-paned ones. The interior hand-
carved mahogany staircase, cornices, and wainscot are retained.
6 (10). The SITE OF THE HOME OF COL. JOSEPH LEECH, SW.
corner E. Front and Change Sts., is identified by a marker. Colonel Leech
( 1 720-1 803) was a member of the First Provincial Congress, the assembly,
the council of safety, and the State constitutional convention, as well as State
treasurer, custodian of Tryon Palace, and mayor of New Bern at the time
of President Washington's visit in 1791.
Key to New Bern Map
1. Union Point. 2. The Simpson-Duffy (Oaksmith) House. 3. The Haslen House
Kitchen. 4. The Site of the First Printing Office in North Carolina. 5. The Emory-
Bishop House. 6. The Site of the Home of Col. Joseph Leech. 7. The Louisiana House.
8. The Smallwood-Ward House. 9. The Jarvis-Hand House. 10. The Slover-Guion
House. 11. The Richardson House. 12. The Jerkins-Duffy House. 13. The Gaston
House. 14. The Courthouse Lawn. 15. City Hall. 16. The First Baptist Church.
17. Christ Episcopal Church. 18. The Site of the Old Courthouse. 19. The Federal Build-
ing. 20. The Centenary Methodist Church. 21. St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church 22. The
John Wright Stanly House. 23. The First Presbyterian Church. 24. New Bern Academy.
25. The Masonic Temple. 26. The Site of the Rains House. 27. Cedar Grove Ceme-
tery. 28. Kafer Park. 29. The National Cemetery. 30. The Site of James Gill's Shop.
31. The Jones-Lipman House. 32. The Bryan-Ashford House. 33. The West Wing of
Tryon Palace. 34. The Remains of Fort Totten.
a. Post Office, b. Chamber of Commerce, c. Union Railway Station, d. Union Bus
Station.
226 CITIES AND TOWNS
7 (12). The LOUISIANA HOUSE {private), NW. corner E. Front and
Change Sts., a two-and-a-half-story frame clapboarded structure, according
to tradition was built in 1776. The galleried portico is supported by two tiers
of square wooden columns and protected at the second story by a simple
wooden railing. There are two brick end chimneys on the right side and a
low service ell in the rear. There was originally a portico of similar design
in the rear. William Attmore wrote in 1787 that "this Method of Building
is found convenient on account of the great Summer Heats here." The gable-
roofed house was named for its resemblance to old types in Louisiana.
Mary Bayard Devereux Clark, poet, lived in the house until her death in
8 (13). The SMALLWOOD-WARD HOUSE {private), 95 E. Front St.,
built between 1812 and 18 16 for Eli Smallwood, is a three-story, nearly square
structure with the entrance at one side of the facade. The weathered red
brick exterior walls are laid in Flemish bond. The house has beautiful wood
carving in the slender, pedimented porticoes, interior cornices, and mantels.
The deeply recessed and paneled front doorway with its delicately leaded
glass transom is protected by a classic pediment with an arched soffit. The
pediment is supported by slender coupled columns; the floor of the porch
is raised on a low platform, approached by a short flight of steps. The side
porch, similar in detail, is of somewhat broader proportions and has a simple
triangular pediment. The white-shuttered windows are topped with wide
stone lintels and have narrow stone sills. A single chimney at the left gable
end and trim pedimented dormers break the lines of the steeply pitched
metal roof, which was originally covered with shingles. The interior is noted
for its broad stair hall, whose winding stair is cut off from the entrance hall
by a graceful elliptical arch. On the first floor are the counting room, now
used as a drawing room, and the dining room. On the second floor are two
bedrooms and the original drawing room converted into a bedroom. The
chair rails and pedimented overmantels in the dining and drawing rooms
display exceptional craftsmanship. The nautical rope molding in the cor-
nices and door trim gives credence to the theory that James Coor, an English
naval architect, is responsible for much of this work. Under the Cypress
Tree (11), at the rear of the house and near the Neuse River, Indian treaties
and Revolutionary parleys were held. One of the first ships built in North
Carolina was launched within the tree's shadow. Here Richard Dobbs
Spaight conferred with Gen. Nathanael Greene and pledged his assistance to
the cause of the Revolution. President Washington, Edward Everett, and
other notables have viewed the river from this spot.
9 (14). The JAR VIS-HAND HOUSE {private), SE. corner E. Front and
Johnson Sts., built in 1803, is late Georgian Colonial in design, of soft-textured
red brick, with carved wooden cornice and portico. The detail of its sheltered
and recessed doorway is particularly fine. Iron bars protect basement win-
dows, and the doors, 46 inches wide, have 7-inch keys for the double-bolt
locks. The interior hand-carved woodwork is especially noteworthy. Federal
troops used the house as a hospital during the War between the States.
NEW BERN 227
10 (16). The SLOVER-GUION HOUSE {private), SW. corner E. Front
and Johnson Sts., erected about 1835, is a massive, three-story brick house of
Early Republican type with a central portico. The large windows have shut-
ters divided into three sections fastened with iron catches. The first-floor
windows have wrought-iron balconies. The brick kitchen and slave house in
the rear have been modernized. General Burnside made his headquarters
here in 1862.
11 (17). The RICHARDSON HOUSE (private), SE. corner Johnson and
Craven Sts., is a massive four-story frame house with a railed one-story front
porch which has curved cement steps at both ends. Built in 1828, it is one
of several in New Bern that has a captain's walk, also called catwalk or
widow's walk. These railed platforms between the chimneys, reached by a
trap door in the roof, were used to sight approaching ships. In 1863 the
house was used by the 9th New Jersey Infantry for a hospital. The original
staircase and several hand-carved mantels were removed by Federal "bum-
mers" (plundering stragglers).
12 (18). The JERKINS-DUFFY HOUSE {private), SW. corner John-
son and Craven Sts., was built by Alonzo T. Jerkins in 1790. The white clap-
board dwelling, L-shaped in plan, has an entrance with carved pediment
and fanlight, flanked by slender columns and approached by shallow steps
on both sides. In the angle of the ell is a two-story gallery porch with square
wooden columns and a delicate railing at each level. There is a captain's
walk between the chimneys at the west end of the house. The interior is
finished with wide paneling. The house is on the Site of the Birthplace
of William Gaston (1778-1844), who served as Justice of the North Caro-
lina Supreme Court, wrote the words of the State song, "Old North State,"
and influenced adoption of a constitutional amendment permitting Catholics
to hold State offices. Gastonia and Gaston County are named for him (see
tour igb).
13 (19). The GASTON HOUSE (private), SW. corner Craven and New
Sts., is a two-story frame structure built close to the street and fronted by a
double-gallery porch with a noteworthy balustrade at the second floor. The
entrance is on the west of the facade and the roof is marked by dormer win-
dows. Fine mantels and wainscot are used throughout the spacious house,
which was erected in 181 8. In the rear yard is Judge Gaston's original law
office, a one-story frame building painted red and falling into disrepair.
14. On the COURTHOUSE LAWN, W. side of Craven between New and
Broad Sts., is the Washington Oak (20), planted in 1925 as a memorial of
President Washington's visit, and a Marker (21) with bronze memorial
tablets to the three New Bernians who were Governors of the State: Richard
Dobbs Spaight, Richard Dobbs Spaight, the younger, and Abner Nash.
15 (22). CITY HALL (open 9-5 weekdays), NW. corner Craven and Pol-
lock Sts. (erected as a post office in 1897, remodeled in 1935), is of yellow
228 CITIES AND TOWNS
brick trimmed with terra cotta. Over its arched entrances are two copper
black bears, symbols of the town. Inside hangs a framed banner, gift of the
Burgesses of Bern in 1896, after New Bern had adopted the armorial bear-
ings and colors of the patron city. Here also are the original parchment
grants from Queen Anne to de Graffenried.
16 (26). The FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, Middle St. between S. Front
and Pollock Sts., a Gothic Revival brick structure, was built in 1848. The
congregation was organized in 1809. Early pastors of this church have left
an imprint upon Baptist affairs in North Carolina. Thomas Meredith was
long prominent in the denomination and the Baptist woman's college in
Raleigh bears his name. William Hooper, a leader in founding Wake Forest
College, and Samuel Wait, its first president, were pastors of this church.
17 (27). CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, NE. corner Pollock and Mid-
dle Sts., a weathered red brick edifice whose lofty, gold-crowned spire rises
above great trees shading an old graveyard, was erected in 1873 upon the
site of two earlier churches. The parish was organized in 1715 and the first
church was built in 1750. A Bible, Book of Common Prayer, and silver com-
munion service given by George II are retained, though royal Governor
Martin attempted to take them with him when he fled the town in 1775.
When Parson Reed, the royalist rector, prayed for the King, lads prompted
by patriot parents drummed at the door and shouted "Off with his head!"
This church was razed during the Revolution, reputedly because the brick
had been brought from England. The second church was erected in 1825.
Its outer walls were used in construction of the present building. In a corner
of the churchyard fence, with its muzzle imbedded in the ground, is the
Lady Blessington Cannon (28), taken from the British ship Lady Blessing-
ton, captured in the Revolution.
18 (29). The SITE OF THE OLD COURTHOUSE, at the intersection
of Middle and Broad Sts., is the spot where, on May 31, 1775, patriots
adopted resolutions pledging their support to the cause of independence.
19 (31). The FEDERAL BUILDING {lobby always open), SW. corner
Middle and New Sts., erected in 1933-35, is designed in the Georgian
Colonial style with tapestry brick walls and limestone trim. The architect
was Robert F. Smallwood. David Silvette painted the murals in the court-
room {open in court season or upon request), depicting scenes in the early
history of the section. The building occupies the original site of the John
Wright Stanly House.
20 (32). The CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH, SE. corner
Middle and New Sts., built in 1905, is a buff brick structure of modified
Romanesque design with a semicircular arcade at the main entrance between
two towers of different heights. The first church, Andrews Chapel, was
built in 1802. A church called Centenary, erected on New Street in 1843-44,
remains, though unused.
NEW BERN 229
21 (33). ST. PAUL'S ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, Middle St. be-
tween New and Johnson Sts., was erected in 1841. It is a white clapboard
structure with a square, steepled entrance tower. The parish, organized in
1820, was the first of the Catholic faith in North Carolina.
22 (36). The JOHN WRIGHT STANLY HOUSE, New St. between
Middle and Hancock Sts., now a Public Library {open 10-12, j-S week-
days), was built prior to 1790. It contains a collection of items from Tryon
Palace, including door knobs, locks, keys, and bricks. The building formerly
stood on the lot occupied by the Federal Building; it was moved to its present
location and remodeled in 1935-36. The main block of the frame house with
its corner quoins and flush siding is rectangular in plan with a continuous
cornice. The windows of the lower floor, like the doorway, are pedi-
mented. Its Georgian hip roof has three hipped dormers and a flat deck,
which is surrounded by a balustrade and flanked by two chimneys. This was
the home of John Wright Stanly, merchant and patriot, who lost 14 privateers
in the Revolution. Washington, Lafayette and Nathanael Greene were
entertained here. It was also the home of the builder's son, John Stanly,
jurist and legislator, and the birthplace (1817) of John Stanly's grandson,
Gen. Lewis Addison Armistead, who was killed while leading a Con-
federate division at Gettysburg.
23 (37). The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH {always open), New
St. opposite the Stanly House, was built by Uriah Sandy (1819-22). This
white weatherboarded meetinghouse, with fanlighted door, a graceful Ionic
portico, and a square tower diminishing in five stages to an octagonal cupola,
is 55 by 70 feet. Early prints show urns on each set-back of the tower but
they have disappeared. The many-paned windows on the first story are
rectangular, while those at the gallery level are arched with traceried mun-
tins. The hand-carved pulpit is between the two doors, and the floor rises
toward the rear. In 1893 the rear entrance was added and conventional pews
were installed. Originally there were straight seats under the balconies and
mahogany box pews in the center. Printed deeds were issued to holders of
these pews who paid from $150 to $300 for their use. During Federal occu-
pation the church was used as a military hospital. Church relics are kept
in the building, including the original church deed, a sperm-oil lamp once
used here, and the original communion service. The congregation was
organized in 1817.
24 (38). NEW BERN ACADEMY, Hancock St., between New and John-
son Sts., housing a section of the city schools, is a late Georgian Colonial
structure, erected in 1 806 on the site of the original academy building burned
in 1795. The red brick building rises in two stories to a level hand-carved
cornice beneath a hip roof, broken by two central chimneys. A central
pavilion projects slightly from the facade and is surmounted by a pediment.
A classic semicircular entrance portico was restored in 1935. New Bern
Academy, the first incorporated school in the State, opened in 1764 and
23O CITIES AND TOWNS
received its charter in 1766. It was partially maintained by a tax of a cent
a gallon on all liquors brought up the Neuse River.
25 (39). The MASONIC TEMPLE (open 9-12, 7-5 daily), SE. corner
Hancock and Johnson Sts., was completed in 1808 and is one of the oldest
in continuous service in the country. The brick building of Classical Revival
architecture has a shallow surface arch of elliptical outline in the stuccoed
wall, corner quoins, and prominent voussoirs over the flat-arched windows.
The second-floor lodge room contains notable hand-carved paneling, and
Masonic relics. St. John's Lodge, No. 3, A.F. and A.M. was chartered Jan.
10, 1772, by Joseph Montfort, only Provincial grand master for America.
The Masonic Theater, on the first floor, is one of the oldest theaters still
in use in the United States. The building was renovated in 1938, the decora-
tions based upon Egyptian design.
Under the trees behind the Masonic Temple is the Site of the Duel
(Sept. 5, 1802) between Gov. Richard Dobbs Spaight, the elder, and John
Stanly, the younger. As rival leaders of the Republican and Federalist parties,
they clashed frequently. Stanly charged that Spaight, as Senator, had avoided
voting on important legislation under pretense of illness. Spaight retaliated
with a forcefully worded handbill. A challenge from Stanly was promptly
accepted. Mortally wounded on the fourth fire, Spaight died the following
day. Criminal proceedings were instituted against Stanly but he was par-
doned by Gov. Benjamin Williams.
26 (40). The SITE OF THE RAINS HOUSE, 61 Johnson St., is occupied
by the Presbyterian manse (private). In a home on this site Gabriel J.
Rains was born in 1803, and his brother, George Washington Rains, in 1817.
Gabriel invented submarine explosives used against blockading Federal ships
and was superintendent of the Torpedo Bureau of the C.S.A. George, in-
ventor and author, was connected with munitions operations in the Confed-
erate service.
27 (41). CEDAR GROVE CEMETERY, NE. corner Queen and George
Sts., was opened in 1800 by the Episcopalians and turned over to the city in
1854. At the Queen Street entrance is the Weeping Arch, so named because
its highly absorbent coquina rock retains moisture that drips like tears. Some
believe that the touch of a drop marks one as the next to pass in a hearse.
The Confederate Monument, a 15-foot marble shaft, identifies a mass Con-
federate grave. Tradition says that his law desk and chair were buried in this
cemetery with the body of William Gaston. Interred here are William J.
Williams, who painted the Masonic portrait of Washington owned by the
Alexandria, Va., lodge, a photograph of which is in the New Bern Public
Library, and Moses Griffin, benefactor of city schools.
28 (42). KAFER PARK, NW. corner Queen and George Sts., is the city
athletic field, part of the area taken over by the municipality after the Decem-
ber 1922 fire.
NEW BERN 231
29 (43). The NATIONAL CEMETERY, N. end of National Ave., con-
tains the graves of 3,500 Union soldiers.
30 (44). The SITE OF JAMES GILL'S SHOP, Broad St. between George
and Burn Sts., is indicated by a marker. Gill, a locksmith and silversmith,
in 1829 invented an early revolver, a percussion cap weapon with 14 cham-
bers.
31 (46). The JONES-LIPMAN HOUSE (private), SW. corner Pollock
and Eden Sts., is a small frame structure. Here Emeline Pigott, Confederate
spy, was imprisoned during Federal occupation. She was caught trying to
slip through the lines into New Bern without a pass. Her story that she was
attempting to take a chicken to her sick mother failed to impress the captain
who questioned her. She was released from jail without trial and given a
military escort to her home county of Carteret. She later admitted having
swallowed incriminating papers which she had on her person when arrested.
32 (48). The BRYAN-ASHFORD HOUSE {private), 115 Pollock St.,
was built in 1804 by James Bryan. It is a two-and-a-half-story brick structure
with a story-and-a-half clapboard wing. The entrance is set in paneled reveal
and has a transom. The small porch has four slender columns on high square
bases. Iron guardrails of balcony height and full-length louvered shutters pro-
tect the first-floor windows, which extend down to the floor. The wing,
built in 1824 for a law office, has the ridge of its roof running perpendicular
to the street and a well-proportioned entrance, with hand-carved pediment
and sunbursts, in the center of the front gabled facade.
33 (50). The WEST WING OF TRYON PALACE (private), 24 George
St., is all that survives of Tryon Palace, the town's first show place, once
regarded as one of the most beautiful structures in British America. This
relic retains no vestige of past glory, beauty, or elegance. It served as ware-
house, dwelling, stable and carriage house, parochial school, and chapel
prior to its conversion (1931) into an apartment house. In 1798, a Negro
woman, searching for eggs in the cellar with a lightwood torch, started a fire
that destroyed the central section and east wing.
Tryon Palace was built in 1767-70 under the supervision of John Hawks,
who came from England with Tryon. It was the Governor's residence and
statehouse, containing assembly hall, council chamber, and public offices.
This was the seat of government under royal Governors Tryon and Martin,
and under Richard Caswell, first constitutional Governor (1777). Here was
held North Carolina's First Provincial Congress, in defiance of royal author-
ity (1774), and the first constitutional general assembly (1777). In 1791,
when Washington was tendered a magnificent ball, his horses were stabled
in the executive offices and he described the palace as "now hastening to
ruin."
Tryon was able to secure the appropriation for the erection of the palace
from an assembly tractable because of the recent repeal of the unpopular
Stamp Act. The amount involved was more than ^16,000. Wide disapproval
232 CITIES AND TOWNS
of such expenditure of the people's tax money was a factor in precipitating
the War of the Regulation, in which Tryon resorted to armed force to quell
the Regulators.
The Hawks design included a brick house of two main stories, 87 feet
wide and 59 feet deep, with two outlying wings of two low stories each, con-
nected with the main block by semicircular colonnades. One wing contained
servants' quarters and a laundry, the other, granary and hayloft. Written
accounts describe the construction from the shingled roof "More beautiful
than slate or tyle" down to "two wells with Pumps Compleat."
William Attmore, besides describing in 1787 the "grand Staircase lighted
from the Sky by a low Dome, which being glazed kept out the weather,"
noted that "the King of G. Britain's Arms are still suffered to appear in a
pediment at the front of the Building; which, considering the independent
spirit of the people averse to every vestige of Royalty appears Something
strange."
Over the vestibule door was a Latin inscription, ironic to tax-burdened
Carolinians:
A free and happy people, opposed to cruel tyrants, has given this edifice to virtue.
May the house and its inmates, as an example for future ages, here cultivate the arts,
order, justice, and the laws.
34. The REMAINS OF FORT TOTTEN lie at the western edge of the
city between US 17 and 70. Trenches and breastworks thrown up by Federal
troops in 1862 are in a remarkably good state of preservation. Trenches were
built across New Bern from the Neuse to the Trent River and a fort was
erected at each terminus and in the center. Plans were considered in 1939 for
restoring the central fort.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Croatan National Forest, 10 m. (see tour 28).
RALEIGH
Railroad Station: Union Station, Dawson and W. Martin Sts., for Seaboard Air Line R.R.,
Southern Ry., and Norfolk Southern R.R.
Bus Station: McDowell and W. Martin Sts. for Atlantic Greyhound, Carolina Coach,
Southerland Bros., and Norfolk Southern.
Airport: Municipal, 3.5 m. S. on US 15A for Eastern Air Lines; taxi 50^.
Taxis: 25^, 1-4 passengers, anywhere in city.
City Buses: <$.
Traffic Regulations: Turns on red lights and parking indicated by signs.
Accommodations: 10 hotels (2 for Negroes); tourist homes, tourist camps.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce, 17 W. Davie St.; Carolina Motor Club,
15 W. Davie St.; State Highway Dept., 112 E. Morgan St.
Radio Station: WPTF (680 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Memorial Auditorium, Fayetteville and South Sts.,
Ambassador Theater, Fayetteville St., and State Theater, S. Salisbury St., concerts,
local productions, occasional road shows; 6 motion picture houses (1 for Negroes).
Swimming: Pullen Park, approached from Hillsboro St. or US 1 ; John Chavis Memorial
Park (Negro), Lenoir St. at city limits.
Golf: Raleigh Golf Assn., 4 m. S. on county road S. of airport, 18 holes, greens fee, 50^;
Carolina Pines, 3.5 m. S. on US 15A, 18 holes, greens fee, 50^; Cheviot Hills, 9 m.
NE. on US 1, 9 holes, greens fee, 25^.
Tennis: Raleigh Tennis Club, Dover Rd. off Oberlin Rd.; Carolina Pines, 3.5 m. S. on
US 1 5 A.
Riding: Batchelor Riding Academy, 2 m. E. on US 64; Carolina Pines, 3.5 m. S. on
US 1 5 A.
Boating: Pullen Park, approached from Hillsboro St. or US 1.
Baseball, Football: Riddick Stadium, State College.
Annual Events: Governor's Inaugural Ball, 1st wk. Jan. in years following those divisible
by 4; Southern Conference Basketball Tournament, 3 days, early Mar.; Engineers Fair,
State College, spring; Flower Show, Raleigh Garden Club, May, Oct.; Farmers Con-
vention, July; 4-H Club meeting, July; Debutante Ball, Sept.; State Fair, 3rd wk.
Oct.; State Literary and Historical Assn., State Folklore Society, State Art Society, 1st
wk. Dec.
RALEIGH (363 alt., 37,379 pop.), the capital of North Carolina, was made
to order in a wooded wilderness on a Piedmont hill near the geographical
center of the State. In the center of the city is oak-shaded Capitol Square,
covering 6 acres and dominated by the stately old Capitol Building. Sur-
rounded by State departmental buildings, the square forms a hub from
which the principal streets radiate.
Of the four squares set aside for parks in the quarters of the original town
plan two survive: Nash on the southwest, still a park, and Moore on the
southeast, used as a produce market. Caswell Square, on the northwest, is
occupied by the State Board of Health buildings. Burke Square, on the north-
east, contains the Governor's mansion.
234 CITIES AND TOWNS
Fayetteville Street, running south from Capitol Square to the modern
Memorial Auditorium, was once the Sunday promenade for Raleigh's
beaux and belles. Now it is the chief commercial artery, lined with stores,
hotels, theaters, the Federal Building, courthouse, and city hall. The
streets paralleling and crossing Fayetteville form the main business
section.
Raleigh is predominantly a city of comfortable, unpretentious homes with
broad lawns and gardens beneath tall old trees. Suburbs such as Cameron
Park, Mordecai, and Boylan Heights perpetuate the names of prominent
families. The residential section Hayes Barton was named for the home of
Sir Walter Raleigh in England. Most Negroes live in the northeast, east, and
south sections.
The atmosphere of Raleigh reflects its varied functions as a governmental,
educational, social, and shopping center. Life in Raleigh has two distinct
aspects: one, the political and official, changing every four years with each
new State administration; the other, that of a community of southern tradi-
tion and charm whose families have been neighbors for generations. When
the general assembly is in biennial session, social life attains its gayest tempo;
hotel lobbies swarm with delegations and hotel rooms glow with midnight
conferences.
In 1 771 when Wake County was formed from parts of Cumberland, John-
ston, and Orange Counties, a courthouse and jail were erected on the hillside
in front of the residence of Joel Lane, who, with his brothers Joseph and
Jesse, had come here in 1741. This home became so popular with travelers
that the owner built a tavern and helped to erect a log church, the Asbury
Meetinghouse. The settlement was known as Wake Courthouse or Blooms-
bury. Joel Lane served as one of Tryon's lieutenants at Alamance in 1771
(see tour 25). The county was made coextensive with St. Margaret's Parish,
and both were named for Margaret Wake, wife of Governor Tryon.
Despite objections from North Carolina's principal towns, the State con-
vention in 1788, seeking a central location for an "unalterable seat of govern-
ment," resolved that the site should be within 10 miles of Isaac Hunter's
plantation. Hunter's land was among the 17 tracts considered, but the com-
mission of legislators purchased 1,000 acres of Joel Lane's land for ^1,378,
and it has been suggested that Lane's excellent punch played a part in the
transaction.
The town was laid out by William Christmas in April 1792 with Union
(now Capitol) Square reserved for the statehouse. The four parks were
named for the first three Governors under the constitution and for Attorney
General Alfred Moore. The streets were named for the eight districts, each
identified by the name of its principal city, for the commissioners, and for
other prominent citizens. In pursuance of instructions the commissioners
built a brick statehouse "large enough for both houses of the assembly," and
upon its completion (1794) Raleigh was taunted with being a "city of streets
without houses."
In 1799 two newspapers championed the rival creeds of the Federalist and
Whig parties. By 1800 the population numbered 669, and during that year
Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury held a "big meeting" in the statehouse,
RALEIGH 235
which at the time was used for religious gatherings, balls, and public
meetings.
With State aid, the Raleigh Academy for boys and girls was established
on Burke Square in 1801. The Indian Queen Tavern, on the site of the
present Federal Building, advertised in 1803 that it was the best in town with
"13 rooms, 9 of which have fireplaces." Casso's Inn, opened in 1804 at the
corner of Morgan and Fayetteville Streets, was an early political rendezvous.
The town bell hung at this corner.
Destructive fires occurred in 181 8, 1821, and 1831. In the last the State-
house was destroyed and with it the marble statue of George Washington by
the Italian sculptor, Canova, reputed to have been the most precious work of
art in the United States.
In 1840 a three-day celebration, with parades, orations, and subscription
balls marked the completion of the new statehouse and the entrance of the
first train over the Raleigh & Gaston R.R., first standard-gage railway in the
State. The Raleigh Guards, organized in 1846, served in the Mexican War.
In 1850 the Raleigh Register published the first daily newspaper in North
Carolina.
Although Union sentiment was strong in Raleigh, 100 guns were fired on
Capitol Square and bells were rung when the State convention adopted the
secession ordinance on May 20, 1861. The city became a concentration point
for Confederate troops, and gunpowder and other supplies were manufac-
tured here. Saltpeter was stored in the capitol rotunda. When Sherman's
army entered without resistance, Apr. 14, 1865, David L. Swain {see ashe-
ville and chapel hill) delivered the keys to the capitol in the absence of
Governor Vance.
After a period of military control, a State regime was set up under Presi-
dent Johnson's Reconstruction plan, but this was upset by the Congressional
Reconstruction program in 1867. Military rule again prevailed pending the
adoption of a new constitution and ratification of the 14th amendment.
W. W. Holden was elected Governor in 1868. A Negro-controlled carpet-
bagger assembly took charge of State affairs, indulged in lavish expenditure,
voted themselves salaries of $8 per day and 20^ per mile for travel, and
installed an open bar in the capitol, which was dubbed the "third house."
Nicks in the capitol steps remain where whisky barrels were rolled in and
out. This situation stimulated Ku Klux Klan activity in the State, which was
met by drastic action on the part of Governor Holden and resulted in his
impeachment in 1870 on charges of malfeasance {see history). The
Democrats were finally restored and Reconstruction was brought to an end
with Zebulon B. Vance's return to the Governorship in 1877.
By 1900 cotton and knitting mills, a tobacco warehouse, and an electric
power plant had been established. A union passenger station was built for
the three railroads serving the city. In 1920 the corporate limits were
extended to cover 7% square miles.
Raleigh's population includes some 2,000 State and numerous Federal
employees, since the city is the administrative center of the national recovery
program in the State. Manufactured products include cotton goods, cotton-
seed oil, furniture, building supplies and automobile bodies. Raleigh is a
236 CITIES AND TOWNS
center for the distribution of cotton and bright-leaf tobacco. Large printing
establishments publish books and periodicals.
Raleigh's literary history began with Joseph Gales, State printer (1800-29),
publisher of the first two volumes of the Annals of Congress, His wife, Wini-
fred Marshall Gales, wrote Matilda Berkley (1804), first novel printed in the
State. Capt. Samuel A. Ashe (1840-1938), journalist and historian, was the
author of History of North Carolina; Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the
Navy under Wilson, and Ambassador to Mexico (1933- ), wrote Our
Navy at War, and Life of Wilson. Raleigh poets include Henry Jerome
Stockard (1858-1916), who wrote Fugitive Lines, and Theophilus Hunter
Hill (1836-1901), whose Hesper and Other Poems was the first book pub-
lished under the copyright laws of the Confederate States. Thomas Dixon,
author of Leopard's Spots and the Clansman, is clerk of the United States
district court in Raleigh (1939). Clarence Poe, editor of the Progressive
Farmer, has written books on agriculture and travel. Jonathan Daniels, editor
of the News and Observer, wrote Clash of Angels and A Southerner Dis-
covers the South; Anne Preston Bridgers, coauthor of Coquette, was one of
the founders of the Raleigh Little Theater.
At the annual meeting of the North Carolina Literary and Historical
Association, the Mayflower Cup is awarded for the year's outstanding book
by a North Carolinian. The State Art Society owns and exhibits the Robert
Phifer collection of prints and paintings.
In 1808 Raleigh was the home of John Chavis, Negro schoolmaster who
taught both white and colored people. As early as 1816, Archibald D.
Murphey introduced resolutions in the assembly favoring establishment of
a Government-controlled colony for "persons of colour who have been or
shall be emancipated." The Raleigh Auxiliary Society for Colonizing the
Free People of Colour of the United States was organized in 18 19. By 1829
there were nine such societies in the State. John Rex, taciturn Raleigh tanner
who originally endowed Rex Hospital, left a sizable part of his estate (1838)
in trust to finance transportation to Africa for all his slaves who were willing
to go. While the State did not officially support any colonization effort,
there were many private contributions, notably by the Quakers.
The 12,575 Negroes of the city, 33 percent of the total population, own
and operate hotels, newspapers, banks, and a savings association. They have
two colleges, libraries, municipal playgrounds, churches, hospitals, and other
institutions. Many are represented in the professions, although the bulk of
the Negro population is engaged in domestic work and in business estab-
lishments.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The STATE CAPITOL {open 9-5 Mon.-Fri.; g-i Sat.) rises in impres-
sive simplicity from the center of Capitol Square at the N. end of Fayette-
ville St. Solid and imposing, yet of graceful lines, the structure is an excellent
example of the Greek Revival mode. The building is illuminated at night
by tinted floodlights. Sentimental attachment to the century-old building has
resisted efforts to replace it with a larger modern structure.
The capitol was authorized by the general assembly in 1832. W. S. Drum-
RALEIGH 237
mond and Col. Thomas Bragg were the architects, with Ithiel Town, then at
work on the New York Customhouse, as consultant. Through Town,
David Paton was secured in 1834 t0 ta ^ e complete charge. Paton imported
stonemasons from Scotland, whose cutting and finishing he personally di-
rected. The cornerstone was laid in 1833, and the building was completed
in 1840 at a cost of $530,684.
The cruciform structure, 160 feet long north to south, 140 feet east to
west, and 97 1 /% feet high at the center, is constructed of rectangular granite
blocks of irregular size, quarried a mile southeast of the site. Once streaked
with black, the stone has weathered to a warm tan. The Raleigh Experi-
mental Railway, first in North Carolina, ran from the east portico of the
capitol to the quarry to haul the stone. Horse-drawn cars were operated over
this strap-iron tramway, and a passenger car was run after working hours
"for the accommodation of such ladies and gentlemen as desired to take the
exercise of a railroad airing."
Doric porticoes on the east and west wings and the weathered green copper
roof and dome with its crownlike cresting, provide the dominant architec-
tural motifs of the exterior. The difficulty of adapting the Doric order to a
three-story building was overcome by using the first story as a base and
permitting the columns to run through the upper stories to an adequate
pediment. Paton employed Greek methods of construction, stone-cutting,
and finishing. No color was applied, but an adjustment of light and shadow
was obtained by recessing the windows between simple piers. In the entrance
hallways are worn stairs with wrought-iron handrails, uneven flooring of
slabs, and monolithic Ionic columns, all of granite. Wood was used for the
heavy studded doors and light window frames.
The carved ornamental detail in the halls and public rooms is Greek, em-
ploying Ionic and Corinthian forms, but the private offices show touches of
the English Gothic. The vestibules are decorated with columns and pilasters
similar to those of the Ionic Temple on the Ilissus, near the Acropolis. The
Key to Raleigh Map
1. The State Capitol. 2. The State Supreme Court Building. 3. The State Office
Building. 4. The State Agricultural Building. 5. The Richard B. Haywood House.
6. Christ Church. 7. The Treasurer Haywood House. 8. The Governor's Mansion.
9. The Henry Clay Oak. 10. Peace, a Junior College for Women. 11. The Mordecai
House. 12. Oakwood Cemetery. 13. St. Augustine's College. 14. National Cemetery.
15. The Site of the Birthplace of Andrew Johnson. 16. The Richard B. Harrison Library.
17. The Wake County Courthouse. 18. The Memorial Auditorium. 19. Shaw Univer-
sity. 20. The Sacred Heart Cathedral. 21. The St. Paul A.M.E. Church. 22. The
Joel Lane House. 23. St. Mary's School. 24 Confederate Breastworks. 25. Pullen
Park. 26. The North Carolina State College of Agriculture and Engineering of the
University of North Carolina. 27. The State School for the Blind. 28. Central Prison.
29. The State Hospital for the Insane.
a. Post Office, b. Union Station, c. Bus Station, d. Chamber of Commerce, e. Caro-
lina Motor Club, f. Caswell Square — State Board of Health, g. Nash Square, h. Moore
Square. 1. Airport, k. Raleigh Golf Association, l. Carolina Pines, m. Cheviot Hills.
n. Negro Park.
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24O CITIES AND TOWNS
remainder is groined with stone and brick pilasters of the Roman Doric
order.
At the intersection of the principal axes of the plan is a rotunda crowned
by a low dome which, despite its stylistic inconsistency, harmonizes with
the Doric detail of the exterior. The interior of the rotunda has a maximum
height of 93V2 feet. Bronze plaques on the walls of the first floor com-
memorate important events or personages in North Carolina history. There
are niches containing busts of John M. Morehead {see Greensboro), William
A. Graham {see tour //), Samuel Johnston {see tour ia), and Matt W.
Ransom {see tour 24a). All were sculptured by F. Wellington Ruckstuhl
between 1909 and 1912.
The floor of the rotunda at the second story is in the form of a gallery
around a 17-foot circular well, overhanging the lower floor about 9 feet with-
out apparent support. Mortised curving stone stairs to the third floor, at the
north of the west entrance, are supported by their own construction.
On the first floor are offices for the Governor, secretary of state, State treas-
urer, and State auditor. The second floor contains the senate chamber and
the hall of the house of representatives. The plan of the house of representa-
tives is that of a Greek amphitheater, with a semicircular Greek Doric colon-
nade. The senate chamber, with columns of similar order, is cruciform in
plan with a rostrum at the north side.
The third floor, used for clerical purposes, is finished in the florid Gothic
style. The lobbies as well as the rotunda are lighted with cupolas.
On the east grounds is a bronze statue of Zebulon Baird Vance {see ashe-
ville) by Henry J. Ellicott, erected in 1903. Beside it are fountains in two
lily ponds and two mortars from Fort Macon. To the southeast of the capitol
is a statue of Charles D. Mclver {see greensboro) sculptured by Ruckstuhl
and erected in 191 1. On the south, within an iron fence, is a bronze copy
of Houdon's Washington from the original in the capitol at Richmond, Va.,
placed here in 1858. It is flanked by a pair of French-cast cannon made in
1748, mounted at Edenton in 1778, and brought here in 1903. West of this
is a statue of Charles Brantley Aycock by Gutzon Borglum, erected in 1924.
At the southwest corner, facing Morgan Street, is a monument to the women
of the Confederacy by Augustus Lukeman. To the west of the capitol is a
statue by W. S. Packer of Ensign Worth Bagley of Raleigh, first American
officer killed in the Spanish-American War. Beside it is a Spanish gun,
mounted here in 1908. On the northwest is Borglum's statue of Henry Law-
son Wyatt, first North Carolina soldier killed in action in the War between
the States, at Bethel Church, June 10, 1861. Dominating the west grounds
and Salisbury Street is a reproduction of Muldoon's Confederate Monument,
a 70-foot shaft surmounted and flanked with bronze figures of Confederate
soldiers. Two 32-pounders cast in 1848, are mounted beside the monument.
2. The STATE SUPREME COURT BUILDING (all depts. open ?- 5 week-
days), facing the capitol between Salisbury and Fayetteville Sts., is a four-story
limestone structure of modified French Renaissance design. Completed in
1913, it houses several State departments. The State Library, on the 1st
floor, originated in a miscellaneous collection of books for the use of legislators
RALEIGH 241
and State officials. It contains works on genealogy, material relating to the
War between the States, early newspapers, Colonial and State records. On the
3rd floor are the Supreme Court Chamber, the offices of court officials and
of the attorney general. The Library of the Supreme Court, founded in
1 81 2, occupies the 4th floor.
3. The STATE OFFICE BUILDING (1938), NW, corner Salisbury and
Edenton Sts., is a five-story white granite structure of modern design. The
1 st floor is occupied by the North Carolina Historical Commission. The
Hall of History {open 9-5 Mon.-Fri., 9-1 Sat., winter; half -hour earlier in
summer) is the commission's museum containing items dating from the
Roanoke Island colony, and works of art, literature, sculpture, manufactur-
ing, handicraft, and commerce, as well as archives, and relics of the wars
in which North Carolina has participated. There is a copy of Canova's statue
of George Washington. State departments and commissions occupy the other
floors.
4. The STATE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING (1923), NW. corner Eden-
ton and Halifax Sts., is a four-story limestone structure designed in the neo-
classic style with a three-story Ionic colonnade above a rusticated first story.
Housed in an annex, built in 1925, with entrance at 101 Halifax St. is the
State Museum {open 9-5 weekdays), which contains numerous species of
invertebrates, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fishes, fossil forms, min-
erals, and plant life. The building also contains offices of various State de-
partments and houses the Phifer collection of paintings of which the North
Carolina State Art Society is custodian.
5. The RICHARD B. HAYWOOD HOUSE {private), 127 E. Edenton St.,
was built in 1854 of bricks made by family slaves for Dr. Richard Benehan
Haywood, whose descendants own and occupy it. The rectangular two-story
structure has a hip roof, four chimneys, and a four-column Doric portico.
This house was commandeered during Federal occupation as headquarters
for Maj. Francis P. Blair, Jr., a classmate of Dr. Haywood at the University
of North Carolina, and was visited by Generals Sherman and Grant.
6. CHRIST CHURCH {Episcopal), SE. corner Edenton and Wilmington
Sts., is probably the most noteworthy Gothic Revival building in the State.
It was designed by Richard Upjohn, architect of Trinity Church in New
York, and erected between 1848 and 1853. The design is based upon that
of an English medieval parish church. The main block is of local red-gray
stone neatly squared and faced. Joined to it by a three-arched cloister is a
square bell tower of gray stone, accented with darker red-gray stone and
with three levels of small windows. A slender octagonal spire tapers from the
tower to a height of about 100 feet. Its weathercock is said to be the only
chicken Sherman's army left in Raleigh. The subdued interior is dominated
by the altar and reredos of Caen limestone carved in France. A slave gallery
extends across the western end of the nave. Built partly with slave labor, the
church replaced an 1829 structure. Records of the parish date from its organi-
242 CITIES AND TOWNS
zation in 1821. The first rector was John Stark Ravenscroft, first Episcopal
Bishop of North Carolina.
The Parish House and Chapel of the Annunciation (19 13) is con-
nected by a cloistered walkway to the north and east of the church. Designed
by Hobart Upjohn, grandson of the church's architect, and constructed of
granite from the same quarry, it harmonizes with the old church.
The Rectory (private), 11 Newbern Ave., oldest building of the church
group, was erected about 181 8. It is of brick with granite lintels and sills,
and has double-gallery porticoes on the east and west elevations, each of
which has eight massive modified Doric columns in two tiers of four. It was
originally constructed as the North Carolina State Bank and the residence of
its president. The vault was removed when the parish acquired the property
in 1873.
7. The TREASURER HAYWOOD HOUSE (private), 211 Newbern Ave.,
was built about 1794 by John Haywood, State treasurer. It is owned and occu-
pied by his descendants, remaining much as it was when built and contain-
ing many of the original furnishings. The house is of Classical Revival design,
finished with beaded weatherboarding. A small double-gallery entrance
porch, with Doric columns and single wrought-iron railings flanking the
steps, rises to a level dentiled cornice beneath the gabled roof. There is a
wing on the left and two great end chimneys. Lafayette dined here in 1825.
8. The GOVERNOR'S MANSION (telephone housekeeper for appoint-
ment), 210 N. Blount St., stands on Burke Square, which in 1792 was sug-
gested as a "proper situation for the Governor's house." The building was
authorized by the assembly in 1885 and finished with convict labor in 1891.
Gustavus Adolphus Bauer, the designer, employed numerous gables, pat-
terned roof, paneled chimneys, and lathe-turned porches in the then-fash-
ionable Queen Anne style. The mansion is of red brick and sandstone with
broad marble entrance steps. Spacious rooms finished in native pine contain
relics including a chair from Tryon's Palace (see new bern), a gold-framed
mirror and walnut sideboard from the Confederate blockade runner Ad-
Vance, and a silver service from the U.S.S. North Carolina.
9. The HENRY CLAY OAK, North St. no ft. NW. of Blount St., 6 feet
in diameter, is believed to be between 500 and 600 years old. Under this tree
in 1844 while he was a guest of Kenneth Rayner, Henry Clay wrote the well-
known Raleigh letter to the National Intelligencer which, because of its
evasive treatment of the question of admitting Texas as a slave State, was a
factor in his defeat for the Presidency.
10. PEACE, A JUNIOR COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, N. end of Wilmington
St., in a 10-acre grove, was opened in 1872 by the Rev. Robert Burwell after
it had been organized in 1857 as a Presbyterian girls school by the Rev.
Joseph M. Atkinson and William Peace, prominent Raleigh merchant who
donated the site. During the War between the States the partially com-
pleted main brick building was used for a Confederate hospital and after-
RALEIGH 243
wards housed a Freedmen's Bureau. Since 1907 the Presbyterian Church of
North Carolina has owned and controlled the institution, which is an ac-
credited Grade A junior college and high school with a faculty of 20 and a
student body of 200.
11. The MORDECAI HOUSE {private), NW. corner Wake Forest Rd. and
Walnut St., is a Greek Revival mansion of heart-pine timbers painted white
with green blinds. In 1758 Joel Lane gave the older portion, with its hand-
hewn timbers and wooden pegs, to his son, Henry. The four front rooms
and the two-story columned portico as well as the east portico were added
in 1824 by Moses Mordecai, whose descendants own and occupy it. Lafayette
stopped here in 1825, and in i860 Gen. Joseph Lane (see asheville), grand-
son of one of Raleigh's earliest settiers, and then a Vice-Presidential candi-
date, was a guest.
12. In OAKWOOD CEMETERY, NE. corner Linden and Oakwood Aves.,
are buried six North Carolina Governors: Aycock, Bragg, Holden, Worth,
Swain, and Fowle.
13. ST. AUGUSTINE'S COLLEGE (Negro), NE. corner Oakwood Ave.
and Tarboro Rd., was founded in 1867 by the Episcopal Church. Its 20
buildings stand on a 35-acre campus. There are 300 students and 22 teachers.
The curriculum includes a preparatory course, a four-year college course
leading to A.B. and B.S. degrees, and the Bishop Tuttle School of Religious
Education and Social Service. St. Agnes Hospital and Training School is
affiliated with the college. According to tradition, Willie Jones, commissioner
for the State-at-large when Raleigh was founded, and one of the framers
of the State constitution, is buried in an unmarked grave on the grounds,
once a part of his plantation.
14. NATIONAL CEMETERY, SE. corner E. Davie St. and Rock Quarry
Rd., established in 1867, covers 7 acres and contains the graves of 1,274
Union soldiers, many of whom were originally buried on Bentonville Battle-
field in 1865 {see tour 3).
15. The SITE OF THE BIRTHPLACE OF ANDREW JOHNSON, 123
Fayetteville St., is indicated by a granite marker. At the head of this street
stood Casso's Inn, early political meeting place. In the innyard was the home
of Jacob Johnson, hosder, janitor, and town constable, whose wife, Polly, did
the weaving for the inn. On Dec. 29, 1808, when pretty Peggy Casso was
attending her wedding ball in the statehouse, a little girl summoned her:
"Come quickly, Ma'am! Polly the weaver wants you." Polly had a baby son
and wouldn't Peggy name him? Dropping on her knees beside the infant,
she said: "I name thee, on this my wedding night, Andrew." Sixteen years
later the Star and North Carolina Gazette advertised a reward of $10 for
the return of two runaway apprentices, William and Andrew Johnson,
brothers. Andrew worked as a tailor's apprentice at Carthage {see tour 52)
and later settled in Tennessee. On his return to Raleigh in 1867, President
Johnson called first on Mrs. Peggy Stewart, his godmother.
244 CITIES AND TOWNS
16. The RICHARD B. HARRISON LIBRARY (Negro) {open 2-6 Tues.,
Thurs., Fri.; 2-9 Wed.; 1-9 Sat.), 135 E. Hargett St., was founded in 1935
by an interracial group and the State Library Commission, and named for
the Negro actor (see Greensboro). The library contains 20,000 volumes.
17. The WAKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 316 Fayetteville St., stands
on property conveyed to the county for 5 shillings by Theophilus Hunter and
James Bloodvvorth in 1795 for erection of a "large and eligant" wooden
building. The present courthouse is a rectangular, four-story building of
granite and terra cotta designed in the neoclassic style with recessed loggias
in front and rear elevations fronted by Corinthian columns.
18. The MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM, S. end of Fayetteville St., harmonizes
with the Greek Revival design of the capitol. Erected in 1932 by the city and
designed by Atwood and Weeks, it memorializes Wake County citizens
who served in various wars. Of white brick and marble, it contains an audi-
torium seating 3,600, committee rooms, banquet hall, kitchen, and a fire
station. The ballroom is the scene of the annual Debutante Ball in September,
when young ladies from all sections of the State make their bows to society.
The Governors' inaugural balls are also held here.
19. SHAW UNIVERSITY (Negro, coeducational), SE. corner E. South
and Wilmington Sts., had its beginning in December 1865 in a theological
class for freedmen conducted by Dr. Henry M. Tupper, Union Army chap-
lain, and his wife. Chartered in 1875 under its present name, the university
is supported by the Negro State and Northern Baptist Conventions. It has
400 students taught by a faculty of 30, and grants the degrees of A.B., B.S.,
B.D. and B.S. in Home Economics. Ten red brick buildings of eclectic design
occupy a 25-acre wooded campus.
20. The SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, NW. corner Hillsboro and
McDowell Sts., was constructed in 1924 of gray granite and designed in the
neo-Gothic style with pointed-arch windows and low corner tower. It adjoins
the residence of the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh.
21. The ST. PAUL A.M.E. CHURCH, NW. corner Edenton and Harring-
ton Sts., originated in 1849 when Negro members of Edenton Street Meth-
odist Church organized as the city's first Negro congregation. In 1853 they
acquired the old Christ Church building, which they moved to this site on
rollers at night amid singing and shouting. The present red brick, steepled
edifice was erected in 1884. Occasionally the topic of the morning sermon
is reenacted at night by pantomime dramatizations that have been compared
v/ith early morality plays.
22. The JOEL LANE HOUSE (open; resident caretaker), 728 W. Hargett
St., built before 1771 by Joel Lane, is the oldest house in Raleigh, though
150 feet removed from its original site. This Dutch Colonial structure has a
gambrel roof, dormer windows, a vine-embowered entrance stoop, and great
end chimneys. The rear wing is a later addition and the whole has been
RALEIGH 245
remodeled. Refurnished in the style of its period, the house serves as head-
quarters for the Wake County Committee of the Colonial Dames.
23. ST. MARY'S SCHOOL, 900 Hillsboro St., founded in 1842 by the Rev.
Aldert Smedes, was conducted successively by him and his son, the Rev. Ben-
nett Smedes, as an Episcopal school for young ladies until 1897, when it was
acquired by the Episcopal Church. St. Mary's, the largest Episcopal high
school and junior college in the United States, is fully accredited and has a
student body of 200 and a faculty of 20. On the shady 20-acre campus are
14 buildings connected by covered ways. Smedes Hall, the main building,
is a substantial red brick structure with white columned portico and broad
steps, flanked by wistaria-covered East and West Rock Buildings. The little
frame cruciform Chapel, with a hooded entrance, was designed by Richard
Upjohn. Ravenscroft, 802 Hillsboro St., at the E. end of the grove, is the
residence of the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of North Caroina.
24. CONFEDERATE BREASTWORKS, E. of 11 15 Hillsboro St., marked
by a line of young trees, were erected in 1865 for defense of the town, though
never used. The earthen battlements are well preserved.
25. PULLEN PARK, approached from Hillsboro St. and from the Western
Outlet (US 1-70), was established in 1887 on 80 acres by R. Stanhope Pullen.
The tract has been enlarged, with Federal aid, into a picnic and recreation
ground with public swimming pool and playground facilities.
26. The NORTH CAROLINA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
AND ENGINEERING OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CARO-
LINA {buildings open during school hours unless otherwise noted), Hills-
boro St. at Oberlin Rd., has 40 buildings in a 30-acre campus. College prop-
erty includes 35 acres in orchards and gardens, 15 acres in poultry yards, and
400 acres in a nearby experiment farm. The plant is valued at $5,300,000.
Six additional experimental test farms are maintained in different parts of
the State in cooperation with the State Department of Agriculture.
With a teaching staff of 256, the college annually enrolls about 2,150 resi-
dent students and offers undergraduate and graduate training for technical,
scientific, and professional service in 36 vocations. It includes the Schools of
Agriculture, Engineering, Science, Textile Arts, and the Summer School.
The college also has an extension service with 2,700 students enrolled in
correspondence and night classes, and a Department of Home Demonstration.
A unit of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps gives four years instruction
in military science and tactics.
Opened in 1889 as the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Me-
chanic Arts, the college was established through the efforts of the Watauga
Club, an organization of Raleigh young men interested in the establishment
of an industrial school, and Col. L. L. Polk, whose Progressive Farmer
sponsored a farmers' movement for an agricultural college. One of the first
buildings, Holladay Hall (1888), named for the first president, serves as
the administration building. It was erected on land donated by R. Stanhope
Pullen and accommodated the original student body of 72 and their 8
246 CITIES AND TOWNS
teachers. In 19 17 the name was changed to North Carolina State College of
Agriculture and Engineering. In 1932 it became a unit of the Greater Uni-
versity {see chapel hill), but through all these changes it has been popu-
larly referred to as State College.
Since 1926 the Engineers Fair has been an annual spring event, open to
the public, sponsored by the Engineering Council, a student organization.
The fair exhibits engineering models, charts, and devices.
Dominating the Hillsboro Street campus entrance is the War Memorial,
a 116-foot campanile of white Mount Airy granite, designed by William
Henry Deacy, begun by alumni in 1921 as a monument to the 33 State Col-
lege men who lost their lives in the World War, and completed in 1937 with
Federal aid.
The D. H. Hill Library {open 8:30 a.m.-ioi^o p.m. weekdays) is a
domed and colonnaded red brick structure in the Federal style, designed by
Hobart Upjohn. It was erected in 1926 and named for the third president of
the college. Modern murals adorn the rotunda. The library contains 35,000
bound volumes and much unbound material. The Frank Thompson Gym-
nasium (1924) has accommodations for 2,500 at indoor contests, and Riddick
Stadium seats 15,000, or 20,000 with temporary stands.
On the campus is the Andrew Johnson House {admission upon applica-
tion to \eeper), a tiny, gambrel-roof frame structure, the birthplace (1808)
of the 17th President of the United States. It was removed from its original
site on Fayetteville Street to Pullen Park, and in 1937 was moved here.
27. The STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND {admission upon applica-
tion at superintendent' s office}, coeducational, S. end Ashe Ave., occupies a
dozen buildings on a 100-acre tract. Established in 1845, it was removed to its
present site in 1923.
28. CENTRAL PRISON {no visitors except prisoners' relatives'), W. end of
Morgan St., authorized by the general assembly in 1869, is a battlemented
structure that required 14 years to erect. Its 12-acre area is surrounded by a
gray granite wall. The prison contains the only lethal gas execution chamber
east of the Mississippi.
29. The STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE (DIX HILL) {grounds
open), Boylan Dr. at Boylan Ave., was authorized in 1848 by the general
assembly at the instigation of Dorothea Lynde Dix. The site she selected is a
forested tract of 1,248 acres. The main building, designed in the Gothic
Revival style by Alexander Jackson Davis, was opened in 1856.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Meredith College, 3.5 m., Method, Negro rural community, 4 m., State Fair Grounds
and highway shops, 5 m., Cary, birthplace of Walter Hines Page, author and Ambassador
to the Court of St. James's, 8 m., Crabtree Creek Park, National recreation and demon-
stration area, 11 m. (see tour yb); State College Experiment Farm, 3 m., State School
for Negro Deaf and Blind, 3 m., State Forest Nursery, 7 m., Nancy Jones House, where
the Governor of North Carolina made his observation ("It's a long time between
drinks") to the Governor of South Carolina, 10 m. (see tour 28).
WILMINGTON
Railroad Stations: Union Station, Redcross and Front Sts., for Atlantic Coast Line R.R.;
end of Brunswick. St. for Seaboard Air Line R.R.
Bus Station: SW. corner 2nd and Walnut Sts., for Seashore Transportation, Queen City
Coach, and Atlantic Greyhound.
Airport: County-owned, 3 m. N. on US 117, 1 m. E. on Airport Rd.; no scheduled service.
Taxis: 25^.
City Buses: Fare S<t; Carolina Beach 25^.
Piers: Ann St. for line to Norfolk, Baltimore, and Philadelphia; freight, occasional pas-
sengers.
Traffic Regulations: Right turn on red lights from right lane; no parking on streets,
1 a.m. to 6 a.m.; 30-min. parking in restricted zones.
Accommodations: 4 hotels; boarding houses and tourist homes in city and at nearby
beaches. Free tourist campground, Greenfield Park, N. bank of Greenfield Lake.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce and Carolina Motor Club, both in Cape Fear
Hotel, 2nd and Chestnut Sts.
Radio Station: WMFD (1370 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: Thalian Hall in City Hall, NE. corner 3rd and
Princess Sts., occasional road shows, local productions; 3 motion picture houses.
Swimming: Greenfield Lake, S. end of 3rd St.
Golf: Municipal Golf Course, 4 m. E. on US 74-76, 18 holes, greens fee, 50^.
Tennis: Pembroke Jones Park, Market and 14th Sts.; Wallace Park, Market and 21st Sts.;
Robert Strange Playground, 8th and Nun Sts.; Greenfield Lake Park.
Hunting and Fishing: Inquire Chamber of Commerce.
Annual Events: Old Christmas celebration, Jan. 6; Easter Carols; Wilmington Light
Infantry outing, Wrightsville Beach, May 20; Municipal Christmas Tree.
WILMINGTON (32 alt., 32,270 pop.), seat of New Hanover County, is a
river port city at the head of a narrow peninsula between Cape Fear River and
the Atlantic Ocean, 30 miles from the river mouth. The city, with a history
of more than two centuries, is in a region noted for the variety of its vege-
tation.
The river is so thickly lined with piers and warehouses that it is visible
only at street ends and at the customhouse wharf. Several residential streets
have landscaped parkways where palmettos grow in profusion. Fine old
homes, many surrounded by informal gardens and some inclosed by high
walls, are sheltered by oaks, maples, and magnolias. Fountains and monu-
ments mark many street intersections. Negro homes are scattered about the
city near the industrial plants, though a few are in better sections.
The city bustles with activity on weekdays. White and Negro hucksters
cry their wares in the early morning on residential streets and Negro steve-
dores sing work songs on the docks as they handle cotton, sugar, and odorous
fertilizer. Saturday brings a horde of farmers from outlying farms. The peal
247
240 CITIES AND TOWNS
of many church bells breaks the Sunday calm. In summer, tourists throng
the streets, en route to and from nearby beaches.
Before the advent of the white man, Indians traveled, fished, and fought on
Cape Fear River. The first Barbadian settlers came in 1665 and by 1725 the
first permanent plantations had been established. For years the river was the
only means of communication, social and commercial. Every home of con-
sequence had its barge and a crew of Negro slave oarsmen.
Wilmington dates from 1730 when English yeomen built log shacks on a
bluff east of the junction of the Northeast and Northwest Branches of the
river. The settlement, called New Liverpool, shortly admitted colonists from
the lower peninsula, who sought protection from pirates and better harbor
facilities. In 1733 John Watson obtained a grant of 640 acres adjoining New
Liverpool and called the place New Town (or Newton). Gov. Gabriel John-
ston, in 1734, changed the name to honor his patron, Spencer Compton, Earl
of Wilmington, and the town became a commercial center. In 1745 the as-
sembly authorized the building of Fort Johnston at the mouth of the river
as a protection against Spanish pirates; it was completed in 1764.
Resentment against the Stamp Act reached a climax in Wilmington in
1765 when the funeral rites of Liberty were performed on Market Street.
The resignation of the stamp master was demanded and obtained. At Bruns-
wick {see tour iC) His Majesty's Ship Diligence was prevented from land-
ing the obnoxious stamps.
Patriotism flamed during the Revolution among such residents of Wilming-
ton as Cornelius Harnett, statesman; Gen. Robert Howe, trusted friend of
Washington; and William Hooper, signer of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. Following the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Cornwallis occupied the
town, June 29, 1781, and conducted numerous raids in the vicinity before
starting on his march to Yorktown.
Innes Academy was established in 1783, with funds bequeathed by Col.
James Innes "For the use of a free school." In 1804 the Bank of Cape Fear
was incorporated. Women of the town organized the Female Benevolent
Society in 1817. After a slave uprising in 1831, six of the leaders were tried
and hanged.
During the War between the States, the town, protected by Forts Fisher,
Caswell, and Johnston at the mouth of the river, was the chief port of entry
for Confederate blockade runners. In 1862 they brought in yellow fever from
Nassau, causing hundreds of deaths. When forts and town fell to Union
forces in January 1865, the fate of the southern cause was sealed, for Wilming-
ton was the last port in use by the Confederacy. Disastrous fires during and
after the war destroyed many homes, churches, and warehouses.
The Wilmington Star, North Carolina's oldest daily newspaper, was
founded Sept. 23, 1867, by Maj. William H. Bernard, and has had a continu-
ous existence since that date. In 1875 Government engineers, under Henry
Bacon, closed New Inlet, which had been deepened by a hurricane in 1871,
thus saving Wilmington's harbor by insuring a sufficient depth over the main
bar. The dam is known as the Rocks.
Under a carpetbag administration the surviving institutions of disfranchised
white citizens were steadily undermined, though the Democrats regained
WILMINGTON 249
control in 1876. In 1895 a fusion of Republicans and Populists acquired
control and elected or appointed several Negroes to municipal offices. Resent-
ful whites organized a clan called the Red Shirts, who, in the election of
1898, so intimidated Negro voters that the Democrats won a sweeping vic-
tory. A few days later (Nov. 10) the Red Shirts compelled the resignation
of all Negro officeholders. The mayor and councilmen were forced to resign
and elect successors named by the Red Shirts. A Negro printing office
was burned. A Negro shot and killed a white man, general gunfire started,
and 20 or more Negroes were slain. This action presaged final recov-
ery of the State administration by the Democratic party and restriction of
the franchise for Negroes, eliminating their influence in North Carolina
politics.
Until 19 10 Wilmington was the largest city in North Carolina. The shallow
channel and the distance from the sea limited its development, and its indus-
try and trade failed to match the more spirited stride of inland cities. During
the World War three shipyards were built here by the United States Gov-
ernment and several vessels were launched for naval duty. Deepening of the
channel brought a resurgence of trade to the city. Oil companies built ter-
minals and chemical industries were established to extract bromine from sea
water. One of the largest cotton compresses in the United States is located
here. Fertilizer plants produce about 400,000 tons annually. Other industries
include lumber mills, creosoting plants, and a shirt factory.
The harbor handles more than a million tons of cargo annually and port
revenue collections exceed $12,000,000 a year. The controlling depth is 30
feet over the ocean bar and 29 feet in the river channels, with a 30-foot depth
in the anchorage basin. The city is accessible to the Intracoastal Waterway
through the Cape Fear River, where at the old Liberty Shipyard property,
there is a free yacht basin. Wilmington is an important railroad center, with
the general offices of the Atlantic Coast Line and division headquarters for
the Seaboard Air Line.
The Thalian Association, one of the earliest theatrical organizations in
North Carolina, was formed prior to 1800. The group was revived in 1814,
and again in 1846, continuing until the War between the States. A little
theater group, formed in 1929, assumed the old name. Full-length plays are
presented, including the works of members. Jews of the city maintain a
social center called Harmony Circle. The Brigade Boys Club, outgrowth of a
semimilitary organization known as the Boys Brigade, maintains a library
and gymnasium, and conducts a character-building program for Wilmington
youth.
The bulk of the city's 13,106 Negroes, 40 percent of the total population,
are employed at manual and domestic labor, though many are engaged in
the skilled trades and a few are represented in the professions.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. THE U. S. CUSTOMHOUSE, Water St. between Princess and Market
Sts., stretches the length of a city block. Designed by James A. Wetmore and
built in 1914-16 of natural sandstone, its three stories are marked by classic
25O CITIES AND TOWNS
simplicity. A recessed court between the end wings on the river elevation
forms a gardened esplanade with fountain, trees, flowers, and stone benches,
fronted by a massive balustrade. From the wharf, where the U. S. Coast
Guard cutter Modoc docks, there is a wide view of the river. Across the
river on the Eagle Island shore is the Site of Berry's Shipyard, also called
the Confederate Navy Yard, where in 1862 the ironclad North Carolina was
built. Upstream the water front is crowded with docks and warehouses
served by railroad tracks. Within this area are cotton compress plants and
facilities for handling the export and import trade. Downstream are more
docks and warehouses for cotton, chemical, cooperage and other concerns. A
mile to the south, on a point jutting into the river, is the Dram Tree, an
ancient cypress. Tradition relates that in ante-bellum days, ships' crews in-
dulged in a dram of rum as their craft passed the point. Farther south are
the tanks of the oil companies, which annually distribute millions of gallons
of petroleum products.
2. The SITE OF THE OLD COURTHOUSE, NE. corner Front and Mar-
ket Sts., occupied by business structures, where on Nov. 16, 1765, Dr. William
Houston, the royal stamp master, was forced to vacate his office, is indicated
by a marker that also recalls the action of militia in preventing the landing
of stamped paper and the defense pledge adopted by citizens of the county
on June 19, 1775.
3. The SITE OF CONFEDERATE HEADQUARTERS, NW. corner Mar-
ket and 3rd Sts., occupied by an automobile service station, is indicated by a
marker. This was the military center when Wilmington was a strategic port
as the "life line of the Confederacy." John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War, on
Apr. 12, 1 819, was entertained in the old building, which was torn down
during the World War.
4. The GEORGE DAVIS MONUMENT, Market and 3rd Sts., memorializ-
ing the Confederate States Senator and Attorney General, is a heroic por-
trait statue of bronze on a granite pedestal, executed by Francis Herman
Packer and erected in 191 1.
5. The CORNWALLIS HOUSE {private), SW. corner Market and 3rd
Sts., is State headquarters of the North Carolina Society of Colonial Dames,
who plan (1939) to establish a museum of Colonial relics in the building.
The two-story, white, weatherboarded structure, shaded by huge magnolias,
is believed to have been built in the 1770's. The roof is gabled and the front
porches are carried on two superimposed ranges of Ionic columns. The cen-
tral bay of the colonnade, slightly wider than the rest, is surmounted by a
pediment. The first floor of the house is raised well above the ground on a
high latticed basement. The double cellars have apartments locally referred
to as dungeons. Tradition tells of a tunnel that led two blocks west to the
river. Cornwallis maintained his headquarters here while in possession of the
city in 1781. The original floor boards bear marks reputedly made by British
muskets.
WILMINGTON 251
6. ST. JAMES CHURCH {Episcopal), SE. corner 3rd and Market Sts., of
Gothic Revival design, T. U. Walter, architect, was erected in 1839 near the
site of an earlier church built in 1751. The parish was founded in 1735. The
building rests on a raised foundation wall extending to the high stone steps
of the front entrance. A transept was added in 1879. Until the War between
the States the interior had galleries around three sides of the nave "for the
use of our people of color." The wooden altar and reredos were carved by
Silas McBee and his sister, of Sewanee, Tenn. The church was used for a
hospital during Union occupation of the town.
In the vestry room hangs a painting of the head of Christ, Ecce Homo
(Behold the Man), artist unknown, taken from a captured Spanish ship that
attempted to seize the town of Brunswick in 1748. Other booty from the ship
was sold and the proceeds contributed to the building funds of St. Philip's,
Brunswick, and St. James. For generations children of the parish have greeted
the rising Easter sun with carols sung from the tower of St. James above the
belfry.
In the Churchyard is the grave of Cornelius Harnett (1723-81), member
of 13 Colonial assemblies, deputy provisional grand master of the Masonic
order in North America, and delegate to the Continental Congress. He wrote
the clause for religious freedom in the constitution of North Carolina. Here
also is the grave of Thomas Godfrey (1736-63), author of the Prince of
Parthia, the first drama written by a native American and produced on the
professional stage. It was published in 1765 and produced in Philadelphia in
1767.
7. The NEW HANOVER COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SE. corner 3rd and
Princess Sts., was built in 1892 of red brick with white granite trim. The
annex, erected in 1925, is of white granite in Georgian design. On the 3rd
floor is the New Hanover County Museum {open 3-5 Wed. and Fri.), con-
taining a collection of early Wilmingtoniana, Oriental curios, geological speci-
mens, Confederate and World War relics.
Key to Wilmington Map
1. The U. S. Customhouse. 2. The Site of the Old Courthouse. 3. The site of the
Confederate Headquarters. 4. The George Davis Monument. 5. The Cornwallis House.
6. St. James Church. 7. The New Hanover County Courthouse. 8. The City Hall.
9. The Cornelius Harnett Monument. 10. The Hebrew Temple, n. The Wilmington
Light Infantry Armory. 12. The Bellamy Mansion. 13. The Hugh McRae House.
14. St. Mary's Cathedral. 15. The Council Tree. 16. The Site of the Birthplace of
Ann Whistler. 17. The First Presbyterian Church. 18. The Dudley Mansion. 19. The
Confederate Memorial. 20. St. Thomas Church. 21. The DeRossett House. 22. Hilton
Park. 23. Oakdale Cemetery. 24. The United States National Cemetery. 25. Green-
field Park.
a. Post Office, b. Union Station, c. Seaboard Air Line Station, d. Union Bus Station.
e. Chamber of Commerce, f. Cape Fear Twin Bridges, g. Airport, h. Yacht Basin.
1. Pembroke Jones Park. k. Robert Strange Playground, l. Cape Fear Country Club.
m. Municipal Golf Course.
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254 CITIES AND TOWNS
8. The CITY HALL, NE. corner 3rd and Princess Sts., built in 1855, has
18-inch walls surfaced with cream stucco and is fronted by a Corinthian
portico. Besides housing municipal offices the building contains Thalian
Hall, an auditorum seating 1,000, and the Wilmington Public Library
{open 10-9 weekdays except June i-Sept. 1, 9-5), with 25,000 volumes.
9. The CORNELIUS HARNETT MONUMENT, E. Market and 4 th Sts.,
is a white marble obelisk erected by the North Carolina Society of Colonial
Dames in honor of the Revolutionary statesman.
10. The HEBREW TEMPLE, SE. corner E. Market and 4th Sts., built in
1875, is the first temple erected by Jews in North Carolina. The design is
based upon Oriental tradition, employing Saracenic detail.
11. The WILMINGTON LIGHT INFANTRY ARMORY, Market St.
between 4th and 5th Sts., a two-story structure of pressed brick and marble,
built in 1852, served as a residence until acquired by the Wilmington Light
Infantry in 1892. Fixtures include a built-in stove and wall safe. There are
remnants of a tunnel that once connected the basement with the old Corn-
wallis House.
The company was organized in 1858 and equipped by Jefferson Davis,
Secretary of War under President Pierce. During the War between the States
the unit occupied Forts Johnston and Caswell. In the World War its members
were assigned to various regiments.
12. The BELLAMY MANSION (private), NE. corner E. Market and 5th
Sts., used by the North Carolina Society of Colonial Dames for assembly
rooms, is an example of Greek Revival architecture. It was designed by
James F. Post and built in 1859. A massive Corinthian portico borders three
sides of the wooden structure. The wide entrance door with its segmental,
pedimented heading, is carved in a design of roses and leaves. The front
yard is enclosed by an elaborate cast-iron fence. During Union occupation
Federal troops maintained offices in the building.
13. The HUGH MacRAE HOUSE (private), E. Market St. between 7th
and 8th Sts., a Gothic Revival house designed in the style of a Tudor baronial
castle, was built about 1850 by James Post and remodeled in 1902 by Henry
Bacon, designer of the Lincoln Memorial in the Capital. The ivy-clad brick
building with brown stucco and stone trim has two main stories, a basement,
an attic, and a flat roof with low battlements. Beneath the main cornice are
a series of pointed arches. The south elevation has a conservatory with
wrought-iron supports surmounted with a wrought-iron balustrade. The
yard is enclosed by a wrought-iron fence with wide gates, designed by Bacon,
at both north and south carriage entrances. During the War between the
States the house was used by Federal troops as a hospital.
14. ST. MARY'S CATHEDRAL (Roman Catholic), NW. corner Ann and
5th Sts., of Spanish Renaissance design, is the work of Rafael Guastavino,
WILMINGTON 255
built (1912-13) under the supervision of Rafael Guastavino, Jr. Graceful
towers flank the front entrance and a dome spans the main section of the
glazed-brick building. The interior walls are decorated with mosaic figures
of the saints in varicolored tile. The stained-glass windows were made by
Franz Meyer in Munich, Germany.
15. The COUNCIL TREE, near SE. corner 4th and Ann Sts., is a great oak,
which in 1740 marked the town boundary and under whose shade, tradition
relates, were held political and other gatherings.
16. The SITE OF THE BIRTHPLACE OF ANN WHISTLER, mother of
the artist, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, SW. corner 4th and Orange Sts.,
is occupied by a residence.
17. The FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NE. corner 3rd and Orange
Sts., was erected in 1928 after a design by Hobart Upjohn. The body of the
church, granite with limestone trim, is English Gothic with a clerestory.
The front with its spire suggests the French Gothic, particularly the Cathe-
dral at Chartres, while the brick Sunday school building is Tudor. The
structure replaced an earlier church on the same site whose onetime pastor,
the Rev. Joseph Ruggles Wilson, was the father of Woodrow Wilson. A
mosaic tablet in the vestibule memorializes the 28th President, who, as a boy,
was a member.
18. The DUDLEY MANSION (private), SW. corner Front and Nun Sts.,
was constructed between 1830 and 1835 of red brick, since painted white. It
is designed in the Federal style. The two-story main block of the house
is flanked by recessed wings. Twin stone steps, with iron railings, rise to a
small landing in front of the porticoed, fanlighted doorway. At the rear is
a two-story conservatory, from which stone steps lead to the garden, terraced
broadly down to the water's edge. An iron railing mounted on brownstone
marks the Front Street entrance. Around the house are luxuriant palmettos.
This was originally the home of Edward B. Dudley, Governor of North
Carolina (1836-41), participant in one version of the famous "It's a long
time between drinks" anecdote. In 1847 Governor Dudley entertained Daniel
Webster here. In 1909 President William H. Taft was the guest of James
Sprunt, who owned the house at that time.
19. The CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL, 3rd and Dock Sts., designed by
Francis H. Packer, is a bronze group of soldiers in bas-relief set against pol-
ished white granite.
20. ST. THOMAS CHURCH, Dock St. near 2nd, now a Roman Catho-
lic mission and school for Negroes, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, was
built in 1845 as St. Thomas Pro-Cathedral. James Cardinal Gibbons was an
early priest. Upon completion of the new cathedral in 1913, St. Thomas was
given to the Negroes by the white congregation. The building is of brown-
stone with buttressed sides and a battlemented roof.
256 CITIES AND TOWNS
2r. The DeROSSETT HOUSE (private), NE. corner 2nd and Dock Sts.,
believed to have been designed by James Post, was built about 1840. It is of
modified Georgian Colonial design with a facade of fluted Doric columns and
a hip roof crowned with a cupola. The terraced garden is surrounded by a
6-foot openwork brick wall.
22. HILTON PARK, N. end of 4th St. at the river, occupies the site of the
former estate of Cornelius Harnett. The one remaining wing of the Harnett
House serves as a mill office. The 3-acre park was named for William
Hilton, Cape Fear explorer. Here is what is claimed to be the World's
Largest Christmas Tree, a live oak festooned with moss, 70 feet in height,
15 feet in circumference at the base, its limbs spreading 115 feet. The tree is
decorated for the Christmas season.
23. OAKDALE CEMETERY, N. end of 15th St., shaded with live oaks
draped with Spanish moss, is brightened in the spring by dogwood blooms.
Dr. W. W. Wilkings, the last man killed in a political duel in North Caro-
lina (1857) is buried here. The gravestone of Henry Bacon, also buried here,
was designed by his brother, who copied a pattern of honeysuckle buds that
Henry Bacon had admired in Egypt.
A marble cross marks the Grave of Mrs. Rose O'Neill Greenhow, a
Confederate spy. As a leader in Washington society she obtained and trans-
mitted military information to southern commanders. Her message revealing
the Federal order for McDowell's advance on Manassas is credited with en-
abling Confederates to forestall a surprise attack and win the first battle of
Bull Run. Arrested by Allan Pinkerton, Federal detective, in August 1861,
she was imprisoned until April 1862, when she was sent to Richmond, Va.
While returning from England aboard the Confederate blockade runner
Condor, the ship grounded off New Inlet near Wilmington. Mrs. Greenhow
was sent ashore in a small boat, which capsized in the surf. Weighted with
a belt containing gold coin, she was drowned.
In another grave Capt. William W. Ellerbrook and his dog, Jocho, lie in
the same casket. The dog died in a futile effort to rescue his master from a
burning building.
A simple granite cross bearing the name Nance, marks the grave of Nancy
Martin who was buried in a cask of rum in 1857. To preserve the body when
the girl died at sea her father seated it in a chair and enclosed both in the
liquor.
A monument over the Grave of Lizzie B. Turlington records that she
was "Murdered by W. L. Bingham," her fiance. She and Bingham were deaf
mutes and Miss Turlington was a teacher in the State school for the deaf and
dumb. When she wished to postpone their marriage Bingham persuaded her
to take a ride with him. Her body, found a few days later, was buried here
on Christmas day, 1886. Bingham disappeared and his fate is unknown.
24. In the NATIONAL CEMETERY, Market and 20th Sts., along the
banks of Burnt Mill Creek, are buried 2,400 Union soldiers. Many of the
WILMINGTON 257
bodies were disinterred from battlefields after the war and removed to this
reservation.
25. GREENFIELD PARK, S. end of 3rd St., surrounding Greenfield Lake,
originally a mill pond, has a sunken garden of native flowers. The insectivo-
rous Venus's-flytrap grows here. A playground, bathing beach, and boating
facilities are maintained. Wild fowl find shelter here during the winter
months.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Airlie (azalea gardens), 8 m., Wrightsville Beach, 10 m., Fort Caswell, 35 m. {see
tour ib); Orton Plantation and Ruins of St. Philip's Church at site of Old Brunswick,
16 m. {see tour iC); Castle Hayne (immigrant farm colony), 10 m., Carolina Beach,
15 m., Kures Beach and fishing pier, 19 m., Ethyl-Dow Plant, 20 m., Fort Fisher,
20 m., the Rocks, 21 m., Moore's Creek Battlefield, 31 m. {see tour 29).
WINSTON-SALEM
Railroad Station: Union Station, 300 S. Claremont St., for Southern Ry. and Norfolk &
Western R.R.
Bus Stations: 426 N. Cherry St. for Atlantic Greyhound and Queen City Coach. Pan-
American Bus Lines stop at Zinzendorf Hotel, 233 N. Main St.
Airport: Miller Municipal, 3 m. N. of Courthouse on Liberty St. extension; taxi fare 45^;
no scheduled service.
Taxis: 1 to 4 passengers, 25^.
City Buses: 4 bus lines start at Courthouse Sq.: Duke Power Co., jtf, 4 for 25^; Inde-
pendent (Waughtown line) 10^, 4 for 25^, (Polo and Country Club) 10^, 3 for
25^; Blue Eagle, 5^ within city, 5<? additional outside city limits; Brown's 5$. Safe
Bus Inc. (Negro) stop on Church and 3rd Sts., 5^. Transfers to buses of same line;
no intercompany transfers.
Accommodations: 8 hotels (2 for Negroes); tourist homes, auto camps.
Information Service: Chamber of Commerce and Carolina Motor Club, Robert E. Lee
Hotel building, 5th and Marshall Sts.
Radio Stations: WSJS (1310 kc); WAIR (1250 kc).
Theaters and Motion Picture Houses: R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium, N. Haw-
thorne Rd., lectures, concerts; State Theater, SE. corner Liberty and 5th Sts., motion
pictures and occasional road shows; 6 other motion picture houses (2 for Negroes).
Swimming: City -owned pool in Lligh School Gymnasium, Hanes Park, Northwest Blvd.;
Crystal Lake (outdoor), Reynolda Rd. (US 421), 5 m.; Negro recreational center and
swimming pool, Cameron Ave. and E. 14th St.
Golf: Forsyth County Country Club, Country Club Rd., 1.5 m. W. of city limits, 18
holes, greens fee, $1.50; Hill Crest, 3 m. W. of city limits on US 158, 9 holes, greens
fee, 50$.
Tennis: Municipal courts at various places; call city Recreation for reservation.
Riding: Anderson Riding Academy, Main and 5th Sts. to Polo Rd., 5.4 m.
Skfet Shooting: Forsyth County Gun Club, Cherry St. extension, one block N. of inter-
section with 25th St.; Izaak Walton Skeet Club, Thomasville Rd. (State 109), 4 m.
Baseball: Southside Park, Waughtown St., SE. of Salem Creek and Main St., Piedmont
League (Class B).
Polo: Polo Rd., 0.5 m. W. from US 421, 2 m. beyond city limits; riding horses available.
Annual Events: Moravian Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday; Easter Monday German,
Twin City Club; May Day pageant; Candle Tea, Nov.; Moravian Love Feast and
Candle Service, Christmas Eve; Moravian Watch Night, New Year's Eve.
WINSTON-SALEM (884 alt., 75,274 pop.), in the north-central section of
the North Carolina Piedmont, is the leading industrial city of the State. The
two towns, Winston and Salem, became one municipality in 19 13.
Salem Square is still the heart of Salem; around it stand the first buildings,
bearing witness in their dignity of design and the beauty of their stone and
brick masonry to the patience and craftsmanship of their builders. Salem's
streets are lined with arching trees; its houses, built in rows flush with the
sidewalk, have plain exteriors and dormers with small glass panes. The For-
syth County Courthouse is the center of Winston. Nearby is the business
258
WINSTON-SALEM 259
district, dominated by the 22-story Reynolds office building, a set-back sky-
scraper of vigorous design, and the 18-story Nissen Building. Winston's
streets are comfortably wide and the houses are well set back.
East of the city hall and extending north beyond the courthouse, the
tobacco factories lie in solid masses, block upon block, with here and there
a textile mill. Here the pungent odor of tobacco and the whirring rattle of
spindles and looms furnish a dominant note.
The newer homes of the wealthy are in suburbs such as Buena Vista and
the Country Club section; in West Highlands, Southside, and Ardmore
within the city limits. Many of the older families live in ancestral homes in
Salem. To the north and east are crowded unpainted shacks, housing the
bulk of the city's large Negro population, 42 percent of the total. Between
these extremes are hundreds of homes of well-to-do whites and prosperous,
educated Negroes. Along East 14th Street is a half-mile of Negro homes
with neat premises and front yards adorned with shrubbery and flowers. A
few fine houses are in this group.
The Negroes of the city have their own schools, churches, hospital, Y.M.
and Y.W.C.A., library facilities, and professional and cultural activities.
Many are employed in the Reynolds Tobacco Company in which a number of
them own stock. Negroes operate an insurance company, a large bus business,
and a weekly newspaper. The Twin City Glee Club and the Smith Glee Club
are talented Negro singing groups, composed for the most part of factory
workers. The Winston-Salem Teachers College is developing choral music,
chiefly Negro spirituals.
The minutely accurate records of the first Moravian settlers hold the key
to an understanding of the modern city. In January 1753, a small party of
Moravians from Bethlehem, Pa., led by Bishop August Gottlieb Spangen-
burg, in their search for desirable land for a settlement, reached "the three
forks of Muddy Creek," where they found a fertile country of forested hills.
From Lord Granville, the only one of the Lords Proprietors who had kept
his share of Carolina, the Moravians bought 98,985 acres and called the tract
"der Wachau," for the Austrian estate belonging to ancestors of Count
Zinzendorf, patron of the Moravian Church. The name became Wachovia
when the English language was employed. The deed was made to James
Hutton of London "in trust for the Unitas Fratrum," as the Moravians were
called. To finance their settlements they organized a land company in which
each stockholder received 2,000 acres and bore his proportionate share of the
expense of colonization.
On Oct. 8, 1753, 12 settlers set out on foot from Bethlehem with three
guides who later returned. The records show that they were chosen for use-
fulness in a pioneer community. The little band arrived at the Wachovia
tract on Nov. 17, 1753, and stopped where there was an abandoned cabin
and meadowland that could be cultivated for a quick yield of necessary
food. For this shelter and their safety they "rejoiced heartily," holding their
first Carolina Love Feast, or fellowship meeting. Thus was founded the first
setdement, Bethabara, House of Passage, sometimes known as Oldtown
{see tour 25), 354 miles from the present Winston-Salem.
They were welcome in a country that lacked ministers, doctors, and skilled
26(5 CITIES AND TOWNS
craftsmen. Where scattered settlers were of different religious faiths, the
Moravians held fast to their own church customs. On New Year's Eve, they
observed Watch Night by reading the Memorabilia, or annual record of com-
munity and world events. Love Feasts were occasions for rejoicing and the
remembrance of friends. The Easter Sunrise Service proclaimed the Chris-
tian's triumph over the grave. Nor would they do without musical instru-
ments even in the crude surroundings of Bethabara. Soon after their arrival
a wooden trumpet was made from a hollowed limb. Later they brought French
horns, trombones, a violin, and even an organ.
In spite of hardships, the Bethabara settlement, enlarged by families from
Pennsylvania and from Europe, grew and prospered. In 1758 Indian alarms
drove the settlers of scattered farms into Bethabara for food and protection.
Crowded conditions, which led to an epidemic of typhus, and the desire
of some to discard the communal system led to the founding of a new
settlement, Bethania, in 1759 {see tour 25), 6 miles from the present city.
When the Wachovia tract was bought, a town was planned at the center
of it. Tradition says the name Salem, meaning "peace," was selected by
Count Zinzendorf before he died in 1760. On a bitter cold January day in
1766, 12 men went to the new town site, on a hill above a creek, and began
cutting logs for the first house, singing hymns as they worked. This cabin
stood until 1907; its heavy door and stairsteps are on exhibition in the
Wachovia Museum.
By the fall of 1771, Salem had several family houses and community
buildings. Civil and religious affairs were under the supervision of congre-
gation boards whose control was facilitated by a lease system. No lots in
Salem were sold outright, but were leased for one year subject to renewal
as long as the tenant was satisfactory.
Bishop John Michael Graff's diary gives an account of Revolutionary days
in Salem. Some members claimed exemption from military service on the
grounds of conscientious objections. Heavy fines and threefold taxes were
collected in lieu of service. A legislative act confirmed the validity of their
property titles, endangered by the Confiscation Act of 1777. The years 1780
and '81 were particularly trying. Detachments of Continentals poured into
Wachovia for supplies. Although the Moravians raised no troops, they fur-
nished aid to the patriots, and Traugott Bagge, a Salem merchant, acted as
a purchasing agent for the army in this section. After the Battle of Kings
Mountain {see tour 31c) British prisoners were brought to the settlement,
chiefly to Bethabara. Whigs engaged a party of Tories at Shallow Ford, 10
miles west of Salem, in 1780. Cornwallis came this way in pursuit of Greene,
spending the night of Mar. 16, 1781 in Bethania, where the British de-
stroyed much property, then passed through Salem. President Washington
visited Salem in 1791 and was lodged at the new tavern. He and his secre-
tary, with Governor Martin, attended a Moravian singing meeting "to their
great edification." Washington inspected the town, "seeming especially
pleased with the waterworks."
Matthew Micksch was the first tobacconist, opening a "shop for tobacco"
in 1773. In 1828 John Christian Blum established a printing shop and began
publication of his famous Almanac. Probably the earliest wool-carding ma-
WINSTON-SALEM 26l
chinery in the State was that introduced by Vaneman Zevely in 1815. In
1836, as agent for the Salem Cotton Manufacturing Company, Francis Fries
built the first cotton mill in the town. He began business on his own account
in 1840 with a small wool-carding establishment, and in 1849 he and his
brother operated a wool and cotton mill.
When Forsyth County was formed in 1849, Salem lay near the center
of it and was the natural choice for a courthouse site. The congregation
agreed to sell land just north of Salem for a county town on condition that
the courthouse should be placed on the crest of a hill and that the streets
of the new town should be continuous with the streets of Salem. For two
years the county seat had no separate designation, but in 1851 the legislature
named the new community for Maj. Joseph Winston of Kings Mountain
fame. During the building of the courthouse, the Forsyth courts were per-
mitted to meet in the Salem Concert Hall on condition that no whipping
posts be placed within the town limits. In 1854 tne pl an k road to Fayetteville,
120 miles long, was completed.
Salem was incorporated by the assembly of 1856-57; Winston by the
assembly of 1859. Incorporation marked the separation of town and church
affairs in Salem. After Winston became the county seat it attracted residents
from the North Carolina Piedmont, Virginia, and elsewhere who built mills
and factories. As the members of denominations other than Moravian in-
creased they erected their own churches.
At the outbreak of the War between the States the younger generation
of Moravians, free from scruples against bearing arms, enlisted with their
neighbors. The Forsyth Rifles were uniformed by Francis Fries. Wachovia
saw Union soldiers only when Stoneman's raid reached Salem, and when
the 10th Ohio Calvary was quartered there after the war. At that time F. and
H. Fries woolen goods and Nissen wagons were widely known, but gradu-
ally the tobacco industry assumed first place, the first tobacco factory and
the Winston-Salem Tobacco Market opening in 1872. R. J. Reynolds built
his first tobacco factory in 1875 and in the same year the Western North
Carolina R.R. began serving the town. This was followed by rapid expan-
sion as new factories were started and banking and commercial firms
sprang up to meet the requirements of the growing community.
Winston-Salem is the center of the State's largest banking organization,
a trading point for a large section of the Piedmont, and the home of six-
score industries with an annual production valued at $300,000,000.
Calvin Henderson Wiley (1819-87), first State superintendent of schools
in North Carolina (1853-65), spent many years in the city, and assisted in
founding its graded-school system. Largely through his efforts the perma-
nent public school endowment was not touched for military purposes during
the War between the States.
The present local bands are developed from trombone bands that played
at Moravian festivals long before the Revolution. The largest is the band of
the Home Moravian Church with 150 members; its leader, Bernard J. Pfohl,
has been with the organization since 1879. The Mozart Club, organized in
1932, founded a loan fund for music students. The Civic Music Association
arranges concerts by talented artists. Salem College annually presents a May
262 CITIES AND TOWNS
Day pageant, and at commencement time the School of Music gives a pro-
gram of choral and orchestral music.
POINTS OF INTEREST
1. The COFFEE POT, SW. corner S. Main and Belew Sts., was erected
in 1857 by Julius Mickey as a sign for his tin shop. The pot with its support
is 16 feet 10 inches high. Tradition relates that a Confederate soldier hid
within the pot during the raid by Stoneman's Federal troops.
2. The BELO HOUSE {private), 455 S. Main St., built in 1849 by Edward
Belo as a store and residence, is well preserved. The three-story structure was
once a center of social and commercial life, but has been converted into an
apartment house. The weatherboarded central bay is recessed between
brick wings, and the whole is painted white. A pedimented Corinthian portico
rises to the full height of the Main Street fagade, shielding a roofed second-
story balcony supported by smaller columns of similar design and guarded
by an elaborate cast-iron grille. The severity of the walls is relieved by the
dull black of the shingled roof and three long rows of green-shuttered small-
paned windows. Street-level paneled doors open into the ground floor, which
served for the mercantile establishment; the north wing housed the clerks.
The family occupied the south wing which faces a higher level on Bank
Street. Here the two-story fagade is marked by a pedimented Corinthian
portico and a second-story balcony with an ornate grille. Terraces descend
to the Main Street corner. On the broad stone facings of the retaining wall
are the heavy cast-iron figures of two dogs and a lion.
3. The SALEM LAND OFFICE BUILDING {private), SE. corner S.
Main and Bank Sts., was erected in 1797 as the office and home of the
church warden, who administered all town affairs, including the sale of
land. Now a residence, it is one of the finest examples of early Salem architec-
ture. Flush with the sidewalk, its first-floor walls are of stone, some of the
blocks being more than 8 feet long and 6 inches thick, taken from a quarry
north of the town; the second floor is of hand-made brick. Most of the
joists are held together by wooden pegs; its nails were hammered out on
the blacksmith's anvil. Sprawling hinges extend across the front door, whose
heavy lock and great key were made by Lewis Eberhardt, early Salem lock-
smith. In 1876 the lower floor was made into offices for the congregational
and provisional secretaries.
4. The HOUSE OF THE COMMUNITY PHYSICIAN {private), 463 S.
Church St., built in 1800, is a well-preserved three-story building of red,
hand-made brick. Its numerous small-paned windows are set closely together
in regular rows. This was the residence of Dr. Vierling, early Salem physi-
cian, whose amputating saw and other instruments are in the museum of
the Wachovia Historical Society.
5. The MORAVIAN GRAVEYARD, entrance by way of Cedar Ave.,
known throughout the South as "God's Acre," was consecrated in 1771.
WINSTON-SALEM 263
Five wooden arches inscribed with quotations from the Bible lead into the
graveyard. The field is divided into square plots, surrounded by wide paths.
To the north are the graves of married women; east of these are single
women, girls, and female infants; south are married men, and east of these
single men and male children. The uniformity of the white marble markers
lying flat on the ground is intended as a reminder that "in death all are
equal."
6. The HENRY LINEBACK HOUSE {private), 508 S. Main St., built
in 1822 and later occupied by Henry Lineback, a photographer, is a one-
and-a-half-story clapboarded dwelling with two large dormers and a chim-
ney of hand-made brick. The symmetrical, five-bay facade has a plain door-
way with simple molded trim, a dark paneled Dutch door, and a four-light
transom. The original design has been altered by an addition on the north
side.
7. The WINKLER BAKERY, 527 S. Main St., occupied by a tearoom, was
erected about 1800 and for a century operated by the Winkler family. The
main floor was used for the bakery, the second floor as the family residence.
In 1936 a stoop entrance replaced a porch which extended over the side-
walk. Otherwise the building, its first story of uncut stone and the second
of hand-made brick, remains unaltered.
8. The MUSEUM OF THE WACHOVIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
{open by appointment; W. /. Hall, custodian, 4 E. Ban\ St.), NE. corner
S. Main and Academy Sts., maintained Jby the Wachovia Historical Society,
was erected in 1794 and occupied until 1896 by a boys school. The building
has two stories and an attic. The basement and first story are of stone,
covered with stucco, and the superstructure is of hand-made brick, laid in
Key to Winston-Salem Map
1. The Coffee Pot. 2. The Belo House. 3. The Salem Land Office Building. 4. The
House of the Community Physician. 5. The Moravian Graveyard. 6. The Henry Line-
back House. 7. The Winkler Bakery. 8. The Museum of the Wachovia Historical
Society. 9. The Brothers House. 10. The Home Moravian Church. 11. Salem Col-
lege. 12. The Community Store. 13. The John Vogler House. 14. The Blum House.
15. The Christian Reich House. 16. The Salem Tavern. 17. The Chimney House.
18. The Brown-Williamson Tobacco Factory. 19. The R. J. Reynolds Office Building.
20. The R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Plant. 21. The P. H. Hanes Knitting Plant. 22. The
Tobacco Warehouses. 23. The Nissen Building. 24. The Journal and Sentinel Building.
25. The Centenary Methodist Church. 26. The Richard J. Reynolds Memorial Audi-
torium. 27. The Chatham Manufacturing Plant. 28. The Winston-Salem Teachers Col-
lege. 29. The Nissen Wagon Plant.
a. Courthouse, b. City Hall. c. Central Park. d. Twin City Athletic Park. e. Wash-
ington Park. f. Waterworks, g. Union Station, h. Fair Grounds. 1. Airport, k. Post
Office, l. Chamber of Commerce, m. Bus Station, n. P. H. Hanes Park. o. Polo
Field, p. Crystal Lake. q. Runnymede Iris Park. r. Forsyth County Golf Course.
s. Hill Crest Golf Course, t. Municipal Stadium.
266 CITIES AND TOWNS
Flemish bond. The severity of its five-bay facade is relieved only by the
graceful, segmental arched headings of the window openings and by a
wrought-iron lamp above the simple six-paneled door. Above the door is a
four-light transom. The gable roof of hand-made tile is broken by two end
chimneys. The house has an old oven, a vaulted cellar room, and a winding
staircase to the third floor. The museum contains the first fire engine used
in Salem; a printing press used in Hillsboro before 1776 and brought to
Salem by John C. Blum; a carriage driven from Salem to New York in
1825; a Self-Portrait painted by Thomas Sully in 1837 for Daniel Welfare
of Salem; tools used in constructing the town's first waterworks; old musical
instruments; household equipment; early surgical instruments, uniforms,
weapons, and flags. In 1937 the old museum building was augmented by the
addition of a new hall of history on the north.
9. The BROTHERS HOUSE {private), SW. corner S. Main and Academy
Sts., was built in two units, the clapboarded portion in 1768, being one of
the oldest standing. structures in Salem, and the brick in 1786. The building
has two stories in front on the Main Street side and three stories in the rear.
Its two arch-hooded doorways, shuttered windows, and hand-wrought guard-
rails are typical of old Salem architecture. The steeply pitched gable roof is
broken by two tiers of dormer windows and three chimneys with hooded
tops. Originally occupied by the unmarried men of the Unitas Fratrum, it
has been used during recent years as a home for widows and unmarried
women belonging to the Home Moravian Church, and is sometimes referred
to as the Widows House. Here each year are made the small slender wax
candles used at the Christmas Love Feast. Candles are made at a candle
tea, given in November by the Moravian women in Colonial dress. Formerly
there was a spring back of the Brothers House and a marker records that
Cornwallis' soldiers drank from its waters.
10. The HOME MORAVIAN CHURCH, 529 S. Church St., like the oldest
Moravian church in North Carolina (Bethabara), is notable for its beautiful
brick masonry of simple design, its massive proportions, and for the char-
acteristic architectural features of the exterior — the arch-hooded doorway, the
long many-paned arched windows on the front facade, the octagonal cupola
with its open arcade and onion-shaped dome, the latter topped with a sphere
and weather vane, and the fine cove cornice on the two long sides. A small
wing with hooded doorway extends to the right.
The cornerstone of the building was laid in 1798, and the dedication took
place two years later. Bachman came from Lititz, Pa., to install the first
organ. A clock in the front gable, operated by stone weights, was made by
Abraham Durninger and Sons, Herrnhut, Germany, and in 1791 was in-
stalled in a tower on the square, where the bell had been placed in 1772.
Clock and bell were installed in the church while the building was under
construction. The clock still strikes the hours and quarter-hours. The interior
of the church has been rebuilt and the original plan has been enlarged.
Standing upon the stone stoop at the entrance, the bishop each year con-
ducts the Easter Sunrise Service of the Moravian Church, to which thou-
WINSTON-SALEM 267
sands of visitors come. This service, the most widely known of Moravian
customs, originated in Herrnhut in 1732, when young men of the congrega-
tion assembled in the graveyard before dawn for an hour of prayer and song
in celebration of the Resurrection. They acted upon their own initiative,
but the following year the Moravian Church adopted the service. Count Zin-
zendorf, chief official of the church, introduced instrumental music into the
service, an unusual practice in Protestant churches at that time. The first
Moravian Sunrise Service in North Carolina was held at Bethabara in 1758.
The first Sunrise Service in the graveyard at Salem took place in 1773 at the
grave of John Birkhead, a British soldier.
The Moravians commemorate the birth of Jesus with Love Feasts in the
Home Church on Christmas Eve. A service for children is held at 4:30, and
another at 7:30 is for the adult congregation. A group of women in white
distribute buns from baskets, and men serve mugs of coffee. Then the choir
sings an anthem and the congregation "breaks bread together as one Chris-
tian family." After an address, candles are distributed, and during the
closing hymn they are held aloft by the congregation, symbolizing "the com-
bined light of individuals who let their light so shine, even as Jesus came as
a light into the world."
On New Year's Eve the Bishop of the Southern Province reads the
Memorabilia, or summary of the closing year's events, from the pulpit of
the Home Moravian Church. This record is drawn from daily diaries kept
by the minister of each congregation; from accounts of local and national
events; from minutes of the various church boards, church registers, and
biographies read at funerals. Wars, politics, the state of the weather, fashions,
and the homely details of daily living have all been faithfully preserved since
1753, with the result that these records constitute a valuable and authentic
historical source. Until 1856 they were written in German, but a full trans-
lation to the end of 1783 exists in Records of the Moravians in North Caro-
lina, edited by Dr. Adelaide L. Fries, archivist of the Moravian Church in
America, Southern Province. When the clock in the gable peals the hour
of midnight, the instruments of the band outside announce the New Year.
Since 1771 this tune has been the same: 147-A, Marenzo:
Now thank we all our God,
With heart and hands and voices.
11. SALEM COLLEGE (nonsectarian), Church St. facing Salem Sq., one
of the oldest schools for women in the State, is owned and operated by the
Moravian Church. In 1772 a day school was opened, offering instruction in
French, German, music, drawing, painting, and fine needlework, as well as
in arithmetic, history, and other academic subjects. Reorganized in 1802,
with a boarding school to accommodate many outside students not of the
Moravian faith, it became Salem Female Academy, and later Salem College.
It offers a premedical course and opportunity for training in social and
domestic sciences. The student body in the college usually numbers about
350. The associate preparatory school, Salem Academy, on a hill east of the
campus, has about 80 students.
The college buildings {open during school hours unless otherwise noted),
268 CITIES AND TOWNS
on a 50-acre campus, are designed in the characteristic German-Moravian
style, based upon the 18th-century architecture of middle Europe. The more
recently constructed buildings have/ been designed to conform to the style
and plan of the original Salem structures.
The College Office Building, corner Church and Academy Sts.,
was completed in 1810 and first served as home of the Inspector of Salem
Female Academy. The one-and-a-half-story brick structure has a wide, arch-
hooded doorway approached by a double flight of stone steps. The arched
transom above the door is filled with delicate tracery. Two white-trimmed
double-hung windows on both sides have arched brick headings and dark
louvered shutters. A fine cove cornice carries the overhang of the eaves. The
tile roof is pierced with four gabled dormers. Beneath the structure is a
stone-paved cellar. In Memorial Hall is an organ whose specifications were
prepared by Harry A. Shirley (1865-1928), former dean of the School of
Music. Main Hall, used for classes, is designed with a large white Doric
portico, supported by four columns. The bases and steps are of hewn granite.
South Hall, south of Main Hall, was erected in 1803-4 f° r tne boarding
school. Adjoining South Hall is the building known as the Sisters House,
occupied by the college faculty. Completed in 1786, this well-proportioned
structure, of hand-made clay brick laid in Flemish bond, has dormer win-
dows, tile roof, and floors of wide plank and stone. Here the single sisters
lived and worked at their spinning and weaving. The Salem College
Library {open during school term 8 a.m.-io p.m. weekdays, 2-5 Sun.),
dedicated in 1938, is of modified late Georgian Colonial architecture. The
exterior harmonizes with its adjacent neighbor on Salem Square, the Sisters
House. Several paintings and old music manuscripts are included in the
library collection.
12. The COMMUNITY STORE (private), NW. corner S. Main and West
Sts., served as a center of trade during the period 1775-1817. The size of the
building is unchanged but the front has been altered. The exterior, of
uncut stuccoed stone, has dormers and square, small-paned windows.
13. The JOHN VOGLER HOUSE (private), 700 S. Main St., was erected
in 1819 by John Vogler, a silversmith and cabinetmaker. This sturdy, three-
story building of red, hand-made brick, standing flush with the sidewalk,
is well preserved. The windows are narrow and small-paned and the usual
dormers are omitted.
14. The BLUM HOUSE (private), 724 S. Main St., built in 1 815, is a plain,
two-story frame structure, with two rows of close, narrow-paned windows
and solid wooden blinds. Adjoining front doors lead to different parts of
the building. The south door was the entrance to Blum's residence, the
north door opened upon the book shop. His print shop occupied a frame
building in the rear that was torn down several years ago. Since 1828,
when John Christian Blum bought a second-hand Washington hand press
and began to publish Blum's Almanac, the publication has ranked second
only to the Bible in literary popularity with thousands of Tar Heel agricul-
turists who have tilled and planted upon its advice. Not one issue has been
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WINSTON -SALEM 269
missed in 1 1 1 years. The original front-page design and wood-cut illustrations
that embellished the first copies are still used although the Almanac issues
from a modern plant at 218 North Main Street.
15. The CHRISTIAN REICH HOUSE {private), NE. corner S. Main
and Blum Sts., was built in 1792 by John George Ebert, who sold it to Scho-
bar, who in turn sold it to Christian Reich for use as a home and tin shop.
Reich's tools are preserved in the museum of the Wachovia Historical Society.
The frame structure with thick, clapboarded walls, was on the verge of
collapse when a program of restoration was begun in 1938. The two-and-a-
half-story gabled home is notable for its pedimented entrance portico.
16. The SALEM TAVERN {private), 800 S. Main St., was built in 1784
by Abraham Loesch, replacing an older frame structure erected in 1772 and
burned in 1784. George Washington was entertained here in 1791. The mas-
sive three-story brick structure is raised a half story above the sidewalk.
Across the front is a two-story gallery porch with white latticed railings and
square wooden posts at each level. The porch is covered with a lean-to roof.
The broad gable roof of the main structure is pierced with a simple, gabled
dormer on the front.
17. The CHIMNEY HOUSE {open 8-5 weekdays; adm. 25$), 113 W.
Walnut St., was built by Abraham Loesch in 1789 and named for the huge,
twisting, central chimney of local stone. The house is of hand-hewn logs
but was weatherboarded about 1800. The doors have hand-made iron latches
and hinges, no two being of the same type. The house contains a collection
of old china, furniture, and household effects.
18. The BROWN-WILLIAMSON TOBACCO CO. FACTORY {open on
application at office), NW. and SW. corners 1st and Liberty Sts., manufac-
tures smoking and chewing tobaccos. The plant includes five buildings with
125,000 feet of floor space, and employs 950 persons.
19. The R. J. REYNOLDS OFFICE BUILDING (1928-29), by Shreve,
Lamb, and Harmon, designers of the Empire State Building, NE. corner N.
Main and 4th Sts., 22 stories, is the tallest structure in North Carolina with
the pinnacle of its tower 315 feet above street level. An Observation Tower
{open 8-12:30, 1:30-5, Mon.-Fri.) gives a view of the entire city and its en-
virons. From a distance the building has the appearance of a fluted column,
crowned by a stepped pyramid. Floodlighted at night, the tower is an out-
standing landmark in the city.
20. The R. J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO. PLANT {portions of factory
open on application igth floor Reynolds office building; guides) occupies
10 city blocks from 1st to 6th Sts., and between Main and Linden Sts. The
company manufactures cigarettes, smoking and chewing tobacco, and oper-
ates its own tinfoil factory. In the Camel cigarette plant great banks of
machinery shred the tobacco and feed it into other machines that wrap, cut,
and package the cigarettes at the rate of several thousand per minute. The
process is automatic, even to the placing of cellophane wrappers and revenue
270 CITIES AND TOWNS
stamps, though inspectors watch for and eliminate any defective materials.
The process is likewise automatic in the Prince Albert smoking tobacco fac-
tory, including the making of tin containers, sealing, stamping, and final
packing.
The plant, which started in 1875 in one small frame building, occupies
129 acres of floor space, employs 13,000 persons, and ships 100 standard
cars of tobacco products each week. Forty-three billion cigarettes were
manufactured in 1936. Seventy-five tobacco sheds are in the northern part
of the city. Because of the heavy importation of Turkish tobacco, and of
cigarette papers from France, Winston-Salem, 250 miles from the sea, is
the ninth port of entry in the United States.
21. The P. H. HANES KNITTING PLANT (open on application at
office; guides), N. Main St. between 6th and 7th Sts., manufactures men's
and boys' underwear. The company operates six factory units, three here
and three in Hanes, N. C. In the latter the raw cotton is manufactured into
yarn; the Winston-Salem units turn the yarn into finished products. Auto-
matic knitting machinery carries on the process of manufacture. About 2,500
persons, most of them skilled operatives, are employed in the plants.
22. The TOBACCO WAREHOUSES (open in season), between 5th,
Trade, Liberty, and 9th Sts., are humming centers of activity from the first
Monday in October until the middle of February, as the Old Belt flue-cured
tobacco of this section is brought in for sale. Each of the warehouses covers
an acre or more. As much as a million pounds is sold in a single day from
10 warehouses, nearly 60,000,000 pounds being an average season's turnover.
23. The NISSEN BUILDING, SW. corner 4 th and Cherry Sts., designed
by W. L. Stoddard, is 18 stories high and was completed in 1927. Built of
buff brick laid in Flemish bond, the mass is relieved by granite, marble, and
limestone facings. This structure was financed by a business that can be
traced back to 1787, when the first Nissen wagon was built.
24. The JOURNAL AND SENTINEL BUILDING (open on application
at office), 420 N. Marshall St., designed by Harold Macklin, was con-
structed in 1927. The style is in keeping with the simplicity of the old
German Moravian architecture. The design of the cupola on the roof and
the Palladian window in the front and center of the second story are based
upon those of Independence Hall, Philadelphia.
25. The CENTENARY METHODIST CHURCH, W. 5th St. between
Poplar and Spring Sts. (1931), designed by Mayer, Murray, and Phillip,
is a massive yet simple stone structure of modified Gothic design. Over the
wide-arched entrance, slightly recessed, is a traceried window with a carved
limestone facing. On both sides of the entrance the walls are fashioned into
huge square tower-like masses which rise to the pointed arch that surmounts
the central portion of the front facade. The plan of the building is cruciform
with transepts flanking both sides of the long nave. There are three galleries,
one over each transept and one over the narthex. Nine Gothic lancet win-
dows rise above the apse.
WINSTON -SALEM T]\
26. The RICHARD J. REYNOLDS MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM (open
for school assemblies, entertainments, etc.), N. Hawthorne Rd. (1924),
designed by Charles Barton Keene, was the gift of Mrs. Katherine S.
Reynolds. It was erected as a memorial to her husband, Richard J. Reynolds,
founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Standing on an eminence
known as Silver Hill, the auditorium is connected by a walkway with the
Reynolds High School and the Music Building. The structure seats 1,030
on the main floor and 1,087 m tne balcony. Six huge Corinthian columns
of Indiana limestone support the roof of the portico. The structure, of
modified Georgian Colonial design, is built of red brick with limestone cor-
nices and trim. In the lobby are two marble statues, the Discus Thrower
and the Wrestlers, made in Florence, Italy, and given to the high school by
a citizen of Winston-Salem.
27. The CHATHAM MANUFACTURING CO. PLANT (open on ap-
plication at office), Chatham Rd. between R.R. tracks and Northwest Blvd.,
is the largest producer of woolen blankets in the United States. These are
manufactured in the company plants at Elkin (see tour 16), and finished
here. Most of the wool used is from the mountains of Tennessee, Virginia,
and North Carolina, although some is imported.
28. The WINSTON-SALEM TEACHERS COLLEGE (Negro, coeduca-
tional), at the end of Wallace St. facing Bruce and Slater Sts., occupying a
55-acre campus with seven brick buildings, is a Grade-A college for the train-
ing of Negro elementary teachers. The institution is a monument to the
perseverance of Dr. S. G. Atkins who resigned the superintendency of the
Negro schools in Winston-Salem in 1892 to found the Slater Industrial
Academy. At first designed to teach Negro boys and girls the manual arts
and home economics, it was recognized by the State in 1895, and in 1897
was chartered as the Slater Industrial and State Normal School. The State
assumed full control in 1905. A new charter issued in 1925 changed the name
to Winston-Salem Teachers College. The B.S. degree in education is con-
ferred. The faculty numbers 22 and the student enrollment is 550. A 15-acre
tract is used for growing truck and farm crops.
29. The NISSEN WAGON PLANT (open Mon.-Fri.; guides on applica-
tion to office), 1539 Waughtown St., is the successor of the factory estab-
lished in Salem in 1787 by George E. Nissen. Except for fire and reorganiza-
tion the business has operated continuously since that time, making prairie
schooners for emigrants to the West and wagons used in three wars. Still
employing white oak and hickory, though using modern machinery, the
firm produces about 2,500 wagons a year.
POINTS OF INTEREST IN ENVIRONS
Friedberg Church, 7 m., Adam Spach House, 8 m. (see tour 15); Hanes, 2 m.
{see tour 24); Reynolda Estate, 2 m., Bethabara Church, 3.5 m., Bethania, 6 m.,
Korner's Folly, 11m. (see tour 25).
Part III
TOURS
TOUR
(Portsmouth, Va.) — Elizabeth City — Edenton — Williamston — Washington
— New Bern — Wilmington — (Myrtle Beach, S. C); US 17.
Virginia Line — South Carolina Line, 285 m.
The Norfolk Southern R.R. parallels route between Moyock and Edenton, and between
Washington and New Bern; the Atlantic Coast Line R.R. between New Bern and
Wilmington; the Wilmington, Brunswick & Southern between Wilmington and Southport.
Roadbed paved throughout except on portions of side routes. Hotel accommodations in
cities and larger towns; few tourist accommodations between towns.
Section a. VIRGINIA LINE to WILLIAMSTON; 87 m. US 17
US 17 runs through the ancient Albemarle region, passing level stretches of
truck farms, penetrating dense swamps, crossing picturesque bridges, and
skirting the great indentations of coastal sounds and broad river estuaries.
The section is famous for duck hunting and sport fishing.
Possession of the section was wrested from the Indians by the English.
Troublous times marked the regime of the Lords Proprietors (1 663-1 729)
and that of the Crown (1729-76). Pirates sailed the sounds and rivers spread-
ing terror in their wake. There was fighting here during both the Revolution
and the War between the States.
The counties north of Albemarle Sound were long referred to as the
Lost Provinces because of the difficulty of communication with the rest of
the State. A network of modern highways, connected over the numerous
inland waters by bridges, causeways, and ferries, has opened up formerly
isolated areas.
Almost all the people of the section are native-born. Families take pride
in their descent from early settlers, and many trace their ancestry to the 17th
century when this was the scene of the first permanent settlements in the
State. Though some towns give the impression that their people live largely
in the past, others are frankly new and modern.
US 17 (the Ocean Highway) crosses the North Carolina Line 19
miles south of Portsmouth, Va. (see va. tour 6), following the banks of
the Dismal Swamp Canal from Deep Creek, Va. Between Deep Creek
and South Mills, N. C, the route is known as the George Washington
Highway.
The GREAT DISMAL SWAMP has been reduced by drainage from
2,200 to 750 square miles. It is 30 miles long north to south and varies in
width. With its northern border a little south of Norfolk, Va., the swamp
covers parts of Norfolk and Nansemond Counties in that State and in North
275
276 TOURS
Carolina extends through portions of Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, and
Gates Counties. The swamp was named by Col. William Byrd of Virginia,
a member of the 1728 expedition that charted the dividing line between the
two Colonies. Byrd's Description of the Dismal with proposal to drain it,
written about 1730, says:
. . . the ground of this swamp is a meer quagmire, trembling under the
feet of those that walk upon it. . . . Towards the south end of it, is a very
large tract of reeds without any trees at all growing amongst them which
being constantly green and waving in the wind is called the Green Sea. . . .
Near the middle of the Dismal the trees grow thicker — the cypresses as well
as the cedars. These being always green and loded with very large tops, are
much exposed to the winds, and easily blown down. ... By these the pas-
sage is in most places interrupted, they lying piled in heaps and horsing on
one another; nor is this all for the snags left on them point every way, and
require the utmost caution to clamber over them. 'Tis remarkable that, to-
wards the heart of this horrible desart, no beast or bird approaches, nor so
much as an insect or reptile. This must happen not so much from the moisture
of the soil, as from the everlasting shade occationed by the thick shrubbs
and bushes, so that the friendly warmth of the sun can never penetrate them
to warm the earth. Nor indeed do any birds fly over it . . . for fear of
the noisome exhalations that rise from this vast body of dirt and nasti-
ness. . . . With all these disadvantages the Dismal is in many places pleasant
to the eye, though disagreeable to the other sences, because of the perpetual
verdure, which makes every season look like spring, and every month
like May.
George Washington, who with Fielding Lewis and others, surveyed the
swamp in 1763, described the region as a "paradise." Washington became
one of the stockholders in the company which hoped to reclaim the land
and to provide transportation facilities between Hampton Roads in Virginia
and the rivers and sounds of North Carolina. The Dismal Swamp Canal,
dug by Negro slaves although authorized by the legislature, was constructed
(1790-1822) by private subscription. The Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal
also connects Albemarle Sound with Chesapeake Bay.
In the dense forests of bald cypress, black gum, and juniper, the sunlight
filters down upon a tangle of woodbine and honeysuckle. Game is still
plentiful, especially in the almost inaccessible Coldwater Ditch section, where
bear, deer, opossum, and raccoon occur. The swamp is also a haven for
many species of birds, among them the rare ivory-billed woodpecker. In
summer the canal bank is a mass of honeysuckle, reeds, myrtle, and Virginia
creeper.
Fire and ax have made ruthless attacks on the swamp without materially
altering it. It is virtually an unbroken wilderness, owned by lumber com-
panies who operate sawmills along the borders. There are miles of scattered
clearings where the peat has burned down 8 or 10 feet to the sand and clay.
After a fire in 1923 had destroyed 150 square miles of swamp timber, peat-
land continued to burn until 1926. Lightning, sparks from a log train, or the
carelessness of a smoker can start a fire that will smolder for months.
TOUR I 277
LAKE DRUMMOND, connected with the canal by the 3-mile Feeder
Ditch, is a fresh-water lake in the heart of the swamp. Although on the
Virginia side, it is named for William Drummond, first Governor of North
Carolina (1663-67), who supposedly discovered it. The Irish poet, Thomas
Moore, visited the lake in 1803 and wrote a melancholy ballad, the Lake of
the Dismal Swamp.
The swamp water, colored by the leachings of gum, cypress, maple, and
juniper, resembles old Madeira wine. Pure juniper water is considered de-
licious and healthful, and was once carried by ships on long sea voyages.
Juniper tea, made from steeped cedar "straw," was once a common beverage
in swamp lumber camps and was believed to give immunity from malaria.
Legend has endowed the Dismal with imaginary terrors. Stories of ghosts,
savages, moonshiners, desperate fugitives, poisonous plants, and stealthy
serpents once kept all but the most intrepid from penetrating its inner depths,
though it was long a favorite refuge of runaway slaves. In reality, treacherous
quicksands are probably the most serious danger to the unwary traveler.
On the Virginia-North Carolina Line, m., is the Site of the Halfway
House. Built about 1800, half in North Carolina and half in Virginia, the
house was a stagecoach stop. There was much gambling in the taproom and
the place was notorious as a dueling ground and hide-out. Fugitives from
Virginia rested as contentedly on the North Carolina side as did North
Carolina fugitives on the Virginia side. An unsupported legend is that while
visiting here Edgar Allen Poe wrote the Raven.
SOUTH MILLS, 8 m. (8 alt., 404 pop.), was formerly named Old Leb-
anon. A 120-foot drawbridge crosses the canal near the locks. South Mills
is known as a Gretna Green; local magistrates actively compete for the trade.
Left from South Mills on graded State 343 to SAWYERS' LANE BATTLEFIELD,
3 m., scene of an engagement, Apr. 19, 1862, between Union and Confederate troops.
Breastworks and trenches remain.
At 10 m. is the junction with paved State 30.
Right on State 30 the highway penetrates a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp which,
at 7 m., presents an appearance of desolation. In places gaunt dead cypress masts rise
above thick, gray underbrush; in others the boggy surface is littered with charred logs
and stumps.
GATESVILLE, 25 m. (27 alt., 225 pop.), is the seat of Gates County, named in 1780
for Revolutionary Gen. Horatio Gates. Here is annually held the Fishermen's (February)
Court {3rd Mon. in Feb.), which developed, after slaves had been freed, as a day on
which Negro labor was employed for the fishing season. When the hiring was over, the
ensuing celebration at times became an orgy of drunkenness and gambling. Free liquor
flowed from barrels on the hotel porch. Fist fights were common and "hell-raising was
the order of the day." People still observe the occasion by coming to town, with no set
purpose other than meeting old friends, seeing, and being seen.
Bennetts Creek {fishing, hunting, and trapping) borders the town on the south; freight
and passenger boats once plied its waters, now used chiefly by pleasure craft.
Gates County Courthouse (1836), Court St., is a stuccoed structure, one of the few
public buildings in the State designed in the Gothic Revival style. Its bell was purchased
in 1 78 1. The Confederate Monument, Court St. opposite the courthouse, was erected
in 1 91 5. It bears an inscription to Wm. P. Roberts, the youngest general in the Con-
federate Army.
278 TOURS
Right from Gatesville on State 37, in BUCKLAND, 7 m. (45 pop.), is the Dr. Smith
House {visitors welcome). This old columned house, built in 1775, is owned and
occupied (1939) by former slaves of the family. Its interior carved woodwork has been
sold.
At 40 m. on State 30 is the Chowan (cho-wan') River.
WINTON, 43 m. (65 alt., 582 pop.), seat of Hertford County, incorporated in 1754,
was named for the DeWinton family of England; the county*s name honors the Marquis
of Hertford. During the War between the States the town was burned except for one
log cabin. The first courthouse was set on fire in 1830 by Wright Allen, who sought thus
to destroy a forged note. He was exposed, tried, and publicly hanged on the courthouse
grounds. Winton levies no local taxes; its revenue is derived from municipally owned
and operated farm lands. Citizens protested so vigorously against the noise, smoke, and
dust of trains that the railroad tracks were laid 30 miles away. Winton was the birthplace
of Richard J. Gatling (1818-1903), inventor of the Gatling gun.
Right from Winton 3 m. on a dirt road is TUSCARORA BEACH {bathing, boating,
and dancing), on the south bank of the Chowan River.
At 19 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Left on this road to the Old Brick House {visitors welcome), 0.7 m., on the bank
of the Pasquotank River, traditionally a haunt of the pirate Blackbeard {see tour 33 A).
The house is of wood except for the brick ends, one of which bears the date 1700. At
the doorstep formerly rested a circular stone slab marked "E. T. 1709." The initials
are supposed to stand for Edward Teach, or Thatch, both of which are given as Black-
beard's real name.
The interior once contained fine paneling and richly carved mantels. On either side
of the fireplace were closets communicating with a concealed passage leading from the
basement to the river. Blackbeard confined his prisoners and hostages in the basement,
legend relates, and if pressed by the approach of his enemies, escaped through the
tunnel to his boat.
ELIZABETH CITY, 22 m. (8 alt., 10,037 P°P-) ( see Elizabeth city).
Points of Interest: Public Square, Judge Small House, Fearing House, Charles House,
Shipyards and Yacht Basin, Beveridge House, and others.
Elizabeth City is at the southern junction with State 30 (see tour jA)
and the junction with State 170 (see tour iB).
At 37 m. is the junction with a side road.
Left on this road, which is paved for 8 miles and then graded, to the peninsula
known as DURANTS NECK, between Little and Perquimans (per-quim'-ans) Rivers.
The peninsula was named for George Durant, whose land title is the oldest recorded
in the State.
NEW HOPE, 10 m. (153 pop.), a farm settlement, adjoins the Hecklefield Farm,
estate of Capt. John Hecklefield, prominent in the affairs of the Albemarle Colony. The
Albemarle assembly and the county courts frequently met here in the early 1700's.
At 16 m. is the Leigh Mansion, a Greek Revival house built in 1825 by Col. James
Leigh. The estate includes a major portion of the 1,000-acre Durant grant, which has
been reduced to about 850 acres by the encroachment of the surrounding waters.
This mansion, of red brick burned on the place by slaves, has a double-gallery porch
front and rear. The Doric columns of the portico are white and the steps are marble.
The paneled ballroom on the third floor is lighted at each end by a triple window
crowned with an elliptical fanlight. The separate kitchen is reached by a balustraded
walk raised on brick piers. Tradition says that recalcitrant slaves were punished in the
gloomy depths of the cellar.
In the yard is a stone slab, said to be the gravestone of Seth Sothel, North Carolina's
"most despised Governor." Appointed in 1678, he was captured by pirates on his way to
T O U R I 279
Carolina. He took office in 1683 and served until 1689 when he was seized and banished
by the colonists who had become incensed over his corrupt conduct. Buried in the mud
under an old elm tree is a slab supposed to have marked George Durant's grave.
WINFALL, 38 m. (16 alt., 426 pop.), is a village in the bend of the high-
way, shaded by ancient trees arching overhead, its calm undisturbed by the
busy hum of its eight-stack sawmill.
Right from Winfall on State 37 is BELVIDERE, 6 m. (101 pop.), a village settled
by Quakers in the early 18th century. Strong believers in education, the Quakers founded
here one of the State's earliest schools, Belvidere Academy.
South of Winfall US 17 crosses the broad Perquimans River, which rises
in the Great Dismal Swamp and flows southeast to Albemarle Sound. The
hard-surfaced highway is built on what was formerly a corduroy road that
had as its foundation a causeway placed by the Indians. The road is bulwarked
on both sides by curved sheets of corrugated iron, bombproofs salvaged from
World War supplies. The causeway leads to a modern drawbridge. As early
as 1784 there was a floating bridge here supported on whisky barrels.
HERTFORD, 40 m. (15 alt., 1,914 pop.), seat of Perquimans County, is
a peninsula town in the bend of the river. It was first called Phelps Point for
the owner of the site, and was a port of entry as early as 1701. When incor-
porated in 1758 it was renamed for the Marquis of Hertford.
The Edmundson-Fox Memorial (L), south of the bridge, erected (1929)
by the North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends, bears an inscription claim-
ing that here was held "the first religious service on record in Carolina." This
claim ignores the baptisms of Manteo and Virginia Dare on Roanoke Island
{see tour 1 A and religion) and services in Charleston, S. C.
In 1672 William Edmundson, follower of George Fox, the founder of the
Religious Society of Friends, preached a sermon to the settlers on the Wor\
of God. In September of the same year Fox spent 18 days "in the north of
Carolina" and had many "meetings among the people."
The Perquimans County Courthouse, Main St., is a Georgian Colonial
structure of kiln-burned brick with a columned entrance portico and a clock
cupola above the fanlighted window in the gable. The original building,
probably constructed in 1731 or earlier, was of one story with the jury room
detached. In 18 18 the Masons added the second story in return for which
they were allowed the use of the large upper room. In an 1890 remodeling,
extensive changes were made. In 1932 Clinton W. Toms, tobacco-manufac-
turing executive, made possible restoration of the building. Small-paned
windows, interior paneling, and heavy inside wooden shutters were again
installed, the clock cupola was added, and the original worn red brick were
painted a warm ivory.
County records are unbroken from the first deed book, dated 1685, and
include the Durant deed, oldest on record in North Carolina. On Mar. 1,
1661 (1662), George Durant acquired from Kilcocanen, chief of the Yeopim
Indians, a tract of land known as Wecocomicke. Durant's deed mentions a
still earlier purchase of adjoining lands by Samuel Pricklove, giving support
to the contention that the earliest permanent settlements in the State were
280 TOURS
on Durants Neck. However, there is evidence of an earlier settlement be-
tween the Roanoke and Chowan Rivers.
The Site of the Old Eagle Tavern, which was razed in 1920, covered
six lots in the heart of town. It is known to have existed as early as 1754.
George Washington was supposedly a guest while in the vicinity surveying
the Dismal Swamp Canal. Tradition says William Hooper, signer of the
Declaration of Independence, once lived here.
The Harvey Home (private), Main St., built before 1800, has a two-story
porch fronted by tall columns. The hand-hewn heart pine timbers are fas-
tened with wooden pegs. Beneath an old tree shading the house is a spot
believed to be Kilcocanen's Grave. The sidewalk, flanked by markers,
crosses the grave.
Left from the center of Hertford, at the point where US 17 swings R., a branch road,
paved for half its length, runs into HARVEYS NECK, a peninsula 12 miles long. Here
was the Colonial seat of John Harvey, Governor of North Carolina (1679) and Thomas
Harvey, Governor (1694-99). The latter's son, Col. John Harvey (1725-75), was known
as the Father of the Revolution in North Carolina because of his activities in behalf
of independence while speaker of the assembly, a post which he held at his death. Colonel
Harvey, known as Bold John, remarkable for his decision of character and strong
political principles, was moderator of the First Provincial Congress (see new bern).
At 9-7 m. is the junction with a lane leading (L) to Ashland (visitors welcome), a
well-preserved old frame plantation house built in 1775 by John Skinner. The portico
columns are of the Ionic order and the house is notable for the gracefully arched masonry
cf the foundation and massive end chimneys. There are four rooms in the arcaded base-
ment.
At 10.5 m. are the Ruins of Belgrade Mansion, home of the Harvey family until
burned during the War between the States. In the family burying ground is the Grave of
Gov. Thomas Harvey. The tombstone bears the date 1729. Thomas and Miles Harvey,
also buried here, were members of the 1776 North Carolina General Assembly.
EDENTON, 53 m. (16 alt., 3,563 pop.) (see edenton).
Points of Interest: St. Paul's Church, Beverly Hall, Cupola House, Chowan Courthouse,
Edenton Green, Peanut-Processing Plants, and others.
1. Right from Edenton on paved State 32 which follows the old stagecoach route known
for years as the Virginia Rd.
At WINGFIELD, 10 m., on the banks of the Chowan River, are the Ruins of the
Union Fort captured and partially destroyed in 1863. Wingfield plantation house, burned
during the same engagement, was the Colonial seat (1760) of Richard Brownrigg,
pioneer in the section's fishing industry.
At BANDON, 15 m., was the home, built in 1757, of Daniel Earle, Revolutionary
rector of old St. Paul's (see edenton). He conducted here an early classical school for
boys. Bandon, named for the Earle estate in Ireland, was the site of a Chowanoke Indian
village; many relics have been found in mounds nearby.
2. East from Edenton on Water St. and across Johnston's Bridge to the unpaved Soundside
Rd.; R. on this road to Hayes (private), 0.5 m., in a beautiful grove (R) on the edge
of Edenton Bay. The 1,500-acre plantation was acquired in 1765 by Samuel Johnston
( I 733" I 8i6), and he built the mansion in 1801. It was named for the estate of Sir
Walter Raleigh in England. Ivy culled from Hayes in England flourishes here as well as
in St. Paul's Churchyard and on the Chowan Courthouse. Johnston served as Governor
(1787-89) and was the first U.S. Senator from North Carolina. During his lifetime
Hayes was a social, intellectual, and political center.
The two-story central section of the house is surmounted with a large cupola and
TOUR I 201
is connected to the one-story wings by curved, covered passages. One of the smaller
buildings contains the library, the other the kitchen. The southwest elevation, facing the
bay, has a two-story Doric portico supported upon shallow brick arches and ornamented
at the second floor with a wrought-iron railing. The northeast elevation, five bays
in width, has a small semicircular portico. Fanlights and side lights grace the doorway.
The shutters are permanently fixed over the upper halves of the windows to lessen the
sun glare. The house contains steel engravings and portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds
and Thomas Sully, and a 5,000-volume library whose catalogue, written with a quill
pen, looks like an exquisite engraving.
The Soundside Road is believed to have been made by early settlers along the course
of an old Indian trail. Doubling and redoubling upon itself, it passes several plantations
that have existed since Colonial times, and at the mouth of Yeopim River reaches
Drummonds Point {fishing boats for hire), 8 m., named for Gov. William Drummond.
In the mouth of the river is BATTS {BATZ) GRAVE or BATTS ISLAND. An early
deed (1696) of Chowan Precinct records the sale of 27 acres known as Batts Grave, but
tide erosion has reduced it to but one acre. Early in the 18th century it belonged to
George Durant, Jr. The Indians called the island Kalola for the sea gulls that alone
disturbed its solitude until Jesse Batts, a hunter and trapper, came here. Batts fell in love
with Kickowanna, daughter of a Chowanoke chief, Kilcanoo. She returned his love,
spurning the suit of Pamunky, chief of the Chasamonpeaks. For his bravery in helping
defeat the Chasamonpeaks, Batts was adopted into the tribe. Thereafter the couple
lived on the upper waters, but Batts made frequent visits to his island home. Kickowanna
often went in her canoe to visit him there. One night in a raging storm she was drowned.
Batts never left the island again and died a brokenhearted man.
South of Edenton on US 17 (L) at Pembroke Creek, 53.5 m., is a U. S.
Fish Hatchery {open), where shad, herring, bass, and other fishes are
propagated. Here is the Site of the Home of Stephen Cabarrus (1754-
1808), a Frenchman who came to America during the Revolution. He be-
came a member of the North Carolina General Assembly in 1783, and for
10 of the 15 years that he served was speaker of the lower house. He was z
member of the first board of trustees of the University of North Carolina. A
North Carolina county and a street in Raleigh bear his name.
South of EMPEROR, 60 m., the highway crosses the Chowan River
Bridge. At the southern end of the bridge is EDENHOUSE POINT, 61.5
m., near the Site of the Home of Charles Eden, proprietary Governor
of North Carolina, who died in 1722 and was buried in a grove of willows
nearby; the Governor's remains were exhumed and reburied in St. Paul's
Churchyard (see edenton).
There is some evidence that the earliest permanent settlement in North
Carolina was on a point of land between the mouths of the Chowan and
Roanoke Rivers, and that some form of government existed before the Durant
purchase. The first recorded exploration to the Chowan River was John
Pory's in 1622. In 1653 the Virginia assembly granted to Roger Green, who
had just explored the region, 1,000 acres for himself and 10,000 acres for
the first 100 people who would settle on the Roanoke River south of the
Chowan "next to those persons who have had a former grant." There is no
record that Green's grant was ever settled, but its language, according to
Connor, the historian, "leads irresistibly to the conclusion that when it was
issued there were already settlers along the waters of the Chowan." On the
Nicholas Comberford map of 1657 is shown a neatly drawn house at the
west end of Albemarle Sound, marked "Batt's House." This lends weight to
282 TOURS
an entry in George Fox's Journal (1672), in which he mentions meeting in
Connie-Oak (Edenton) Bay "Nathaniel Batts, who had been Governor of
Roanoke. He went by the name of Captain Batts, and had been a rude, des-
perate man." Batts may have been appointed Governor of South Albemarle
by Sir William Berkeley, a Lord Proprietor and Governor of Virginia.
Left from Edenhouse Point on a dirt road to EDENHOUSE BEACH (bat hi fig, boating,
fishing), 1 m., a quiet resort on the banks of the Chowan, close by Albemarle Sound.
At 63 m. US 17 crosses Salmon Creek. South of the bridge, on both sides
of the highway, is Mill Landing Farm, an estate Lord Duckenfield held by
grant from the Crown. The only estate building remaining is an old mill
erected in 1710, which still grinds corn for the neighborhood.
WINDSOR, 74 m. (10 alt., 1,425 pop.), on the Cashie (cah-shy') River,
was a port of entry before the War between the States. Merchandise was
relayed from here to the interior by wagons over the old Halifax Road. The
town boasted a Million Dollar Bank, branch of the North State Bank. The
three main streets are King, Queen, and York, and the cross streets are
named for the various Lords Proprietors, according to the plan drawn in
England. Windsor became the seat of Bertie County in 1750.
Surrounding plantations grow cotton, tobacco, peanuts, and truck produce.
The town has sawmills, barrel mills, and peanut and tobacco warehouses.
Fishing with seine, net, and hook and line is available in the vicinity. Game
includes deer, squirrel, quail, wild goose, and duck. Raccoon hunting on the
Cashie is popular with local sportsmen.
The Site of Windsor Castle, Belmont Ave., is on a hill overlooking the
town. The castle was an eight-room log house built by William Gray, who
named it for the royal residence in England. The present house (private),
near the site of the earlier house, was erected in 1855 by Patrick Henry Win-
ston, whose descendants still own it. The stately white columns and broad
verandas are characteristic of ante-bellum southern dwellings.
Rosefield Homestead (L), at the southern limits of the town on Wind-
sor's other hill, overlooks the beautiful valley of the Cashie. It was named
for the wild roses that once bloomed there, and was the original home of
John Gray, who donated the town site in 1722. The frame house, built in
1856, has not been altered since 1861.
Right from Windsor on State 308 to Hope House, 3.5 m., the abandoned home of
David Stone, Governor of North Carolina (1808-10). It was once the show place of the
county, with a secret stairway, spacious ballroom, gambling rooms, and solid wooden
gutters.
South of Windsor the highway runs through green swampland, spicy
with the odor of pine and cedar, and in spring and early summer fragrant
with the blooms of wild grape, sweetbrier rose, and honeysuckle.
At 81.2 m. is the junction with a marked dirt road.
Right on this road to the tract known as the INDIAN WOODS, 5 m., a reservation
set up in 1717 for the Tuscarora Indians remaining after the war of 1711-13. They
lived here until 1803 when they entered into a 99-year lease with some of the settlers
TOUR I 203
and left to join their kinsmen in New York. About 1857 their descendants came from
New York to make final settlement with the heirs of the lessees.
US 17 crosses Conine Swamp and the Roanoke River over a long bridge
and viaduct. Framed by hedges of honeysuckle, the viaduct passes over
tangled swamp where gnarled and moss-draped cypresses shadow clumps of
lush ferns.
WILLIAMSTON, 87 m. (76 alt., 2,731 pop.), seat of Martin County, lies
on the western bank of the Roanoke River. First called Skewarky, the
town was later named in honor of Col. William Williams of the Martin
County militia. The county was named for Josiah Martin, North Carolina's
last royal Governor (1771-76). A port of entry before the Revolutionary War,
the town had an old courthouse built in 1774 on stilts over the river. To enter
the courthouse people climbed ladders from their boats. When court was
declared in session the ladders were removed and no one was permitted to
leave. Chief amusements during court week were oyster roasts and fist fights.
Williamston, a tobacco-marketing town, has also a peanut factory, fer- [
tilizer plants, lumber mills, and commercial fisheries. l
The Asa Biggs Home {private), Church St., is a square structure distin-
guished by a railed balcony under each second-story window. Judge Biggs
(181 1-78) was prominent in the State's political life and held, among his
many offices, Federal and Confederate district judgeships.
Right from Williamston on State 125 to Rainbow Banks, 10 m., site of an old fort
where Union gunboats were driven from the Roanoke River. |
Section b. WILLIAMSTON to SOUTH CAROLINA LINE; i 9 y m. US 17
In this section are relics of Provincial rule, ivy-grown Colonial houses, and
forts thrown up during the War between the States. The route runs through
forests of longleaf and loblolly pine, traverses cypress swamps where black-
water creeks meander, and crosses broad rivers that empty into island-bound,
brackish sounds to the east.
Forests and fields run with game; most of the streams teem with fish.
Several State parks, game preserves, and resorts are close at hand. Rivers and
sounds offer boating, fishing, and bathing; beaches for surf bathing line the
outer banks.
South of WILLIAMSTON, m., US 17 passes fields planted with pota-
toes, tobacco, corn, cotton, peanuts, and garden produce. Bright-leaf tobacco
is the principal crop. Almost every farm has a small fruit orchard. At 10 m.
the route crosses Great Swamp, overgrown with brush, scrub pine, and scat-
tered gum and cypress.
WASHINGTON, 23 m. (11 alt., 7,035 pop.), seat of Beaufort County, is
on the north bank of the Tar-Pamlico River. Narrow streets, parallel with
or at right angles to the river, indicate an 18th-century plan, though the
town, almost wiped out by two fires in 1864, has few old houses. The river
laps at foundations of mercantile establishments on Main Street and
284 TOURS
borders yards and gardens. In spring the farther shore, covered with
clematis, called virgins-bower by some of the older inhabitants, is a mass of
purple bloom.
The scuppernong grape and related varieties are indigenous to the region.
The Meish grape was developed in Beaufort County by Albert Meish, who
came from Westphalia, Germany. Washington is a marketing center for
cotton, tobacco, and garden produce.
Originally Beaufort County was part of Pamtecough (Pamticoe) Precinct
of the County of Albemarle, which in 1696 became the Great County of
Bath. Pamtecough was the name of a tribe of Indians in the region. In 1705
Bath was divided, the portion north of Pamtecough River constituting
Pamtecough Precinct. The name was changed to Beaufort in 1712, honoring
Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, who had inherited the proprietary rights
of the Duke of Albemarle.
On Nov. 30, 1 77 1, the general assembly authorized James Bonner to estab-
lish a town at the Forks of Tar River, which Colonel Bonner later named
for his commander in chief. The George Washington Bicentennial Commis-
sion established the fact that of the 422 cities and towns in the Nation named
for George Washington, this town was the first. Earliest recorded mention of
the place as Washington is in an order of the council of safety at Halifax
dated Oct. 1, 1776.
The Beaufort County Courthouse, SW. corner 2nd and Market Sts., is
a square two-story structure of brick painted white, built about 1800. A mod-
ern annex in the rear is of red brick. The clock in the cupola antedates the
building. In the courthouse is a will, inscribed in French and dated 1820,
which indicates that Col. Louis Taillade lived in Washington at that time.
Taillade accompanied Napoleon from Elba to France when the ex-Emperor
attempted to regain his lost domains.
The Johnston House {private), Market St., a two-story frame house with
wide porch, notable for its Georgian doorway and exterior front stair, was
occupied in 1810 by Thomas Harvey Myers I, whose wife, Margaret, was
the daughter of Dr. Gustavus Brown, personal physician to George Wash-
ington.
St. Peter's Episcopal Church, NE. corner Bonner and Main Sts., is a
vine-clad Gothic Revival structure erected in 1868. It is of weathered brick
with a large square tower. The original wooden church (1822) was destroyed
in 1864 by a fire that started when a citizen burned valuable documents to
prevent their being taken by Federals. As the tower burned, heat caused the
bell to toll until it fell from its supports. After the bronze had melted an old
Negro carried it in a wheelbarrow to his home. After the war, he returned
the metal, and proceeds from its sale were added to the building fund. Fed-
eral troops burned the town later in the same year.
The Myers House (c. 1814) and the Telfair House (c. 1818) {private),
Water St. next to the NE. corner of Bonner St., are square old town houses
with stoops close to the street, after the New England fashion. They are of
frame construction, two stories on a brick foundation, and topped with a
shingle roof. During the War between the States a shell passed entirely
TOUR I 285
through the Telfair house. Both houses are owned by descendants of the
builders.
Washington Field Museum {open 2-5, j-10 p.m. daily), Charlotte and
2nd Sts., a log cabin in a grassy yard, was founded in 1923 by young people
who refer to it as "the Bug House Laboratory." Exhibits include birds, in-
sects, frogs, reptiles, fossils, and minerals of local origin, together with some
historical items.
On W. Main St. is the Dimock. House {private), onetime home of Dr.
Susan Dimock (1847-75), first North Carolina woman licensed as a phy-
sician. After being denied admission to Harvard Medical School, she studied
at Zurich and in Vienna. Upon her return to America she became physician
for the Hospital for Women and Children in Boston, where a street is named
in her honor.
The De Mille House {now a tourist home), SE. corner Bridge and 2nd
Sts., is a three-story red brick house with a one-story front porch built about
1830 by Thomas De Mille, one of the first vestrymen of St. Peter's. His
great-grandsons, Cecil and William, have attained prominence in the motion-
picture industry. The latter was born in this house.
The Brown House {private), NW. corner 2nd and Washington Sts., is a
two-story frame house distinguished by curving porch steps at either end
of the square-columned, one-story front porch. The first-floor windows ex-
tend down to the floor and all windows have louvered shutters. Modillions
ornament the level cornices of the porch and of the hip roof. The house
was used as a hospital when Federal troops occupied the town; soldiers
destroyed all but one of several marble mantelpieces.
A square frame house painted tan with red trim, 219 Harvey St., was
formerly at 242 E. Main St. This is the Birthplace of Josephus Daniels,
Secretary of the Navy (19 13-21); Ambassador to Mexico (1933- ). Also
born in Washington was Churchill C. Cambreleng (1 786-1 862), Minister
to Russia during the Van Buren administration.
Washington is at the junction with US 264 {see tour jj).
South of Washington US 17 crosses the Pamlico River and passes Rodman
Quarters, an ante-bellum plantation bequeathed by John Gray Blount to
his grandson, Judge W. B. Rodman, who, after the war, found it so desolated
from Union and Confederate occupation that he never went there again.
CHOCOWINITY {MARSDEN), 26 m. (40 alt., 150 pop.), is a village
junction for the Norfolk Southern R.R. Here is Trinity Episcopal Church,
a small, square, one-story frame building painted white and topped with a
cross. The church was founded in 1775 by the Rev. (Parson) Nathaniel
Blount.
Chocowinity is at the junction with US 264 {see tour 2j).
At VANCEBORO, 41 m. (24 alt., 742 pop.), is the Craven County Farm
Life School, educational center of the section.
286 TOURS
In BRIDGETON, 56 m. (8 alt., 721 pop.), on the Neuse River, are
lumber mills and a crate factory.
Left from Bridgeton on paved State 302 through forest lands, swamps, and potato
fields is GRANTSBORO, 11 m. (500 pop.), a shipping point for Irish potatoes, at the
junction with paved State 306. Right 12 m. on State 306 to MINNESOTT BEACH
(small hotel, cottages, overnight cabins; trout and croaker fishing; duc\, goose, and
brant shooting), on the Neuse River.
At 15 m. on State 302 is BAYBORO (468 pop.), seat of Pamlico County. Bay River
is a link in the Intracoastal Waterway. Commercial fishing, oyster culture, and the
raising of Irish potatoes are the principal occupations.
US 17 makes a sharp L. turn across the Neuse River bridge.
NEW BERN, 58 m. (18 alt., 11,981 pop.) {see new bern).
Points of Interest: Smallwood-Ward House, Slover-Guion House, John Wright Stanly
House {public library), First Presbyterian Church, Tryon Palace, and others.
New Bern is at the junction with US 70 {see tour 28).
At 70 m. (L) is the Foscue House, an old brick plantation dwelling built
in the early 18th century. House and lands are traditionally haunted.
POLLOCKSVILLE, 71 m. (13 alt., 357 pop.), on the banks of the nar-
row Trent River, was named for Col. Thomas Pollock {see new bern), a
large landowner and proprietary Governor of North Carolina (1712-14,
1722). In Colonial days this town was surrounded by plantations on which
remain a few houses of faded splendor.
At 73 m. is the junction with State 12.
Right on State 12 is TRENTON, 10 m. (28 alt., 500 pop.), seat of Jones County,
built half around Brock Mill Pond where huge gnarled cypresses, shrouded with Spanish
moss, overhang unruffled blue water. The mill has operated continuously since before
the War between the States. The old courthouse was burned by Union troops in 1863.
Great Dover Swamp lies in the northern section of the county and Whiteoak Swamp
in the south-central portion. Small game and fish are plentiful, and deer thrive in the
eastern savannas. A few lumber mills comprise the sole industry.
When George Washington visited Trenton in 1791, he was entertained at the Old
Shingle House (private), then a Colonial tavern. The shingles were removed when it
was remodeled into a dwelling. Pegs were used in constructing the Thomas Webber
House (private), Jones St., a modernized two-story wooden building where the first
court in Jones County was held in 1784.
MAYSVILLE, 78 m. (41 alt., 797 pop.), depends on farming and lumber
milling. In the vicinity are broad savannas and shallow ponds where at-
tempts were made to raise rice in Colonial days. The border of the CROAT-
AN NATIONAL FOREST {see national forests and tour 28), first to be
created in coastal North Carolina, is near the eastern edge of the town.
1. Left from Maysville on the Catfish Rd. to CATFISH LAKE, 3 m., one of five lakes
within the forest. Deer and other game occur in the bog lands of this LAKES POCOSIN
AREA. Pocosin is derived from an Algonquian term for a swamp or dismal. The
permanently saturated peaty soil is overlain with sand or sandy loam bearing a sparse
growth of trees, mostly black pine, and a dense undergrowth of evergreen shrubs and
vines. In places the streams are coffee-colored.
TOUR I 287
2. Left from Maysville on the Maysville-Swansboro Rd. to Yellowhouse Field, 4.5 m.,
site of the home of Col. John Starkey (d. 1765), staunch defender of the colonists'
rights and pioneer advocate of a public school system. At 7 m. is the three-story frame
Home of Daniel Russell {private), Governor of North Carolina (1 897-1901). Governor
Russell, a kinsman of Colonel Starkey, is buried on Hickory Hill nearby.
JACKSONVILLE, 95 m. (23 alt., 783 pop.), seat of Onslow County,
stands on baylike New River. Dominating the village from the small central
square is the red brick Onslow County Courthouse (1904). The earliest
mention of Wandand's Ferry, which preceded Jacksonville, is in a record j
of court held there in July 1757.
Onslow was formed (1734) from the Great County of Bath, and named
for Arthur Onslow, then Speaker of the British House of Commons. Most \
of the settlers were English and German. Spanish buccaneers and pirates
beset the region in the 1740's. j
This is one of the few coastal counties of the State whose mainland bor-
ders the ocean without an intervening sound, and it gives its name to the
long curve between Beaufort Harbor and Cape Fear. Holly Shelter Swamp
is in the southern portion. New River, whose upper reaches are lost in
Whiteoak Swamp, is the only large river in North Carolina with headwaters
and mouth in the same county. It is 5 miles wide at the mouth, where exten-
sive oyster beds are under cultivation. New River oysters are large, grow
singly instead of in clusters, are finely flavored, and command a high price
in the markets. Tobacco is the chief money crop.
South of Jacksonville US 17 runs through well-wooded country with few
farms. Natural gardens of wild flowers cover many acres displaying blooms
every month but January. Here grow insectivorous pitcher-plants including
the rare Venus's-flytrap {see tour 4).
FOLKSTONE, 111m. (69 alt., 53 pop.), is at the junction with State 38,
a dirt road.
Left on State 38 is SNEADS FERRY, 9 m. (125 pop.), on New River {limited accom-
modations for fishermen). A free ferry crosses to MARINES, 10 m. (300 pop.).
HAMPSTEAD, 129 m. (56 alt., 350 pop.), is the scene of a fiddler's con-
test each fall. The first prize one year was a mule.
Left from Hampstead on a dirt road through woods to the water, 1 m. {boats and
guides available). Topsail Inlet nearby is a favorite spot for angling for bluefish, drum,
sheepshead, and mackerel.
South of Hampstead is a marker (R) at the Washington Tree, under
which the first President stopped to rest on his way to Wilmington in 1791.
Passing BAYMEADE, 140 m., US 17 enters a plantation where the
resinous sap of longleaf pine trees is gathered, and then along an avenue
of spreading moss-strewn oaks set in thick, subtropical vegetation.
WILMINGTON, 146 m. (32 alt., 32,270 pop.) {see Wilmington).
Points of Interest: Customhouse, Cornwallis House, St. James Church, Bellamy
Mansion, Hilton Park, Greenfield Park, and others.
200 TOURS
Wilmington is at the junction with US 421 (see tour 29).
Left from Wilmington on paved US 76 to the junction with the improved Masonboro
Loop Rd., 5 m.; R. 4 m. on this road to MASONBORO SOUND. Here is Eschol
(private), the summer home (1760) of Gen. Alexander Lillington, a prominent figure
before and during the Revolution (see tour 29); it is occupied by his descendants. All
along Masonboro are old summer homes and sites of homes that served distinguished
families of the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. George Moore cut a road from
his plantation at Rocky Point on the Northeast Cape Fear River to Masonboro, over
which his wife and 28 children traveled on horseback each summer to the coast.
Luggage and household belongings were transported the 25 miles on the heads of
Negro slaves. On many of the old estates are pans used during the War between the
States for obtaining salt from sea water. Signs indicate small resorts where roasted
oysters are served during the winter months.
From BRADLEYS CREEK, 7.5 m., Wrightsville Beach is visible (R) in the distance.
Airlie (private; open occasionally in early spring), 8 m., is a rambling white-painted
frame house with green blinds and a green roof. A broad porch on the southeast over-
looks the sound.
In the landscaped gardens of the estate are found almost every known variety of azalea,
and the Topel tree, an unusual hybrid developed by R. A. Topel, who grafted the yaupon
on another holly. It has broad, shiny, dark-green leaves without sharp points, and clusters
of brilliant red berries, about three times the size of the holly berry.
On the bank of Bradleys Creek is the Moorings, the estate to which Capt. John
Newland Maffitt, one of the most noted of the Confederate blockade runners, retired
after the War between the States.
US 76 runs along Wrightsville Sound to Wrightsville Sound Station, 9 m.
Left from Wrightsville Sound Station on a paved road across the electric car tracks
to the Babies Hospital (1928), a model institution.
US 76 crosses a bridge and causeway over Wrightsville Sound to HARBOR ISLAND,
9.5 m., where are a public dance pavilion and summer headquarters of the Cape Fear
Country Club.
Wrightsville Beach, 10 m. (109 pop.), a seashore resort (surf, sound, and channel
bathing; yachting, motorhoating, deep-sea fishing, and dancing), has an average summer
population of 4,000. Many business and fraternal organizations hold conventions here.
There are hotels, inns, and cottages (open in summer), and headquarters of the Carolina
Yacht Club.
Boats are available for deep-sea fishing or for pleasure trips. At the southern end of
the island, reached both by road and trolley, is Lumina (dance pavilion, picnic grounds,
and bathhouses). Grounded upon the sands off Wrightsville Beach are the skeletons of
the Emily and Fanny and Jenny, Confederate blockade runners scuttled during the War
between the States.
US 17 crosses the Cape Fear River to EAGLES ISLAND. Some of the
numerous flowers along the causeway were brought here from foreign ports
in the soil used as ballast by ships calling for cotton and naval stores. The
waterlily, marsh bluebell, marsh aster, spiderlily, marshmallow, and numer-
ous other plants thrive on the marshy land. The highway, along the course
of the first toll road authorized by the legislature, has been successively a
corduroy, plank, and rock-ballast road and has carried traffic for two cen-
tures. Bridges span Alligator Creek and the Brunswick River.
At 150 m. is the junction with the Old River Rd. (see tour iC).
At 151 m. is the junction with US 74 (see tour j/«).
In SUPPLY, 175 m. (37 alt., no pop.), guides are available for deer and
quail hunting.
TOUR I 289
1. Left from Supply on a dirt road to LOCKWOODS FOLLY INLET, 5 m., whose
name appears on maps as early as 1671. Lockwood probably came from Bermuda,
and the name recalls his foolhardiness in starting a settlement exposed to both sea and
Indians; it was promptly destroyed by the latter. The beach reveals the skeletons of
several Confederate blockade runners scuttled when cornered by Federal gunboats, or
sunk by gunfire; among them are those of the Spunky, Georgiana McCaw, Bendigo,
Elizabeth, Ranger, Dare, and Vesta.
i
1. Left from Supply on paved State 30 is SOUTHPORT, 17 m. (26 alt., 1,760 pop.),
seat of Brunswick County, on a beautiful estuary of the Cape Fear River (bathing \
beaches; still- and deep-water fishing; hunting). When founded by Benjamin Smith 1
(see tour iC), Governor of North Carolina (1810-11), and others in 1792 it was called \
Smithville; the present name was adopted in 1889. In one year nearly 2,000 boats,
including 500 yachts, touched at Southport, which is midway between New York and
Florida on the Intracoastal Waterway. Sea breezes make the summers cool, and proximity
to the Gulf Stream tempers the winters. The town is attractive with groves of wind-swept
live oaks, spiny Mexican poppies growing along the streets, and a profusion of western
gaillardia and sea evening primrose.
Fort Johnston, on a 6-acre bluff was the first fort built in North Carolina, named in
honor of Gabriel Johnston, Governor (1734-52). It was completed in 1764 and in 1775
it became the refuge of Josiah Martin, Governor (1771-76), who remained until patriots
forced him to flee, July 18, 1776, on which date it was destroyed by fire. The State
owned the property until 1794 when it was ceded to the Government on condition that
a new fort be built. The substantial brick masonry then erected is in good repair. It
was seized by Confederates in 1861. It is now used by Army Engineers as a base for
dredge crews and survey parties, and by the Lighthouse Service for crews working on
lighthouses and buoys.
The Ruins of Fort Caswell are 2 miles by water and about 8 miles by land south
of Southport. Constructed in 1825, the fort was manned during the War between the
States, Spanish-American, and World Wars. It is now operated as a summer beach
resort.
The forts at the mouth of the Cape Fear River afforded protection to blockade
runners during the War between the States, giving access to the port of Wilmington and
constituting the "life line of the Confederacy." Because of the configuration of the coast,
it was difficult to effect a close blockade. The blockade-running ships were designed
for speed and easy maneuvering, usually side-wheelers armored with iron and rigged
as schooners. They would reach the coast and steam noiselessly along at night until the
protection of the forts was reached. If overhauled, they had orders to ground and fire
the boat rather than submit to capture. More than 30 such ships were scuttled between
Topsail Inlet and Georgetown, S. C, a few of which are still visible at low tide.
SMITH ISLAND, sometimes called Bald Head, about 17,000 acres in area, is available
by boat from Fort Caswell, 2 m., or from Southport, 4 m. The extreme tip of the island
forms the dread CAPE FEAR, the "promontorium tremendum" of DeBry's map. FRY-
ING PAN SHOALS, 20 miles off Cape Fear, marked by a lightship, are among the
most dangerous along the coast. Cape Fear is described by George Davis (see Wil-
mington), in An Episode in Cape Fear History in the South Atlantic Magazine, January
l8 79 =
"Looking then to the Cape for the idea and reason of its name, we find that it is the
southernmost point of Smith's Island, a naked bleak elbow of sand jutting far out into
the ocean. Immediately in its front are Frying Pan Shoals pushing out still farther 20
miles to sea. Together they stand for warning and woe; and together they catch the long
majestic roll of the Atlantic as it sweeps through a thousand miles of grandeur and
power from the Arctic towards the Gulf. It is the playground of billows and tempests, the
kingdom of silence and awe, disturbed by no sound save the sea gull's shriek and the
breakers' roar. Its whole aspect is suggestive, not of repose and beauty, but of desolation
and terror. Imagination cannot adorn it. Romance cannot hallow it. Local pride cannot
soften it. There it stands today, bleak and threatening and pitiless, as it stood three
hundred years ago when Grenville and White came near unto death upon its sands.
And there it will stand bleak and threatening and pitiless until the earth and sea give
29O TOURS
up their dead. And as its nature, so its name, is now, always has been, and always will
be the Cape of Fear."
Pirates including Blackbeard, Stede Bonnett, and Richard Worley preyed upon shipping
in this region. Finally Robert Johnson, Governor of South Carolina (1717-19), sent
Col. William Rhett against Bonnett. A desperate encounter occurred within Southport
Harbor during the summer of 171 8. Bonnett's vessel escaped up the Cape Fear to the
Black River, where it was overtaken by Rhett's ship. Bonnett at last surrendered with
40 survivors of his band. They were taken to Charleston, S.C., for trial. Bonnett managed
to escape in woman's apparel but was soon recaptured. All were hanged and their bodies
buried in Charleston Harbor below the high-water line. While awaiting execution, Bonnett
wrote an appeal asking to be spared that he might devote the remainder of his life
to good works.
SHALLOTTE, 183 m. (33 alt., 214 pop.), is on the Shallotte River (fish-
ing; boats and guides available). In 1729, according to the Pennsylvania
Gazette of Apr. 29, 1731, this settlement was known as Shelote, but there is
no record of its origin.
US 17 crosses the South Carolina Line 23 miles north of Myrtle Beach, S. C.
(see s. c. tour /).
TOUR I A
Elizabeth City — Kitty Hawk — Nags Head — Manteo — Fort Raleigh — Oregon
Inlet — Hatteras Inlet; State 30, 34, 345. 129 m.
Paved roadbed to Manteo; uncertain travel S. of Oregon Inlet along sand bar beach road.
Limited accommodations as far as Kitty Hawk; hotels and boarding houses at Kitty
Hawk, Nags Head, Manteo, and Hatteras.
This route, known as the Virginia Dare Trail between Elizabeth City and
Fort Raleigh, runs along the picturesque banks, narrow strips of sand that
form the eastern boundary of the State, separating the ocean from the sounds.
The Indians called the banks "out islands." Along this treacherous, wreck-
strewn stretch of the Atlantic coast, is the site of the first successful airplane
flight and of the first English settlements in America.
State 30 branches northeast from US 17 {see tour /) in ELIZABETH
CITY, m. {see Elizabeth city), and crosses Pasquotank River drawbridge.
At night the illumination from moored craft and the streets of Elizabeth
City, topped by the beacon on the water tank, is visible for several miles.
The so-called FLOATING ROAD, 1.5 miles long, begins at the east side of
the bridge and crosses small MACHELHE ISLAND, known locally as Goat
Island. Its owner combined the first two letters of the names of his four
children — Mary, Charles, Eloise, and Helen — to form the name. A deep
but narrow cut is spanned by Stinking Gut bridge and thence the road
crosses FERRY SWAMP. The first course over this swamp was a corduroy
road flanked by bogs that meant death to anyone who fell into them. After
piles had been driven down 100 feet, only to disappear, the State decided to
"float" a road. A 16-foot-wide jointed strip of concrete was suspended on
steel netting. For a time this rose and fell with the tides, but eventually set-
tled below tidewater. The problem was finally settled by the present asphalted
roadbed, elevated on pilings joined by steel cables. The fragrant swamp
woodlands of pine and cedar are gay in spring with dogwood, honeysuckle,
wild rose, and Carolina yellow jessamine; cattails rise from the waving reeds
and smilax twines around the taller trees. From the Floating Road the high-
way runs through a large pecan grove.
CAMDEN, 4 m. (9 alt., 116 pop.), a rural community, is the State's
smallest county seat. Originally called Jonesboro, the village was named for
Charles Pratt, Earl of Camden, as was the county when it was cut off from
Pasquotank in 1777. The Camden County Courthouse, with a portico of
four massive columns on brick piers, was built in 1847. Originally the ground
floor was used to quarter horses. Potatoes are grown extensively in the section.
291
292 TOURS
During the harvest season, people work day and night digging and shipping
the crop.
1. Left from Camden on graded State 343 to the junction with the dirt Shipyard Ferry
Rd., 3.5 m. ; L. on this road 0.5 m. to the Sawyer House {private), built by Charles
Grice in 1746 and believed to have been used as a hospital and refuge during the
War between the States. It is a rectangular, two-story brick house, with concealed end
Chimneys, a one-story front porch, and a small frame ell in the rear.
2. Right from Camden on paved State 343 to the junction with the old dirt Indiantown
Rd., 2 m. ; L. on this road 0.5 m. to Fairfax Hall, also called the Brick House because
it is one of the two brick houses in the county. The old mansion was supposedly built
about 1700. The interior paneling and front stoop have been removed. It was the home
of Brig. Gen. Isaac Gregory, who led the gallant North Carolina brigade at the Battle of
Camden, Aug. 16, 1780, in which he suffered two bayonet wounds and had his horse
shot from under him.
Shiloh Baptist Church, at SHILOH, 12 m. (500 pop.), bearing the date 1727, is
the oldest organized Baptist church in the State. The building, erected in 1841, is of
hand-hewn pine, joined with pegs. On the floor are marks made by musket butt plates
when the church was used as a Federal arsenal. In the churchyard is the Grave of
Dempsey Burgess, major and later lieutenant colonel in Gregory's Continental brigade.
Burgess was a member of the Provincial Congress in 1775 and 1776 and of the Fourth
and Fifth Continental Congresses (1795-99).
OLD TRAP, 16 m. (318 pop.), a truck-marketing village, became a storm center
when many of its nonslaveholding citizens refused to support the Confederacy. When
young men were conscripted for the Confederate Army, the resulting controversy was
bitter and prolonged. Northern sympathizers of southern birth were here, as elsewhere in
the South, opprobriously known as "buffaloes."
In Old Trap and all through the district that borders the broad mouth of the
Pasquotank River is heard frequently the colloquialism: "Did you travel or come by
boat?" "Travel" is the old Elizabethan word for walk.
In SHAWBORO, 12 m. (15 alt., 300 pop.), a rural village, is (L) a Twin
House, consisting of two story-and-a-half gabled houses built one behind the
other about 10 feet apart and connected by a one-story gabled structure. The
first was built about 1820 and the other added, it is said, after a quarrel be-
tween the husband and wife, who decided to live apart.
SLIGO, 15 m. (15 alt.), was named by Edward Dromgoole, Methodist
circuit rider, from Sligo, Ireland, who visited here in 1783.
Left from Sligo on State 34 is the village of MOYOCK, 10 m. (5 alt., 500 pop.),
which has the only bank in Currituck County. The local Woman's Club sponsored the
planting of cannas the length of the town. Left from Moyock on a dirt road 11 m. to
PUDDING RIDGE, on the edge of the Dismal Swamp. Until 1935, an Amish-Mennonite
colony, called "hook-and-eye" Mennonites, because they wore no buttons, was here.
This custom, like that of shaving the upper lip, was adopted by their progenitors
when they were opposing civil authority in Switzerland, where buttons and mustaches
were taxed. The Mennonites came here in 1907 from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana.
Church rules decree that no member may serve on a jury, bring a lawsuit, hold public
office, swear oaths, attend theaters, or use tobacco or liquor. The men wore long hair,
flowing beards, and straight-hanging coats. The women wore a quilted or slatted bonnet
except on Sundays, when they put on the "prayer covering," a white bonnet trimmed
with lace and frills and tied under the chin. From infancy children were appareled like
their elders. They spoke the "Pennsylvania Dutch" dialect, but church services were
conducted in German. All but one family have moved elsewhere.
State 34, now the main route, runs southeast from Sligo to CURRITUCK
'boats and guides available), 19 m. (10 alt., 213 pop.). The name of the
TOUR I A 293
town, the county and the beautiful fresh-water sound which it borders is
from Coratank (Ind. wild geese). The sound is a link in the Intracoastal
Waterway. Currituck was formerly a part of the Great County of Albe-
marle. Early settlers were jubilant when, in 1728, following the boundary
dispute between North Carolina and Virginia, the line was established to
include them in North Carolina.
The sound abounds with migratory waterfowl, attracted by the wild
celery, sago grass, and pondweed. Sportsmen from all over the country
utilize the clubhouses and lodges that dot the islands and the shores. Fish
taken include bass, rock, mullet, white and ring perch, herring, pickerel, and
shad.
The whistling swan (Cygnus columbianus) breeds in Alaska and north-
western Canada but winters on Currituck Sound. When full-grown they
weigh from 12 to 16 pounds. They seem to mate for life and are accom-
panied by their young during the first winter.
Timothy Hanson in 1720 brought to Currituck County the seeds of the
grass (Phleum pratense) which he developed into the fodder grass, timothy.
Around Currituck firesides is still told the legend of 16-year-old Betsy
Dowdy's ride in December 1775. The bankers feared that if Gen. William
Skinner did not go to Col. Robert Howe's aid at Great Bridge, Va., the British
would defeat the small American force there, invade North Carolina, and
pillage their homes. On her wiry banker pony Betsy rode all night from the
dunes of Currituck to General Skinner's headquarters in Perquimans, 50
miles distant. Meanwhile the Battle of Great Bridge was won, Dunmore
evacuated Norfolk, and eastern Carolina was saved from British invasion.
Currituck Courthouse, built in 1876, is of weathered red brick. This is
the governmental center since there are no incorporated towns, and local
affairs are administered by the county. People of the section refer to the
town as "the courthouse."
South of Courthouse Point, on a little rise (R) overlooking the sound, is
Pilmoor Memorial Methodist Church, a neat structure of red brick with
small steeple and white trim, erected in 1928 on the spot where Joseph Pil-
moor, on Sept. 28, 1772, preached the first Methodist sermon ever delivered
in North Carolina. It operates one of the few Sunday school buses in the
State, Miss Memorial.
COINJOCK, 29.5 m. (12 alt., 216 pop.), is on the bank of the Albe-
marle and Chesapeake Canal, a link in the Intracoastal Waterway. Coinjock
is a shipping point for watermelons.
BERTHA, 35 m. (26 pop.), is at the junction with paved State 3.
Left on State 3 is POPLAR BRANCH (boats on charter to the banks), 2 m. (325 pop.).
To the east on the outer banks is Currituck Beach Lighthouse, generally known as
Whaleshead, though the post office is COROLLA (no pop.). The lighthouse is of rough
unpainted brick, 163 feet high, with a light of 160,000 candlepower. It was erected
in 1875 t0 fill a dangerous unlighted gap between Cape Henry to the north and
Bodie Island to the south, where south-bound ships keep well inshore to avoid the
north-flowing current of the Gulf Stream.
On Ian. 31, 1878, the Metropolis was wrecked 3 miles south of the lighthouse with
294 TOURS
a loss of more than ioo lives. Victims were buried on the beach in graves marked with
rude boards.
JARVISBURG, 41 m. (550 pop.), the birthplace of Thomas Jarvis, Gov-
ernor of North Carolina (1879-84), one of Currituck's favorite sons.
At POINT HARBOR, 52 m. (60 pop.), the highway crosses the 3-mile-
long Wright Memorial Bridge, marking the confluence of four sounds —
Albemarle, Currituck, Croatan, Roanoke — and giving entrance to Dare
County through an iron archway whose inscription recalls that this county
was the birthplace of the Nation (1584) and of aviation (1903).
Dare, youngest of Albemarle counties, was erected in 1870 from Hyde,
Currituck, and Tyrrell, and named for Virginia Dare. Its area includes
300 square miles of land and 1,200 square miles of water.
At intervals along the 80-mile stretch of beach from the Virginia Line to
Hatteras Inlet, several Coast Guard Stations are maintained. Day and
night patrols watch for signals from ships in distress, notify summer cot-
tagers of storm warnings, and rescue motorcars stranded in the soft sand.
From the archway the highway passes for nearly a mile through a dense
forest in which pine and dogwood predominate, and then opens suddenly
into a wide expanse of sand dunes, with the blue waters of the Atlantic
beyond. Under Federal agencies (1936-37), sand fences were built and
grasses planted to stabilize the migratory ridges, whose steady westward
progress had engulfed hundreds of acres of forest lands and destroyed or
endangered dwellings and villages.
The highway swings R. to parallel the ocean beach, lined for several
miles with cottages and boarding houses.
KITTY HAWK, 59.5 m. (250 pop.), is hidden in the wind-swept trees
(R) beyond the dunes. The name, according to some, is derived from the
mosquito hawks that swarm here at certain seasons. A more colorful ex-
planation is that the name comes from the cry of the wild goose. The Indians
evolved \illy from kill, and computed the white man's year "Fum a Killy
Hauk to a Killy Hauk," the time between killing of the first goose of one
season and the first killing of the next season. However, a map prepared
for the Lords Proprietors in 1729 designates the place as Chickahauk.
It is generally believed that the beautiful Theodosia Burr, daughter of
Aaron Burr and wife of Joseph Alston, Governor of South Carolina
(1812-14), perished off the coast here. On Dec. 30, 1812, she sailed from
Georgetown, S. O, on the Patriot, a small pilot boat, to visit her father in
New York, and was never seen again. The boat was then believed to have
been wrecked off Hatteras during a storm.
In 1869, Dr. W. G. Pool was called to attend a poor banker woman, who
gave him a portrait from her wall for a fee, and told him its story. In 1812
a small pilot boat with sails set and rudder lashed, drifted ashore at Kitty
Hawk. There were no signs of violence or bloodshed on the deserted ship —
an untouched meal was on the table, and silk dresses hung within a cabin.
On the wall was the portrait of a young and beautiful woman, painted in
oil on polished mahogany and set in a gilded frame. The bankers stripped
TOUR I A 295
the boat, and the portrait fell to the woman's sweetheart, who gave it to her.
The bankers believed that pirates had forced all on board to walk the
plank, only to be frightened away before they could plunder the ship.
Upon comparison, Dr. Pool was impressed by the resemblance of his
portrait to a picture of Aaron Burr; photographs of the portrait were sent
to members of the Burr and Edwards families, who, almost without excep-
tion, proclaimed the likeness that of Theodosia. Compared with the Sully
portrait, features and expression were found to be similar. The Nags Head
portrait is in a private museum in New York City.
Legendary confessions round out the story. Years later, two criminals,
later executed, admitted they were members of a pirate crew that boarded
the Patriot and forced passengers and crew to walk the plank. A dying
beggar in a Michigan almshouse confessed he was one of the pirates, and
that he had been haunted by the face of the beautiful woman who pleaded
for her life that she might go to her father in New York.
At intervals along the beach are the wrecks of several ships. In 1927 the
Greek steamer Paraguay broke in two when she grounded on a reef. A year
later the Carl Gerhard was driven ashore between the bow and stern of the
Paraguay. At low tide the decks of the Carl Gerhard furnish footing for
fishermen, though at high tide her decks are awash, and in rough weather
her masts are hardly visible.
The beach has other and less tragic associations. In the summer of 1900
the postmistress at Kitty Hawk received a letter from Dayton, Ohio, asking
information about the topography of the section with reference to proposed
"scientific kite-flying experiments" which Wilbur Wright and his brother
Orville planned to make during their September vacation. Capt. W. J. Tate,
whose wife was postmistress, answered the letter and served as host when
they arrived. Over a period of three years the Wrights carried on glider
experiments, eventually equipping a glider with a gasoline motor.
On May 22, 1928, there was unveiled at Kitty Hawk a commemorative
marble marker, erected with contributions solely from Kitty Hawk citizens,
and inscribed: "On this spot, Sept. 17, 1900, Wilbur Wright began the
assembly of the Wright brothers' first experimental glider which led to man's
conquest of the air."
At 63.8 m. is the junction with an asphalted Government road.
Right on this road the Wright Memorial Monument, 1 m. (R), erected by the
Federal Government in 1932, rises from the top of Kill Devil Hill. The surrounding
350-acre park is a landscaped spot in the barren expanse of glaring dunes. Native wire
grass and transplanted sod were used to anchor the hill. A spiral walk leads to the
summit of the 90-foot dune. The monument, of Mount Airy granite, 60 feet high, has
a star-shaped base resting on a sunken foundation 35 feet deep. On its top is a three-way
beacon, visible for 30 miles on a clear night. On the outer walls are wings in bas-
relief, and the inscription: "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the
brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright conceived by Genius, achieved by Dauntless Resolu-
tion and Unconquerable Faith." At night the monument is illuminated by floodlights.
Within the monument massive bronze doors lead to a memorial room of Salisbury
pink granite, which has a central niche for a small model of the original Wright
plane, and on either side niches for busts of the Wright brothers. Engraved on a stainless
steel table is a map, charting notable flights in the first 25 years of aviation. Inscriptions
296 TOURS
record the date of the first flight of a power-driven airplane, Dec. 17, 1903. Curving
inner stairs ascend to the observation platform atop the monument, which affords an
extensive view of the surrounding area.
North of the monument, 600 feet, is the granite boulder marker erected by the
National Aeronautic Association, unveiled Dec. 17, 1928, the 25th anniversary of the
flight. It stands on the spot where the crude and fragile machine left the earth under its
own power. Four flights were made, the brothers alternating at the controls, until a
sudden gust of the 21-mile wind rolled the machine over, damaging it so that further
experiments were impossible. Orville was at the controls on the first flight when the
plane stayed in the air 12 seconds, traversing 120 feet. On the fourth flight, with Wilbur
at the controls, it was flown 852 feet in 59 seconds, and the news was flashed around the
world.
KILL DEVIL HILL, one legend relates, was named for a brand of Medford rum so
potent that it was considered strong enough to "kill the devil." Tribute to the power
of this liquor was paid in the Ballad of Kill Devil Hills, or the Ballad of Medford Rum,
and according to William Byrd, in his History of the Dividing Line: "Most of the Rum
they get in this country comes from New England, and it is so bad and unwholesome, that
it is not improperly call'd 'Kill Devil.' "
Right from the monument 1 m. on a paved road to the FRESH PONDS, the largest
of which covers 125 acres. Lying on this narrow sand bar between the salt waters
of ocean and sound, these pools are covered with pond lilies and contain fresh-water fish.
They are popularly considered bottomless, and the mystery of their existence has been
variously explained; an inlet may have once existed at this point, connecting the ocean
with Kitty Hawk Bay.
Left from the Fresh Ponds on a sand road 1.2 m., across two free bridges, is
COLLINGTON (200 pop.), a fishing village on Collington Island in Kitty Hawk Bay.
Originally named Carlyle Island, it was granted in 1663 to Sir John Colleton, a Lord
Proprietor. Some believe this to be the Trinity Harbor of DeBry's map. John Lawson
wrote in 1709: "I cannot forbear inserting here a pleasant story that passes for an
uncontested Truth amongst the inhabitants of this Place; which is that the Ship which
brought the first Colonies, does often appear amongst them under sail, in a gallent
posture, which they call Sir Walter Raleigh's Ship; and the truth of this has been
affirmed to me by men of the best Credit in the Country."
Most of the inhabitants are of English and Swedish descent. Delicious figs grow on
the island, where a few of the old two-wheeled oxcarts, formerly common on the banks,
are still in use.
At 67 m. is NAGS HEAD BEACH. Garages border the highway and
boardwalks and driveways lead to the rear of cottages facing the ocean.
The Wreck of the Huron is indicated by a marker recalling the disaster
of Nov. 24, 1877, when 108 lives were lost. When the sea is calm, tank,
boiler, and bell are visible about 175 yards offshore. The wreckage swarms
with fish, particularly sheepshead.
NAGS HEAD, 68.2 m. (39 pop.), has been a resort for more than a
century. Until 1929 the sound side was the site of the larger cottages and
hotels, and cottagers and Sunday excursionists came by boat to a long
pier jutting out into Roanoke Sound. Opening of the Virginia Dare Trail
and the Wright Memorial Bridge has directed development along the ocean
boulevard.
An explanation for the name Nags Head is that in the early days of the
settlement "land pirates" deliberately sought to wreck ships. On a stormy
night a lantern was tied to the neck of an old nag, which was then ridden
along the beach. Mistaking the light for a beacon, ships were lured to the
treacherous reefs, there to be boarded and looted by the wily shoremen.
TOUR I A 297
In the folklore of this coast are a headless horseman who gallops silently
over the dunes, and an everlasting stain on the sandy beach from the blood
of a banker woman slain by her husband who found her in the embrace
of another and did not wait to learn that the stranger was her long-absent
brother.
The White Doe, reincarnation of Virginia Dare, supposedly still roams
the hills, visible to humans only on the stroke of midnight. According to
one tale, the Lost Colony was adopted by an Indian tribe. Virginia was
loved by the young brave Okisco and by the magician Chico. To thwart his
rival, Chico changed the young woman into a white doe. Wenando, magi-
cian of another tribe, gave Okisco a silver arrow that would magically
restore the maiden to human form if it pierced the heart of the white doe.
When Okisco shot the doe through the heart, a mist arose revealing the
form of Virginia Dare — dead.
The sea constantly encroaches at Nags Head and steadily the span of
sandy beach between cottage line and ocean grows narrower. The shore is
building up on the sound side so that cottages, originally erected on pilings
over the water, stand on dry sand. JOCKEYS RIDGE and ENGAGEMENT
HILL are more than 100 feet high. Hardly less imposing are the SEVEN
SISTERS and lesser dunes farther south.
At intervals paved roads lead (R) to the sound side. High dunes give way
to rolling beachland and flat meadows. At the Whalebone Filling Station,
74 m., is the skeleton of a whale washed up on the beach in 1927.
At the Whalebone Filling Station is the junction with a beach road {see
drive on the banks).
State 34 branches R. across 2.5 miles of causeway and bridges over Roa-
noke Sound, to enter ROANOKE ISLAND, 76.5 m., 12 miles long with an
average width of 3 miles.
At 78 m. State 34 makes a junction with paved State 345. At the junc-
tion is the Site of the Battle of Roanoke Island. After the fall of
Hatteras, Roanoke Island was the only hope of defense for Albemarle
Sound and its tributary rivers. When Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside with
15,000 troops sailed up Croatan Sound and landed on the island, the Con-
federates under Col. Henry M. Shaw engaged the Federals but were forced
to retreat and finally to surrender on Dec. 7, 1862.
Left on State 345 is WANCHESE, 4 m. (1,040 pop.), which has one of the best
harbors in the section and is a trading point for northern Pamlico Sound {one boat
daily to Hatteras). It is the center of Dare's shad-fishing industry in which 90 percent of
the county's population is employed.
Right from the Junction on State 345 is MANTEO, 79.5 m. (12 alt., 547
pop.), seat of Dare County and its only incorporated town. The village was
named for the Indian Manteo. Old docks line the water front and two-
wheeled oxcarts occasionally rumble up and down the shell-paved streets.
Manteo {guides and boats available for fishing and hunting) has numer-
ous freight, passenger, and mail boats besides those engaged in fishing.
290 TOURS
Government surveys show a greater variety of fishes in Dare County waters
than in any other county in the United States. Game fish attract sportsmen
the year around. Channel bass weighing 50 to 75 pounds are frequently
taken. Other varieties are bluefish, speckled or gray trout, rock or striped
bass, pigfish, blackfish, and several kinds of perch.
Numerous varieties of waterfowl migrate to this natural feeding ground —
the white swan and many species of wild duck and wild goose. Shore birds
such as golden plover and yellowlegs, furnish sport for hunters. The section
also affords quail and snipe shooting.
Roanoke hominy, commonly called big or lye hominy, is still prepared
in some rural sections as the Indians made it. Tradition says they served it
to Amadas and Barlow in 1584.
At 80 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road to Mother Vineyard (not open to public except by special arrange-
ment), 0.5 m. Here is an unusually fine scuppernong grapevine, covering more than an
acre. Local tradition is that the vine was planted by Amadas and Barlow from roots
brought from the Scuppernong River. Another theory claims discovery of the vine in
Tyrrell County, near Columbia (see tour 26a).
Fort Raleigh {always open), 83 m., is the site of the first attempted
English settlement in America, the Citie of Ralegh (or New Fort) in what
was then Virginia. Between 1584 and 1591 seven separate English expedi-
tions visited Roanoke Island {see history).
On July 4, 1584, Amadas and Barlow touched the present North Carolina
coast, planted the arms of England, and took possession of the continent
for Sir Walter Raleigh under his patent from Queen Elizabeth. After two
months of exploration they returned to England, taking with them the
Indians, Manteo and Wanchese, and samples of the strange products of the
land, including tobacco and potatoes. In 1585, Sir Richard Grenville brought
over a Raleigh colonizing expedition of 108 persons under Gov. Ralph
Lane, landing on Roanoke Island, Aug. 17. Grenville returned to Eng-
land and the colonists built a fort. Trouble with the Indians and near-
starvation ensued, and when Sir Francis Drake's fleet appeared in 1586 the
Lane colonists departed with him. Two weeks later Grenville returned
with supplies and, finding the Lane colony gone, left 15 men to hold Eng-
land's claim.
Gov. John White's expedition arrived in 1587 and found no trace of the
men except an unburied skeleton, the fort and dwellings in ruins. They
rebuilt the fort and restored friendly relations with the Indians, aided by
Manteo, who, on Aug. 13, 1587, was baptized and, by order of Sir Walter
Raleigh, invested with the title, Lord of Roanoke. This is the first recorded
celebration of a sacrament by English-speaking people in America.
Among the colonists was Governor White's daughter, Eleanor, wife of
Ananias Dare. The daughter of this couple, born on Aug. 18, 1587, was the
first white child born of English parents on American soil. The following
Sunday, Aug. 25, she was christened Virginia, for the Colony was then
called Virginia.
On Aug. 27, 1587, John White sailed for England "for the present and
TOUR I A 299
speedy supply of certain known and apparent lacks and needs, most requisite
and necessary for the good and happy planting of us, or any other in the
land of Virginia." White was detained in England by the Spanish Armada
and not until Mar. 20, 1591, was he able to embark to America. He arrived
at Roanoke Island Aug. 15, 1591, searched for two days, and "found the
houses taken down and the place very strongly enclosed with a high pali-
sade of great trees, with curtains and flankers, very fortlike; and one of the
chief trees or posts at the right side of the entrance had the bark taken
off, and five feet from the ground, in fair capital letters were graven
CROATOAN, without any sign or cross of distress." So ends the romantic
story of that tragic Lost Colony of 116 men, women, and children. There
have been numerous conjectures as to their ultimate fate, but the truth has
never been discovered.
Governor White made minute and careful drawings, now in the British
Museum, of the activities of the colonists and their Indian neighbors. These
drawings, as well as other pertinent records of the time, were consulted in
the reconstruction of the fort and other buildings.
Small blockhouses flank the entrance to the palisaded reservation and rise
from the four corners. Reproductions of the colonists' log houses stand
among the pine, oak, dogwood, and holly. They are built, as is the palisade,
of split, unpeeled juniper logs and are chinked with Spanish moss. The stone
used for foundations and fireplaces is ancient ballast rock, recovered from
the waters around the island.
The Fort, on the original foundations within its own palisade, is of pine
with a projecting upper story and sides pierced for gunfire. Here are the
stone monument erected in 1896 in memory of the Lost Colony, and a
bronze plaque bearing the one word Croatoan. The Museum contains im-
plements used in Colonial days. The Chapel, of juniper logs, 20 by 30 feet,
thatched with native reeds, stands on a little hummock north of the fort.
Rough backless benches are set in the sand, which serves as a floor. Each
year, on Aug. 18, the Roanoke Colony Memorial Association celebrates the
birthday of Virginia Dare at Fort Raleigh. The 350th anniversary took an
elaborate form in 1937.
State 345 continues to WEIR POINT, 84 m., at the tip of Roanoke
Island. Here, in 1902, Reginald A. Fessenden, of the U. S. Weather Bureau,
built an experimental wireless station and established communication with
a ship similarly equipped. He subsequently completed his experiments else-
where and secured patents for his system.
A ferry runs between Roanoke Island and Manns Harbor {see tour 26a).
300 TOURS
DRIVE ON THE BANKS
This route is recommended for the adventurous
Whalebone Filling Station to Hatteras Inlet, 55 m.
Unpaved sandy road, unusable at certain times of the year and during high tide; safest
when ground is frozen. Inquire locally about conditions. Automobile tires should be
somewhat deflated before leaving paved roadbed; motorists should carry long strips
of coarse canvas or an old sail for use under the wheels to provide traction if needed.
Coast Guard Stations between Oregon and Hatteras Inlets assist motorists. Hotel at
Hatteras village.
The constantly shifting dunes of this long narrow reef created by the
restless currents of the Atlantic form fantastic shadows, contrasting with the
gray green or blue of the waters in a scene of primitive splendor.
Bodie (body) Island Lighthouse {open), 5 m., was built in 1872. The
first light here was erected in 1848 to mark the dangerous stretch of low-
lying coast between Capes Henry and Hatteras. Rebuilt in 1859, it was
destroyed during the War between the States; Fort Oregon was built near
the site during that conflict. When rebuilt it was placed on a new site west
of the inlet that had recently been opened. Five sailing vessels were wrecked
in the vicinity while the tower, finished in 1872, was under construction.
The lighthouse is 163 feet high and throws a 160,000-candlepower beam
visible for 19 miles.
OREGON INLET, 8 m., a mile wide, is crossed by a toll ferry {50$
trip for car and driver; extra passengers 10$ each way). This is one of the
best points on the coast for drum (channel bass) fishing. While drum
and bluefish are running, scores of fishing boats with shining lures
trailing astern pass through the inlet, and millions of pounds of fish are
taken.
The 6,500-acre area between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe constitutes the
PEA ISLAND MIGRATORY WATERFOWL REFUGE under control
of the U. S. Biological Survey; it is a part of the Cape Hatteras National
Seashore.
Pea Island Station {open), 15 m., is the only one in the Coast Guard
service manned by Negroes. In the surf nearby is the rusty boiler of a
grounded Confederate blockade runner.
NEW INLET, 17 m., opened in 1933 by a severe northeast storm and
ocean tides, is crossed by free bridges.
RODANTHE, 21 m. (420 pop.), is on the most easterly point on the
North Carolina coast. Here, folk celebrate the birth of the Christ Child on
Jan. 6, Old Christmas, or Twelfth Night, a custom for generations.
Chicamacomico Station {open) marks the dangerous coast at Rodanthe.
Here is the surfboat in which, on Aug. 16, 1918, Capt. John Allen Midgett
and a crew of 5 braved a sea of blazing oil and gasoline to rescue 42
persons from the torpedoed British tanker, S.S. Mirlo. For this deed Con-
TOUR I A 3OI
gress awarded them bronze Medals of Honor. Close by the station is the
burial mound of British seamen drowned in the wreck of the St. Catharis,
Apr. 16, 1891, in which 90 lives were lost.
At SALVO, 27 m., on a barren sand hill, grows an immense fig tree
whose branches spread over an area 250 feet in circumference. It produced
from 50 to 100 bushels of figs annually until 1933, when it was damaged
in a storm.
AVON, 39 m., (489 pop.), is a fishing village also known locally by
the Indian name Kinnakeet. Big Kinnakeet Station (open) is here. Tons
of bluefish are caught near here every season. Fruit trees, vineyards, and
truck gardens evidence the fertility of this little area.
South of Avon the beach road winds through woods where palmettos
grow in abundance, trees are hung with Spanish moss, and the vegetation
is generally subtropical. The open beach is strewn with wreckage, attesting
the aptness of Cape Hatteras waters being called "the Graveyard of the
Atlantic." A grisly joke is the local observation that Hatteras' chief importa-
tion is wrecks.
On CAPE HATTERAS, 45 m., wildlife is abundant. For years herds
of wild ponies, cattle, and hogs ranged at will, till the Federal program of
sand fixation by grass plantings necessitated a strict stock law. In 1938 the
county placed a bounty on the few remaining wild ponies, traditional de-
scendants of Barbary ponies brought over by the Raleigh colonists or saved
from wrecked Portuguese ships. In winter the waters are dotted with ducks
and geese, and there is frequently the gleam of a white swan. Sandpipers
and gulls feed in flocks, undisturbed by scurrying sandfiddlers. Eagles and
ospreys wheel above the water on the lookout for prey, and schools of por-
poises sport just beyond the breakers of the roaring Atlantic.
At the tip of the cape, 1,200 acres, including the gently shelving beach
on the south, were given to the Federal Government by Frank Stick and
J. S. Phipps to be developed as the CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEA-
SHORE, which will eventually be included in a greater recreational area
embracing 50 miles or more of beachland and bordering sound.
Within the area is Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, abandoned in 1936. Spi-
rally painted black and white, the structure is 193 feet high and commands
a view of a great wreck area. Within 125 yards, 15 or more ship skeletons
protrude from the sands. The first lighthouse, built in 1798, was blown
up during the War between the States. The present abandoned lighthouse,
when built in 1869-70, was 2 miles inland, but when the encroaching Atlantic
was only 100 feet away the Government decided to retreat to higher
ground. A 166-foot skeleton tower at the edge of Buxton woods replaces the
older, more picturesque structure; it has a revolving light visible for 19
miles on a clear night.
After the engagement between the Merrimac and the Monitor in Hampton
Roads, Mar. 9, 1862, the Monitor was dispatched to Charleston Harbor Dec.
29 in tow of the side-wheeler Rhode Island. The following night the unsea-
302 TOURS
worthy little "cheese box" sank in a gale off Hatteras, with a loss of 4
officers and 12 men; 49 of her crew were saved by the Rhode Island.
DIAMOND SHOALS, most treacherous shallows on the coast, extend
25 miles out to sea from the cape. They are vast shifting ridges of sand,
swept down the coast by powerful ocean tides. Few ships stranded on the
shoals are ever refloated, but the Matinee R. Thurlow proved an exception
when she ran aground during a storm on Oct. 13, 1927. Her crew of nine
signaled for help and coast guardsmen took them ashore in a surfboat.
The Coast Guard cutter Mascoutin, which was dispatched from Norfolk,
Va., could find no trace of the schooner and reported her lost. Thirteen
days later the Dutch tanker Sleidrecht sighted the schooner in the North
Atlantic. A general order to run down the modern Flying Dutchman was
broadcast. Every few days the sea wanderer was reported in a different place
but she was never overtaken and her fate is unknown.
The shoals are marked by Diamond Shoals Lightship, moored 13 miles
off the tip of Cape Hatteras. With radio signals and a beacon visible for
14 miles, the ship serves continuously for a year, when she and her crew of
16 are relieved by another "wave wallower."
Early efforts to maintain a lightship here proved futile, but there has been
one since 1897 except for brief intervals. One such interval occurred on Aug.
8, 1918 when a German submarine opened fire on a merchant ship about a
mile and a half away. The lightship wirelessed a warning to vessels in the
vicinity and the submarine located and sank her. The crew escaped in small
boats to Cape Hatteras.
West of the cape the road passes sand hills whose thickly timbered ridges are
clothed with loblolly pine, live oak, and holly including the yaupon (yo'pon),
locally called cassena holly. The trees incline westward, bent by the prevail-
ing winds. These woods contain deer and small game. Yaupon {Ilex cassine
and Ilex vomitorid) is a dark evergreen with bright red berries. The small
glossy leaves are dried and used for tea, emetic to those unaccustomed to it,
though it contains much caffeine. It was called the "black drink" when used
by the Creeks at their annual "busk" or green-corn thanksgiving for cere-
monial purification.
At 46.5 m., is BUXTON (315 pop.), most of whose houses cluster
around the sound-side docks.
FRISCO, 50 m. (115 pop.), has neat white houses with bright blue
blinds and dooryards gay with flowers and picket fences. The Frisco Station
{open) is on the beach here.
Southwest of Frisco the route continues through the woods, which at
length give way to open beachland strewn with still more wreckage.
HATTERAS, 54 m. (5 alt., 500 pop.), is the largest community on the
beach. Sportsmen interested in deep-sea fishing have materially aided its
development. Houses, some flamboyantly painted, nestle among scrubby,
TOUR I A 303
stunted live oaks and waterbushes teeming with mockingbirds. The people
are weathered and bronzed, possessed of a sturdy independence and self-
reliance. Occupations are limited almost entirely to fishing and boating and
to Government employment in the Lighthouse Service and the Coast Guard.
These people speak in broad Devon accents. Many older families believe
they are descended from shipwrecked English sailors. Most are members of
well-defined clans. Old words and phrases survive and the distinctive banker
enunciation gives the speech a special quality. Couthy is the banker's word
for capable; heerd for heard. "Don't fault me if I'm scunnered" means
"Don't blame me if I'm disgusted." The mainland is usually referred to as
the country, and day begins at "calm daylight." Disremember and disen-
courage are frequently heard. Fleech means to flatter, although the native
is sparing with his praise.
In this neighborhood a "model T" is driven as if it were a ship in sail.
To turn left is to "port the helm," and when the right front tire blows
out, "she's listin' by the starb'rd beam." A wife riding in the rear seat is
"supercargo in the stern sheets."
Towns are called neighborhoods, and while there are no boarding houses
proper, tourists {comers n goers) find shelter along the way. Graves are
usually close by the houses in the yards, but there is always the chance that
the bones of the departed may be blown out if the winds are high. A canoe
is a cunner, and some of the houses rest on blocks because of the toids
(tides).
The woods disappear at the western end of the island, which is low and
wet, and marsh joins the sandy beach.
HATTER AS INLET, 55 m., is the principal inlet on the northern Caro-
lina coast, and famous for angling {boats available for trips to the Gulf
Stream, 20 miles offshore). Dolphin, amberjack, tarpon, sailfish, marlin,
and swordfish provide sport for deep-sea fishermen {fishing best in late May,
early ]une, and Oct.).
Where the marsh and beach converge at the inlet are traces of Fort
Hatteras and its outlying flank defense, Battery Clark. Col. W. F. Martin
was in charge of Fort Hatteras when, on Aug. 27, 1861, a Federal fleet ap-
peared, equipped with Dahlgren guns, secure beyond the range of the old-
style smooth-bore pieces of the Confederate defenders. After most of the
fort's guns had been silenced, Federal troops landed on the beach, and
Colonel Martin surrendered, Aug. 29. The fall of Fort Hatteras opened to
Union forces an effective entrance into North Carolina.
TOUR IB
Elizabeth City — Weeksville — Halls Creek; State 170. 17.5 m.
Paved roadbed between Elizabeth City and Symons Creek, narrow graded road between
Symons Creek and Halls Creek.
State 170 branches southeast from US 17 (see tour ia) in ELIZABETH
CITY, m. {see Elizabeth city).
At 1 m. is the junction with a dirt road
Left on this road to the Elizabeth City State Normal School (colored), 1 m. Started
in 1 89 1 in a single wooden building, the school now occupies nine, most of which are
brick. Students work for the school to pay part of their tuition. About one-fifth of the
500 students are boys. The two-year course is for teacher training.
At a country church, 1.5 m., is the junction with a dirt road.
Left on this road to Enfield Farm (private), 2 m., on the bank of the Pasquotank
River. Here was erected in 1670 the home of Thomas Relfe, provost marshal of the
general court and one of the first vestrymen of Pasquotank Parish. Two rooms of the
original building, with brick walls 3 feet thick, are incorporated in the present farmhouse.
Enfield Farm was the Scene of the Culpepper Rebellion in 1678. The conduct
of acting Governor Miller had become so repugnant that the people of the section, led
by John Culpepper, former surveyor general of South Carolina, George Durant (see tour
1 a), and other planters, seized Miller and six members of the council and imprisoned
them at Enfield. They then convoked a legislature, appointed courts and for two years
exercised all the rights and powers of government. When Culpepper went to London
to defend his conduct the Lords Proprietors declined to punish him. Arrested by royal
authorities on charges of embezzlement and treason for seizing the King's customs,
he was acquitted.
Cobbs Point, formerly called Pembroke, on Enfield Farm, was the scene of a minor
naval battle in 1862. Visible are the remains of a rude fort, hastily thrown up to defend
the harbor when Federal gunboats came up the river from Roanoke Island.
Bayside {private), 3 m., is a Classical Revival plantation house on the
highest point of land along the Pasquotank River. It was built by John
Hollowell about 1800. The white-columned mansion faces the highway, in
a setting of wide lawns, spreading trees, and spacious gardens. The over-
seer's dwelling and one of the slave cabins are still standing and in use.
WEEKSVILLE, 7.5 m. (8 alt., no pop.), on New Begun Creek, is the
center of the most fertile farming territory in northeastern North Carolina.
At SYMONS CREEK, 11 m., is the Site of the First Quaker Meet-
inghouse in North Carolina (1706). A marker indicates the Site of the
First School in North Carolina, established in 1705 by Charles Griffin,
a lay reader of the Established Church sent out by the Society for the
304
TOUR IB 305
Propagation of the Gospel. He was the first professional teacher in North
Carolina of whom there is record.
NIXONTON, 14.8 m. (115 pop.), on Little River, originally Old Town,
was the seat of Pasquotank County until 1800. Nixonton was the center
of a flourishing trade with the West Indies in the early 1800's.
The Old Customhouse {private), on a hill sloping to the river, is a one-
story wooden structure built in 1745 and now serving as a dwelling. The
original structure contained three rooms and paneling that has been removed.
The claim is made that the lumber, bricks, and paneling were brought from
England. Two rooms and two porches have been added.
At HALLS CREEK, 17.5 m., opposite Halls Creek Church, is a memorial
tablet marking the Site of the Grand Assembly of the Albemarle
(1665), the first assembly of settlers ever held in North Carolina. It con-
vened by order of William Drummond, North Carolina's first Governor;
George Catchmaid was speaker. The assembly petitioned the Proprietors to
allow the North Carolinians to hold their lands under the same conditions
as the Virginians. Accession to this request was made in what is known as
the Great Deed of Grant (1668). Tradition relates that one of the bylaws
of the assembly provided that "the members should wear shoes, if not
stockings" during the session of the body and that they "must not throw
their chicken and other bones under the tree."
TOUR I C
Junction with US 17 — Orton — Old Brunswick — Southport; Old River Rd.
26 m.
Sand-clay road.
Hotel accommodations at Southport.
The Old River Rd. branches south from US 17, m. (see tour ib),
4 miles west of Wilmington, parallels the Cape Fear's western bank through
woodlands shaded by century-old oaks.
CLARENDON (private), 8 m., a 1,000-acre estate, in 1730 was the seat
of Marsden Campbell. The Colonial frame house was torn down about 1920
to make way for a modern residence. Clarendon was once the name for the
whole Cape Fear region.
TOWN CREEK, 9 m. (100 pop.), is the site of the first settlement
(1664) on the Cape Fear River, although a party of New Englanders in
1660 had attempted to settle here. In 1661 and 1663 exploring parties
from Barbados, headed by Capt. William Hilton, paved the way for the
party of royalist refugees who in 1664 established a settlement at the mouth
of Town Creek, which they called Charles Town. They were joined the
following year by other Barbadians, among them Sir John Yeamans, who
had been appointed their Governor. These Barbadians planted cotton and
exported boards, staves, and shingles. The settlement was abandoned in
1667, and in 1670 Yeamans became one of the founders of the Charles
Town on the Ashley River in South Carolina.
On the Site of Lilliput, 10 m., was one of the earliest plantations on
the river, that of Eleazar Allen, receiver general of the Colonies for the
southern district (1745-48), noted for his hospitality. According to his tomb-
stone, he was serving as chief justice of the Colony at his death. Lilliput
later became the property and for a time the residence of Sir Thomas Frank-
land, a great-grandson of Oliver Cromwell.
On Orton Plantation (open occasionally), 14 m., is the only surviving
mansion of the Colonial period on the Cape Fear River. The estate was
probably named for the village of Orton in the lake district of England, seat
of the Moore family. The house was built in 1725 by "King" Roger Moore,
so called because of his imperious manner. It was subsequently occupied by
his grandson, Gen. Benjamin Smith, Governor of North Carolina (1810-11).
Following a dispute between Benjamin and his brother James, the latter
dropped the name Smith to assume his grandmother's name of Rhett, and
306
TOUR I C 307
went to South Carolina where he became the founder of the Rhett family
of that State.
Entrance to the 10,000-acre estate is marked by massive gray stone pillars
surmounted by iron spread-eagles. The drive winds between tall trees and
past ponds once planted with rice. Across the diked marshland were rails
for a small car on which visitors rode to the house from the river.
On a high bluff overlooking the river is the mansion, in a formal setting
of boxwoods, camellias, and azaleas. It is of brick, painted white, almost
square in plan, with a Doric portico. Above the heavy wooden entrance
door is a small balcony. Dimensions of the original building were about
60 by 75 feet, but subsequent owners added wings and modernized the
interior.
On Orton Estate, half a mile southeast of the mansion, is Old Palace
Field, the site of Russellborough. This 55-acre tract was bought from Roger
Moore's estate by Captain Russell of the British Navy, who once owned
the Campbelltown tract {see fayetteville). It was later sold to Arthur
Dobbs, Governor (1754-65), and in 1767 became the property of William
Tryon, Governor (1765-71). A rubble of ruins, almost hidden by trees
and vines, is all that remains of the winter mansion occupied by Tryon
when he was in Brunswick. Here a marker, of brick and stone from
the ruins, commemorates the Stamp Act Defiance. When the British
Parliament passed the Stamp Act, citizens of the region, headed by Alder-
man Moses John DeRossett, demanded and received the resignation of Stamp
Master William Houston {see Wilmington), and by ordered demonstra-
tions so evinced their dissatisfaction that when H.M.S. Diligence arrived in
November 1765 with the stamps, they were not unloaded. Incited by the
seizure of two ships whose papers had not been stamped, 1,000 partly armed
citizens, headed by Speaker John Ashe and Col. Hugh Waddell, proceeded
to Brunswick. On Feb. 19, 1766, in defiance of two armed British vessels,
the Diligence and the Viper, and garrisoned Fort Johnston at the river's
mouth, the mob forced the release of the seized ships and the resignation
of William Pennington, His Majesty's comptroller, who agreed to issue no
more stamped paper. Two months later Parliament repealed the act.
Just south of Old Palace Field is the Site of Old Brunswick, 15 m.,
founded in 1725 when Col. Maurice Moore laid off the town and named
both town and county for the Prince of Brunswick. After the Tuscarora
massacres of 171 1 {see tour 2), Colonel Moore headed the relief force from
South Carolina and, attracted by the river lands as he crossed the Cape Fear,
conceived the idea of settling here. This was not possible until 1725, the
Lords Proprietors having prohibited settlements within 20 miles of the river
up to that time. In 1731 Dr. John Brickell, in his Natural History of North-
Carolina, wrote: "Brunswick Town is most delightfully seated, on the
South-side of that Noble River Cape Fear; and no doubt but it will be
very considerable in a short time, by its great trade, the number of Mer-
chants, and rich planters, that are settled upon its banks." As many as 42
vessels carrying valuable cargoes sailed from the port in one year.
After Spanish vessels attacked, captured, and partially destroyed the town
308 TOURS
in 1748, it was almost immediately retaken and rebuilt. A painting, Ecce
Homo, taken from a captured Spanish ship, is in St. James Church, Wil-
mington. Cornelius Harnett {see Wilmington) was reared here in his
father's Brunswick tavern.
As early as 1733 Brunswick felt the growing importance of New Town
(Wilmington). The roadstead had proved unsafe in stormy weather and
exposed to pirates, and although royal Governors lived here during the
winter months, everyone fled in summer to escape the swarms of mosquitoes.
In 1735 Gov. Gabriel Johnston bought land at Wilmington and moved
courts, council and port offices thither. Wilmington flourished while Bruns-
wick dwindled, and after the Revolutionary War was finally abandoned.
St. Philip's Church (1740-65) is Brunswick's most noted ruin. Cedar
trees grow within the 33-inch-thick brick walls which survived the Federal
bombardment of Fort Anderson. The chancel windows, slender and arched,
are flanked by doorways. The side walls have four windows each, 15 feet
high and 7 feet wide. At first utilizing a mere shed, Brunswick churchmen
improved their place of worship until finally in 1765 this once-handsome
little edifice was sufficiently completed for services. Built of English brick
combined with some locally made, it was His Majesty's Chapel in the Colony,
and the royal Governors, Dobbs and Tryon, had their pews raised above the
others. Behind the church lie many of Brunswick's citizens. Among them
are Arthur Dobbs, royal Governor (1754-65), and Alfred Moore, Justice
(1799-1805) of the U. S. Supreme Court {see tour //).
At 18 m. is the Site of Fort Anderson, part of the defense line of Wil-
mington, captured by Union troops after a severe bombardment, Feb. 17-19,
1865. Only grass-clad ruins mark the spot.
Howes Point, 19 m., is the site of the plantation of Job Howe, birthplace
of Gen. Robert Howe (1732-86), aide of George Washington. The planta-
tion was plundered by British troops under Cornwallis, May 12, 1776. After
destroying mills in the vicinity, the British embarked for Charleston. Their
advance upon Orton's mill was halted at a small spring-fed lake since called
Liberty Pond.
The Old River Rd. runs to SOUTHPORT, 26 m. {see tour ib).
TOUR
Junction with US 158 — Tarboro — Kinston — Junction with US 17; US 258.
143 m.
Seaboard Air Line R.R. parallels the route between Murfreesboro and Rich Square;
Atlantic Coast Line R.R. between Scotland Neck and Tarboro; Eastern Carolina R.R.
between Tarboro and Farmville; Norfolk Southern R.R. between Snow Hill and Kinston.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in towns; tourist homes and camps along route.
US 258 traverses a section of the Coastal Plain where bright-leaf tobacco
is the staple crop. Small farms lie between pine forests containing a few
maple, ash, gum, oak, and hickory trees. The highway crosses several
eastward-flowing rivers which in spring and fall rise to torrential proportions
and rage through fertile bottom lands.
At m. US 258 branches south from US 158 {see tour 24a), 2 miles
west of Murfreesboro.
The route crosses the Roanoke River, 22 m., on Edwards Ferry Bridge,
built in 1926 and named for an early ferry run by Cullen Edwards, holder
of a pre-Revolutionary land grant. Indians called the Roanoke the River of
Death, because of its rapids and sudden floods. Near this point Gilbert
Elliott of Elizabeth City built the Confederate ironclad ram Albemarle {see
tour 26a).
Old Trinity Episcopal Church (L), 28 m., is built of deep-toned red
brick in modified English Gothic style. Ivy growing on the church tower
was reputedly brought from Westminster Abbey. The church was organized
in 1832 from Kehukee Parish. In the garden-like cemetery is the Tomb
of Whitmel Hill (1743-97)? colonel in the Continental Army. As a mem-
ber of the State constitutional convention at Halifax in 1776, he was on the
committee that drafted the document and was a member of the Continental
Congress (1778-81) and of the State senate. In the Hillsboro convention of
1788 he stood with the Johnston-Iredell-Davie minority for adoption of the
Federal Constitution.
SCOTLAND NECK, 29 m. (102 alt., 2,339 P°P-)> on a fertile neck of
land in a bend of the Roanoke River, was settled in 1722 by a colony of
Scottish Highlanders from Virginia. Several factories manufacture peanut
products and there are two hosiery mills. The brick building of Vine Hill
Academy, founded in 18 10, still stands, though it is now used for storage.
Until closed in the early 1900's the school exerted an important influence in
this part of the State.
309
310 TOURS
Legend has it that after the Stuart restoration, John and Edward Crom-
well, brothers of the Protector, fled to America (1675). While on the ocean
they decided to change their names to escape possible persecution and per-
formed a solemn ceremony of writing their names on paper and cutting
the letter M from the Cromwell and casting it into the sea. The brothers
first landed in New Jersey, but later settled near Scotland Neck, at what is
still called Crowell's Crossroads.
At 37 m. US 258 crosses Deep Creek, whose waters are darkened by
passage through upland swamps of cypress and juniper.
PRINCEVILLE, 49 m. (39 alt., 614 pop.), is one of the country's few
incorporated villages politically dominated by Negroes. Chartered in 1885,
it has an all-Negro administration including a volunteer fire company. The
place is really a suburb of Tarboro, where most of its male inhabitants are
employed.
At Prince ville is the junction with US 64 {see tour 26a), which unites
with US 258 between Princeville and Tarboro.
TARBORO, 50 m. (58 alt., 6,379 pop.), seat of Edgecombe County, is
a tobacco-selling and cotton-manufacturing center on the western bank of
Tar River. The county was formed in 1735 and named for the Earl of
Edgecombe, British commissioner for trade and plantations. The town was
laid out in 1760 on or near the site of an earlier Tar Burrow established by
people of English descent from Virginia. At the insistence of the rector of
St. Mary's Parish, such names as St. John, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick were
given to the shady winding streets branching from Tarboro Common.
Tarboro was one of several towns that played host to North Carolina's
itinerant legislature in its early days. The 1787 session, with 180 members
in attendance, met here. About 50 legislators were packed into Toole's
Tavern; others were quartered in private homes. William Attmore, a Phila-
delphia merchant in Tarboro at the time, notes in his journal: "Every family
almost received some of the members; Beds were borrowed from the
Country, 3 or 4 placed in a room and two of their Honors in a bed." After
the fuel had been exhausted at the tavern, the members resorted to "Drams of
some kind or other before Breakfast; sometimes Gin, Cherrybounce, Egg
Nog, etc."
The assembly met at the courthouse; it had a long room for the commons
and a smaller room for the senate. Every member sat with his hat on except
when addressing the chair. Members gambled in a tavern at an "E.O.
table" brought thither by a Mr. Faulkner of Philadelphia, and at other games,
one New Bern trader losing £600 in a night.
In providing entertainment for the visitors, attempts were made to "repre-
sent dramatic pieces, but with very bad success. . . . Two of the actresses
were adventuresses from Charleston." One Billy Ford emerged from a "jovial
meeting" of the legislature wearing a silk handkerchief to hide a black eye
caused by a swiftly hurled orange skin. "Somebody also threw the leg of
a Turkey which miss'd him, but fell not guiltless to the floor, giving Toole
a violent blow on the back," in which connection Attmore remarks that at
TOUR 2 311
the tavern they "invited me to go upstairs to be introduced to some great
Men, but I was engaged!"
Edgecombe County's principal crops are cotton, tobacco, and peanuts;
Tarboro factories manufacture cotton cloth, cottonseed products, veneers,
corn meal, and feed. The municipality operates a creamery and maintains
a high standard for its milk supply.
Tarboro Common, a shaded park in the center of the business section,
contains a monument to Col. Louis D. Wilson (1789-1847), who represented
Edgecombe County for 19 years in the general assembly. In the course of a
speech urging North Carolina's participation in the war against Mexico, a
younger senator remarked that it was well enough for Wilson to favor "this
contemptible war," as he was too old to go. Wilson rallied a volunteer militia
from Edgecombe, and proceeded to Mexico. He died of fever at Vera Cruz.
Wilson and Wilson County bear his name (see tour 3). Other monuments
honor Confederate soldiers of Edgecombe County and Henry L. Wyatt,
slain at Bethel Church, June 10, 1861, whose death was remembered by his
Confederate comrades as the "First at Bethel" (see raleigh).
Local legend places the Bark House (private), 501 W. Wilson St., on the
site of an early fort built by settlers as protection against Indians, who were
numerous in the region until about 1720. The frame structure is covered
over with slabs of bark.
Dr. J. P. Keech's Office (open), 115 E. Church St., contains a collection
of early novels and school texts, Indian relics, old weapons, and wooden
gavels from a community house erected by Thomas Blount in 1808.
Calvary Episcopal Church, NE. corner Church and David Sts., was or-
ganized as St. Mary's Parish in 1741. The present building, third on the site,
was begun in i860, though not completed until 1867. Its twin towers are
green with English ivy. In the wall-enclosed churchyard is the Grave of
William Dorsey Pender (1834-63), killed at Gettysburg, youngest major
general in the Confederate Army. Here also is the Grave of Col. William
Lawrence Saunders, secretary of state of North Carolina (1879-91) and
compiler of the Colonial Records of North Carolina. His tombstone bears
the statement, "I decline to answer," made by Colonel Saunders when ques-
tioned in a Ku Klux Klan investigation (see tour //).
At 59 m. is the junction with paved State 43.
Left on State 43 to the junction with an improved road, 3.2 m. ; L. 1 m. on this road
to Bracebridge Hall {private), birthplace and lifetime residence of Elias Carr, leader
in the agrarian movement in the 1890's and Governor of North Carolina (1893-97).
The two-story mansion with Doric portico, set in a grove of oaks with the usual
dependencies, was probably built in the i83o's.
FARMVILLE, 75 m. (82 alt., 2,056 pop.), is an agricultural and tobacco-
marketing center with warehouses scattered about the town.
Farmville is at the junction with US 264 (see tour 27).
At 84 m. is a bronze tablet on a boulder marking the course of the Old
Hull Rd., cut by British troops during the Revolution. A second tablet on
312 TOURS
the boulder indicates the Grave of Gen. Thomas Holliday, Greene County
soldier of the War of 1812.
SNOW HILL, 87 m. (64 alt., 826 pop.), seat of Greene County, is an
agricultural center in a prosperous tobacco-producing area. It was founded
in 1799 but not incorporated until 1855.
Snow Hill is on the site of the Indian town of Cotechney, the Tuscarora
stronghold, to which in 171 1 were brought the captives John Lawson and
Baron de GrafTenried, founders of New Bern (see new bern). Lawson, who
as surveyor general of North Carolina had disposed of large areas of land
claimed by the Indians, was tortured to death. Legend says his captors thrust
lightwood splinters into his flesh and set them afire. De Graffenried was
released after six months' imprisonment.
Greene County, named for Revolutionary Gen. Nathanael Greene, was
laid out in 1791 from the now extinct Dobbs County. It was first named
for James Glasgow, but was renamed in 1799 after Glasgow had been con-
victed of fraud in connection with the issuance of land grants.
When Samuel Ashe, Governor (1795-98), heard of Glasgow's plans to
remove incriminating records and burn the statehouse at Raleigh, his com-
ment was, "An angel has fallen." A special court of circuit judges found
Glasgow and his associates guilty. He was fined ^2,000, but the Negro,
who at his behest had attempted to burn the statehouse, was hanged. This
special court, directed by an act of 1799 to sit at Raleigh, was the nucleus of
the State's highest tribunal, an act in 1805 constituting it the State supreme
court. Glasgow's body was moved to an unmarked grave in Raleigh.
Greene County was settled about 1710 by families from Virginia, Mary-
land, and North Carolina counties to the north. Though one of the smallest
counties in the State, it is one of the richest agriculturally, yielding abundant
crops of tobacco, corn, and cotton.
The Greene County Courthouse (1935) is the third to serve the county.
Constructed of brick and limestone, it is two stories in height with a third-
story attic. The symmetrical facade is designed with a portico of four Doric
columns and consonant Greek detail. The first courthouse was erected in
1806.
The Episcopal Church is a simple four-bay structure with white over-
lapped vertical siding. A rude, unpainted cross surmounts the peak of the
front gable and a bell rack stands to the left rear of the church in the yard.
A marker at the principal business intersection designates the Granville
Line, surveyed in 1743. Snow Hill lies on the southern boundary of the "one-
eighth part" of Carolina retained by Lord Granville in 1729 when the other
Lords Proprietors surrendered their charters (see history). This marker also
commemorates an Indian battle at Fort Nohoroco, a Tuscarora fortress
nearby on Contentnea Creek. On Mar. 20-23, I 7 I 3' m perhaps the severest
battle fought with the Indians up to that date, Col. Maurice Moore broke
the power of the Tuscarora and their allies in North Carolina. The Tus-
carora surrendered 20 of their chief men to Moore and later emigrated to
New York to join the Five Nations.
TOUR 2 313
Right from Snow Hill on paved State 102 to the junction with a dirt road, 5.7 m. ; L.
0.4 m. on this road to the junction with a lane; R. 0.2 m. up the lane to the Henry
Best House {private; open on request). This was the home of a Greene County soldier
of the Revolution and was built probably in the early 1800's. It is a two-story, clap-
boarded house, one room deep, with end chimneys and ell at the rear. A two-story
porch, the length of the front, is supported on two ranges of square columns, vaguely
Doric in detail, which are a later addition. There is a fine dentiled and modillioned
cornice at the rear. The upper gallery of the porch is enclosed by a delicate wood railing.
Inside, a wainscot with beveled paneling runs around the hall and the two lower
rooms; the staircase has a spiral newel.
KINSTON, 102 m. (46 alt., 11,362 pop.), on the northern bank of the
Neuse River, is the seat of Lenoir County and a tobacco center. Queen Street,
named for Charlotte, queen of George III, extends north from the river,
traverses the business section, surmounts a low hill, and becomes the prin-
cipal residential avenue. Old streets, with the exception of Queen, resemble
alleys in their narrowness. Commercial life at Kinston attains its peak during
the tobacco-selling season each fall. Nine warehouses, tobacco stemmeries,
three textile mills, a lumber mill, and radio broadcasting station WFTC are
operated in the town.
The site of Kinston in 1740 was the homestead of William Heritage, a
New Bern planter and jurist who had removed to Atkins Banks on the
Neuse. In 1762 Governor Dobbs authorized establishment of a town at
Atkins Banks, with Richard Caswell, Francis McLewean, Simon Bright, Jr.,
John Shine, and David Gordon as trustees. They laid out the town and
named the streets for themselves and Heritage. The main street of the new
King's Town (Kingston) was designated King Street in honor of George
III. During the Revolution zealous patriots adopted the form Kinston.
Lenoir County, named for Revolutionary Gen. William Lenoir {see tour
iga), was formed in 1791 from Dobbs County, but before 1758 it was part
of the Great County of Bath.
Before the War between the States, the Dibble family established a buggy
factory here and operated a fleet of freight and passenger boats to New Bern.
The firm, oldest in Kinston, still maintains a repair shop. Among the earliest
industries was the shoe-manufacturing plant of John Cobb Washington and
George Washington, relatives of President Washington. The section near
the factory was called Yankee Row when Federal troops were quartered
there, Dec. 13-14, 1862.
On the SE. corner of Gordon and Heritage Sts. is the Site of the Birth-
place of Dr. James Augustus Washington, who with Dr. Isaac E. Taylor
in 1839-40 first administered medicine with a hypodermic needle.
The Lenoir County Courthouse (1887), SE. corner Queen and King
Sts., a two-story white stuccoed building with a clock cupola, replaced two
earlier ones. The first of wood (1792) was burned. A brick building erected
in 1845 was set afire by the clerk of the court in 1878. The few records that
could be saved were removed to a store building which the determined clerk
fired a few nights later. The incendiary served a term in the penitentiary,
but Lenoir is without its early records.
On the courthouse green is a Monument to Richard Caswell (1729-89),
314 TOURS
a Maryland surveyor who came to North Carolina with letters to Governor
Johnston. After serving as deputy surveyor of the Colony and clerk of Orange
County Court, he started his long career in the general assembly (1754-71),
where he evinced vigorous interest in court reforms. Caswell commanded
Tryon's right wing at Alamance (see tour 25) and led a patriot force at
Moores Creek Bridge {see tour 29). He was a delegate to the Continental
Congress (1774-76) and first Governor under the constitution (1776-80),
during which time he helped organize and equip troops. In 1780 he was
elevated to a major generalship in command of the entire State militia. He
served as Governor a second time (1785-87), and died in 1789 while Speaker
of the assembly at Fayetteville. His body was returned to Kinston, where
he had resided for 25 years (see tour 28).
The Public Library (open 9-5 weekdays}, 109 King St. opposite the court-
house, is supported jointly by the city and its civic organizations. The central
section of the house, two stories in height, is flanked by one-story wings.
Usually referred to as the Peebles House, it is the oldest in Kinston, having
been built by a man named Lovick and sold to Abner Nash in 1824. Re-
modeling has changed its original appearance.
St. Mary's Episcopal Church, SW. corner King and Independent Sts.,
is a red brick structure built in 1901 on a cruciform plan, with a tower topped
with battlements to the left of the facade. The organization of its parish
antedates the act establishing the town of Kinston.
Kinston is at the junction with US 70 (see tour 28).
At 103 m. US 258 crosses the Neuse River.
At 103.1 m. is the junction with paved State 55.
Left on State 55 to the junction with paved State 12, 0.7 m. ; R. 14.2 m. on State
12 to the junction with a dirt road; R. 2.7 m. on the dirt road to the Whitaker
Plantation House {private), a story-and-a-half structure, sloping in the manner of a
New England "salt-box" to one story at the rear, with extended front porch on square
piers. The pegged frame house is covered with weatherboarding. The massive right
chimney is still standing but only the base of the left remains. Plainly visible in the one-
story section are holes made by a cannon ball which went through the house during the
War between the States. Here on Mar. 8, 1865, Gen. Braxton Bragg repulsed Federal
forces led by General Cox, capturing many prisoners. This was one of the last Con-
federate victories, since Federal reinforcements forced Bragg to retire immediately to
Goldsboro. Twelve days later these same Confederate troops met defeat in the "last stand
of the Confederacy" at Bentonville {see tour 5).
RICHLANDS, 131 m. (64 alt., 503 pop.), is a sawmill and farming town
that grew up on Avirett, ante-bellum plantation of James Battle, who owned
the 7-mile stretch of land from this point to Catherine Lake.
At 143 m. is the junction with US 17 (see tour ib), 1 mile west of Jack-
sonville.
TOUR
(Emporia, Va.) — Rocky Mount — Fayetteville — Lumberton — (Florence, S.
C); US 301.
Virginia Line — South Carolina Line, 196 m.
Atlantic Coast Line R.R. parallels entire route; Seaboard Air Line R.R. between Garysburg
and Weldon.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in cities and towns; tourist homes, inns, and camps at intervals.
Section a. VIRGINIA LINE to WILSON; 64 m. US 301
Between the Virginia Line and Wilson, US 301 runs through the Coastal
Plain, traversing a countryside broken by pine forests, stands of hardwood,
and occasional swamps. Sand-clay roads lead into farming country that pro-
duces peanuts, tobacco, cotton, potatoes, and corn. Rivers on the lower slopes
of the Piedmont Plateau have been developed into power sources for manu-
facturing enterprises.
US 301 crosses the Virginia-North Carolina Line, m., 11 miles south of
Emporia, Va. (see va. tour 14).
The route follows part of the old Petersburg-to-Halifax highway used by
Cornwallis' army in 1781, and over it southern troops hauled supplies during
the siege of Petersburg in 1864-65.
GARYSBURG, 7 m. (145 alt., 284 pop.), is a farm village at the junction
with US 158 (see tour 24a).
At 8 m. a steel and concrete bridge spans the Roanoke River, 100 feet
below.
WELDON, 9 m. (77 alt., 2,323 pop.), the market town of a peanut-
growing district, began to assume importance after railroad links from Vir-
ginia had been built in 1832-34. When these terminals were connected with
Wilmington on completion of the Wilmington & Raleigh R. R., in 1840, the
161.5-mile stretch was described as the longest railroad in the world. The
line was renamed the Wilmington & Weldon R. R. in 1854.
In 1835 a 9-mile canal was chartered from Rock Landing to Weldon's
Orchard, in which the masonry of the three original locks is still sound.
Power is developed from the Roanoke River. Besides cotton and knitting
mills, Weldon has peanut-processing factories, tobacco warehouses, a brick
plant, and lumberyards. Forests and streams of the vicinity abound with game
and fish.
315
316 TOURS
Before the first frosts of fall the peanuts grown throughout this section
are plowed out and, still attached to their vines, are stacked in the fields to
cure for several weeks. The actual harvest is marked by clouds of dust attend-
ing the operation of the giant mechanical "pickers" as the threshing-machines
are called that dot the fields among the black stacks.
HALIFAX, 15 m. (135 alt., 321 pop.), ancient borough town and seat
of Halifax County, was the scene of North Carolina's first constitutional
convention. Men whose names live in the State's early history walked beneath
the oaks and sycamores along narrow, crooked King, Dobbs, and Granville
Streets in the days when Halifax was noted for its gay social life.
As early as 1723 settlers were established in this region, and when the
county was set up in 1757, it was named for the second Earl of Halifax,
president of the British board of trade, which then administered Colonial
affairs. In 1758 Halifax succeeded the older Enfield as the county seat. In
1760 Halifax was made a borough and from 1776 to 1782 nearly every session
of the general assembly was held here.
Agriculture has always been the chief occupation in this section of the
State and the factories that have grown up relate to agriculture: peanut-
processing plants, cottonseed oil mills, and fertilizer factories.
The Courthouse Green, part of the 4 acres set aside for public buildings
when the town was laid out in 1758, is at the intersection of King (Main)
St. and the Weldon Rd. The Halifax County Courthouse (1910), a brick
structure with a Corinthian portico and surmounted with a dome, succeeds
two previous buildings (1759 and 1847). When the first courthouse was
built here, the office of the clerk of the court occupied a separate building.
In the archives is a complete set of will books, beginning in 1759. From a
platform in front of the first courthouse, on Aug. 1, 1776, Cornelius Harnett
(see Wilmington) read the Declaration of Independence to the assembled
citizens who carried him through the streets on their shoulders. On the
green is a marker honoring Brig. Gen. Junius Daniel (1828-64), gallant
Halifax soldier killed at the Battle of Spottsylvania and buried in an un-
marked grave in the old Colonial Churchyard.
The Old Jail (closed), two blocks NE. of the courthouse on King St., is
a high square structure built in 1759 and used (1939) for a storehouse. Be-
hind the barred windows in its two-foot-thick brick walls, Flora Macdonald,
the Scottish heroine who had helped Prince Charlie to escape, visited her
husband, Alan, after his capture at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge (see
tour 2g). After his liberation, Alan rejoined his wife in Scotland.
Near the jail is the Site of the Eagle Hotel, designated by a marker.
This old hostelry served as headquarters for members of Provincial con-
gresses and assemblies that met in Halifax. Cornwallis and Tarleton lodged
at the inn when they arrived May 4, 1781, and with 4,000 troops occupied
the town for about a week. The tradition is that great banquets and balls
were held at the Eagle Hotel for President Washington on Apr. 17, 1791,
and for the Marquis de Lafayette on Feb. 27, 1825.
Adjacent to the jail is the old Clerk's Office (private), a one-story, red
TOUR 3 317
brick building with swinging iron shutters, constructed about 1780. After its
use as the office of the clerk of the court it was the printing shop of Abraham
Hodge, who came from New Bern to Halifax in 1784 to publish a weekly
newspaper, the Journal. The house is (1939) a Negro dwelling.
Across the road are (R) the Colonial Churchyard and the Site of
Quanky Chapel (Church of England), a frame structure (1760) in which
all denominations worshiped between 1820 and 1830. Buried in the cedar-
shaded enclosure are many of Halifax's early citizens, including Abraham
Hodge (1755-1805).
The Masonic Temple (not open), Weldon Rd. W. of the courthouse, a
two-story clapboarded structure, 30 by 30 feet, was erected shortly after
1769, and is the oldest Masonic temple built for that purpose and still in use
in the United States. The first floor was used for a schoolroom until 1829.
The Royal White Hart Lodge held its first meeting in 1764, though not
chartered until 1767. The master's chair was installed in 1765, silver candle-
sticks in 1784, and the handsome ballot box in 1820. A bell, cast in 1810,
hangs between 10-foot posts in the yard.
In the adjoining sedge field is a fenced enclosure; the plaque on the gate
bears the inscription: "The grave of montfort. This gate swings only by
order of the Worshipful Master of Royal White Hart Lodge." Col. Joseph
Montfort (1724-76) was clerk of Halifax court from 1758 until his death,
clerk of the district court, town commissioner, and a member of several
Colonial assemblies. In 1772 he received from the Duke of Beaufort, grand
master of Masons of Great Britain, an appointment as Provincial grand mas-
ter of North America.
Northwest of the Masonic Temple on the Weldon Rd. (L) is Loretta
(private), a gray clapboard house with sharply pitched roof, central gable,
and an ornate curving front porch, somewhat remodeled since it was the
Halifax home (1783-1805) of Gen. William R. Davie (1756-1820). One of
North Carolina's five delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in
Philadelphia, Davie was instrumental in securing from the general assembly
in 1789 an act to establish the University of North Carolina, and as grand
master of Masons in the State laid the cornerstones of the university's first
two buildings (see chapel hill). In 1798 Davie was elected Governor, but
resigned in 1799 to become Ambassador to France. After his defeat for a
seat in Congress, in 1805 he retired to Tivoli plantation near Landford,
S. C, where he remained until his death.
The Grove, in the SW. part of Halifax, was the property of Willie (pro-
nounced Wiley) Jones (1741-1822). The Colonial mansion he built on this
estate in 1765 was famous for its lavish hospitality, racing stable, and track.
Nothing remains of the house but a brick chimney. Jones, planter, legislator,
and coauthor of the first State constitution, acted as Governor of North Caro-
lina in 1776 while president of the council of safety. He served several terms
in the Continental Congress and as the ultra States'-rights advocate opposed
ratification of the Federal Constitution by the Hillsboro convention; though
elected to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he declined to serve.
318 TOURS
John Paul Jones, "father of the American Navy," was a guest at the Grove
for more than a year. John Paul, as he was then known, having killed the
ringleader of a mutiny on his ship in 1773 and having been advised to stay
in hiding for a time, fled to America and assumed the surname Jones. There
is a tradition that he selected the name to honor his friends, Willie and Allen
Jones.
In 1781 Cornwallis quartered a portion of his troops at the Grove; during
the War between the States. Confederate Colonel McRae camped on the
estate with an entire regiment, and Union soldiers occupied the house at the
close of the war.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, King St., was built on the Grove property
in 1830 to replace the old frame Colonial Church. It is of wood, painted
gray, four bays long with steeply pointed roof and belfry at the front. The
vertical siding has overlapped joints. The building was at one time damaged
by fire and has been remodeled.
Constitution House was restored in 1920 and moved from its original
site behind the Colonial Churchyard to the Grove property. It is a small,
square, clapboarded frame building raised on brick piers, with a narrow
front porch, well-proportioned doorways, and two outside brick chimneys.
Here on Apr. 4, 1776, 139 delegates to the Provincial Congress met. Samuel
Johnston, of Chowan County {see edenton), as president of the congress,
appointed a committee to "take into consideration the usurpation and vio-
lences attempted and committed by the King and Parliament of Britain
against America." On Apr. 12 the committee reported, designating Joseph
Hewes, William Hooper, and John Penn as North Carolina's delegates to
the Continental Congress, ". . . to concur with the delegates from the other
Colonies in declaring Independency, and forming foreign alliances, reserv-
ing to this Colony the sole and exclusive right of forming a Constitution
and laws for this Colony . . ." These Halifax Resolves constitute the first
official action by any Colonial legislature for absolute separation from Great
Britain and for national independence. In recognition of this fact the
North Carolina flag bears the date, and Apr. 12, Halifax Day, is a State
holiday.
On Nov. 12, 1776, an elected congress assembled in Constitution House,
drew up a constitution not submitted to the people and elected Richard
Caswell Governor by ordinance {see tour 2).
Across Quanky Creek from the Grove is the Site of Quanky Place, the
plantation of Col. Nicholas Long (1728-98), a wealthy planter who served
as commissary general of the North Carolina Revolutionary forces. Colonel
and Mrs. Long erected workshops here to make implements of war, clothing,
and other supplies for the soldiers. Tradition says the Longs entertained
President Washington at Quanky Place in 1791.
In one of the dashes into Halifax made by the patriots while the British
were in possession of the town, an American cavalryman was cut off from
his command on Quanky Creek Bridge. The trooper forced his horse to
leap the railing and plunge into the water 30 feet below; his mount was
killed but he escaped.
TOUR 3 319
ENFIELD, 26 m. (113 alt., 2,234 P°P-)> trie oldest town in Halifax
County and formerly a tobacco-marketing center, has plants for the manu-
facture of peanut products. From 1745 until supplanted by Halifax in 1758,
Enfield, then known as Huckleberry Swamp, was the seat of Edgecombe
County. As a protest against British oppression, in 1759 Francis Corbin (see
edenton) and Joshua Bodley, agents of Lord Granville, were seized by
armed men and lodged in jail at Enfield until the agents readjusted their
captors' tax levies.
At the Columbian Peanut Plant (open) peanuts are stored, cleaned,
shelled, and packed in jute bags for shipment.
Right from Enfield on a sand-clay road to Branch Plantation (private), 0.7 m., home
of John Branch, Governor of North Carolina (1817-20). He served as U. S. Senator
(1823-29), Secretary of the Navy under Andrew Jackson, Congressman, and Governor
of the Territory of Florida (1843-45). The two-story house, painted gray, is one room
deep with one end chimney at the left and two at the right. The eave is lined with a
coarse dentiled cornice. General Lafayette is said to have addressed admirers from the
upper porch in 1825. Governor Branch is buried in the family graveyard 100 yards
east of the house.
At 27 m. is the junction with an avenue of oaks.
Right on this road to the East Carolina Industrial Training School, 0.3 m., a
college for Negroes whose four red brick buildings stand at the corners of a grassy court.
At 28 m. US 301 crosses FISHING CREEK near which bones of an
ichthyosaurus were excavated some years ago. On the creek bank is a large
flat stone impressed with human and animal footprints and intricate designs.
WHITAKERS, 33 m. (134 alt., 930 pop.), was named for Richard and
Elizabeth Carey Whitaker, the first white settlers to venture into this Tus-
carora stronghold. They settled on Fishing Creek and in 1740 built Whitakers
Chapel, a Church of England chapel used by Methodists in 1786 when
Bishop Asbury preached there.
BATTLEBORO, 38 m. (131 alt., 330 pop.), started (1840) as a rail-
road stop in a rich agricultural area. The station was named for James and
Joseph Battle, stockholders in the Wilmington and Raleigh R. R.
At 44 m. is the junction with paved State 95.
Left on State 95 to the junction with a lane, 4.5 m. ; R. on the lane to the Battle
Homestead (visitors welcome), property of the Battle family since c. 1742 when Elisha
Battle purchased this rich Tar River bottom land, then a part of Cool Spring Plantation,
from the Earl of Granville. Elisha Battle was a member of the Halifax convention in
1776 and chairman of the committee of the whole in the assembly at Tarboro in 1787
for consideration of the Federal Constitution, adoption of which he opposed in 1788
at Hillsboro.
The one-and-a-half story house has a gambrel roof and massive end chimneys. In
the eastern chimney was a brick dated 1742, lost in repairing. Three dormers in front,
a porch the length of the house, and additions to right and rear are later alterations.
The wide-paneled doors, the 12-light windows, and the interior paneling are excellent
examples of 18th-century craftsmanship. The east facade has two 8-light windows on
each side of the chimneys, set high so that a person sitting in the room could not be
shot from ambush.
320 TOURS
US 301 crosses Tar River, 45.5 m., on a high concrete bridge. Legend
recalls that Cornwallis' soldiers, fording the river near here, found their feet
black with tar that had been dumped into the river. Their observation that
anyone who waded North Carolina streams would acquire tar heels is said
to have given North Carolinians the nickname of "Tar Heels."
ROCKY MOUNT, 46 m. (121 alt., 21,412 pop.), the fifth largest bright-
leaf tobacco market in the world (1938) and an industrial and railroad
center, was named for the mounds near the site at the Falls of the Tar. The
town, incorporated in 1867 with 50 inhabitants, lies half in Nash and half
in Edgecombe Counties, the Atlantic Coast Line tracks bisecting Main Street
and marking the county boundary, so that citizens living on one side of the
street have to attend court in Nashville while those on the other side go
to Tarboro.
Rocky Mount has seven tobacco-redrying plants and 10 tobacco-auction
warehouses with a combined capacity of 8,000,000 pounds. The output of 42
manufacturing establishments includes cotton yarns, pile fabrics, broad silks,
shirts, overalls, cottonseed oil and meal, fertilizer, cordage, and lumber
products. From a station on the pioneer Wilmington & Raleigh R. R. (1840)
the town has developed into a modern railroad center and division point
with repair shops and yards for four divisions of the Atlantic Coast Line.
Rocky Mount has a radio broadcasting station, WEED, 1420 kc. The Gal-
lopade, an annual spring carnival, was inaugurated in 1935.
The Rocky Mount Cotton Mills {not open to public), 1151 Falls Rd.,
second largest in the State, were established by Joel Battle in 181 8, and have
been continuously under the management of the Battle family. The original
building, burned in 1863 by Federal forces, was rebuilt after the war only
to be destroyed by an incendiary. Rebuilt in 1871, the plant has been en-
larged and modernized. The output is cotton yarns.
Mangum's Warehouse, covering a city block, is the scene of the annual
all-night June German {2nd Friday in June), given by the Carolina Cotillion
Club, and attended by thousands of guests from several States. This ball has
been an important social event since 1880 when a group of young men
formed the club. On Saturday night after the ball Negroes use the same
warehouse and decorations for their June German.
The Thomas Hackney Braswell Memorial Library, near the junction
of US 301 and State 43, given in 1923 by Dr. Mark Russell Braswell in
memory of his son, contains a collection of Indian artifacts, paper money, old
records, and curios. The red brick building with white limestone trim is of
one story with end pavilions and a central portico.
Rocky Mount is at the junction with US 64 {see tour 26a).
Right from Rocky Mount on State 43 to the Lewis Home (private), 1.3 m., built in
1839 by Bennet Bunn on the western bank of Tar River. The deep red bricks for the
three-story mansion are reputed to have been brought from England wrapped individually
in paper. The house has a hip roof and an entrance with a simple fanlighted doorway
on the second floor level. The balcony and the four-column portico, resting on a raised
arcadcd brick basement, are modern.
TOUR 3 321
On State 43 at 5.4 m. is the Dortch House (private). The old part, moved from a
nearby field to be added as a kitchen ell at the rear, was built c. 1798; it has a steep
roof, small windows, heavy chimney, and fireplace with beveled panels.
On the lower floor, front and rear, are Palladian windows framed with Ionic fluted
pilasters and entablature. The modillioned cornice returns at the corners and follows
the raked line of the gable. Interior woodwork includes a mahogany stair rail, paneled
wainscot and mantelpieces, and finely carved door and window casings with arabesque
panels above. This part of the house was built c. 1803.
At 9.7 m. on State 43 is the junction with a dirt road; R. 1.1 m. on this road to (L)
the Hilliard Home (p-ivate), built about 1908. The pegged frame was brought to this
site from Woodlawn, about 6.5 miles away, where William and James Hilliard settled
in 1760. The plantation once covered 30,000 acres.
The Cooper House (private), 12 m., was formerly the Battle home. The kitchen,
dining room, and parlor connected by a passageway are later additions to the original
small wooden building, which was mortised and assembled with wooden pegs. The
house stands on a little hill on a mile-square tract purchased by William Battle from
the State in 1779 for 50 shillings per hundred acres.
WILSON, 64 m. (147 alt., 12,613 P°P-)» tne largest bright-leaf tobacco
market in the world (1938) and the seat of Wilson County, was named for
Col. Louis D. Wilson {see tour 2). The county, formed in 1855, was settled
largely by Irish and English families who came from Virginia as early as
I79 °-
Uptown, Nash is a narrow and bustling business street, but west of Pine
Street it broadens into a mile-long, tree-shaded arcade through a section of
comfortable homes surrounded by landscaped lawns and gardens. The in-
dustrial section has cotton and fertilizer factories, 10 stemmeries and redry-
ing plants, and 8 tobacco warehouses, including sprawling Smith's Ware-
house, called the world's largest.
Tobacco, the State's first commercial crop, originally produced only for
export, was packed in huge hogsheads and rolled through the woods to
water-edge inspection houses where sailor-buyers broke open the casks for
examination before bargaining. This gave rise to the warehouse auction
system still used and the practice of terming it a "break," though the loose-
leaf method is now employed.
When the graded tobacco "hands" are "in order," the farmer hauls them
to market. The warehouses are one-story buildings with plenty of open floor
space and numerous skylights to allow natural lighting, as tobacco is judged
for color as well as for texture and aroma. Lots are piled in shallow baskets
and arranged in rows down which pass the auctioneer and buyers.
The procedure moves so swiftly that more than 300 lots are sold in an
hour and 86,000,000 pounds have been sold in a season. However, a
visitor may watch the sale without understanding a word of the auc-
tioneer's patter and without hearing a single word spoken by a buyer, as
a mere gesture or change of expression indicates a bid to the watchful
seller.
A tobacco festival and exposition are held annually in August.
Wilson's manufactured products include cotton yarns, cottonseed meal
and oil, fertilizers, bale covering, bus bodies, and wagons. The town main-
tains a radio broadcasting station, WGTM, 13 10 kc.
The Wilson County Courthouse, Nash and Goldsboro Sts., three stories
322 TOURS
and attic high, was built in 1924 in neoclassic design, replacing a building
erected in 1855.
Fronting on Whitehead and Lee Sts. is the 12-acre campus of the Atlantic
Christian College, incorporated in 1902, a coeducational institution with
350 students, operated by the North Carolina Christian Church. The build-
ings, of brown brick, are of various styles. The adjoining Jacksonville Farm
was bought by the school in 191 4.
Natives of Wilson were Dempsey Bullock (1863-1928), local poet and
historian, and Henry Groves Connor (1852-1924), Associate Justice of the
North Carolina Supreme Court and Federal district judge. Two sons of
Judge Connor attained prominence: George W. Connor, Associate Justice
of the North Carolina Supreme Court (1924-38), and Robert D. W. Connor,
first U. S. Archivist (1934- )• Josephus Daniels, wartime Secretary of
the Navy and Ambassador to Mexico (1933- ), lived in Wilson as a
boy; his mother was postmistress of the town for years.
Wilson is at the junction with State 58 (see tour 6) and US 264 (see
TOUR 2j).
Section b. WILSON to SOUTH CAROLINA LINE; 132 m. US 301
Between Wilson and the South Carolina Line US 301 swings along the
edge of the fertile Piedmont Plateau. Forests of longleaf and shortleaf pine
are sprinkled with oak, maple, ash, and gum. Shallow streams have worn
sloping ravines in many places.
At 5 m. is the junction with US 117 (see tour 4).
SELMA, 26 m. (214 alt., 1,857 P°P-)» ^ s an industrial town with two
textile mills. The section north of the Southern Ry. tracks is known as
OLD MR. ATKINSON'S DEER PARK; here a spring attracted deer
before the town was established. Near Mitchiner's Station, the early name
of the village, a detachment of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's Confederates,
retreating from Bentonville in March 1865 (see tour 5), fought a rearguard
action.
At 28 m. is the northern junction with US 70 (see tour 28).
SMITHFIELD, 31 m. (140 alt., 2,543 P°P-)> seat °f Johnston County,
is a tobacco-market town on a bluff above the Neuse River. The town's most
cherished tradition is that in 1789 it missed becoming the capital of North
Carolina by only one vote. The assembly in 1746 created the county and
named it for Gabriel Johnston, Governor under the Crown (1734-52), and
also set up St. Patrick's Parish of the Church of England, coextensive with
the county. Founded in 1770, Smithfield was named for Col. John Smith
(1687- 1 777), an early settler from Virginia who was a delegate to the Halifax
convention and who owned the land on which the town was built. In Co-
lonial days the town was the head of navigation on the Neuse.
Gov. William Tryon, taking militia to quell the Regulators in May 1771
tour 3 3 2 3
(see tour 25), stopped at Smithfield to augment his force with a detach-
ment of Johnstonians, but liberty meetings condemning British tyranny were
held in 1774. The general assembly convened at Smithfield on May 3, 1779.
In April 1781, Cornwallis and his army, going from Wilmington to York-
town, passed through the town.
The Johnston County Courthouse (1921) is a three-story granite and
limestone structure of neoclassic design. The main facade is adorned with
Roman Doric columns and pilasters, forming an entrance loggia. On the
green is a statue of a soldier dedicated to the citizens of Johnston County who
died in the World War, and a fountain to veterans of the same conflict. The
county's first courthouse (1747) was at Clayton (see tour 28).
Smithfield is at the southern junction with US 70 (see tour 28).
The Smithfield Art Pottery (open), 32 m., is operated by a craftsman
whose family have been potters for four generations.
At HOLTS LAKE, 35 m., a recreation center (fishing, bathing, boating),
is the junction with US 701 (see tour 5).
DUNN, 53 m. (214 alt., 4,558 pop.), is the marketing center of a farm-
ing area where, it is claimed, there has never been a crop failure. The town
was founded by descendants of early English and Scotch settlers.
Dunn is at the Junction with US 421 (see tour 2g).
At 61 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Left on this road to FALCON, 2.7 m. (279 pop.), a settlement and gathering place
of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, which maintains an orphanage and school and
conducts annual camp meetings in August. The work is interdenominational.
At 64 m. is the junction with a marked dirt road.
Right on this road 0.6 m. to the junction with another dirt road; L. 0.6 m. on the dirt
road to Old Bluff (Bluff Creek) Church {f(ey available at last house before
reaching church), named for a high point of land on which it stands. Built in the 1840's,
the well-preserved, white weatherboarded structure, with pedimented gable ends and
recessed entrance loggia, is used for services only once a year (4th Sunday in Sept.). The
interior has galleries on three sides. Near the church is a monument to its founder,
the Rev. James Campbell, a Scottish missionary sent from Philadelphia in 1758, who in
three years organized Old Bluff, Barbecue, and Long Street Churches {see tour 3A).
FAYETTEVILLE, 78 m. (107 alt., 13,049 pop.) (see fayetteville).
Points of Interest: Market House, First Presbyterian Church, Cool Spring, Site of Cross
Creek, Site of Flora Macdonald's House, and others.
Fayetteville is at the junction with US 15A (see tour 9) and State 24 (see
tour 3A).
Left from Fayetteville on paved State 28 to the junction with a dirt road, 28 m. ; L.
0.3 m. on the dirt road to the Purdy House {private), a two-story brick mansion with
porches across the front and rear at both floor levels. The porches and kitchen have
been added to the original structure. It was erected in 1808 by James S. Purdy on land
granted the Purdy family by George III before the Revolution. The brick of the 16-inch
324 TOURS
walls is laid in Flemish bond. Notable features of the interior are a fireplace with Ionic
detail, wainscot of beveled paneling, and a fairly ornate cornice in the right-hand room.
Between Fayetteville and the South Carolina Line US 301 penetrates part
of the cotton kingdom where "clay hills combine with the beaming sun, the
Negro, the landless white, and the mule to supply the world's demand for
a cheap fabric." Spring plowing turns up dull red soil, sometimes making
the earth seem cloud-shadowed even on bright days. Grown men do the
plowing, but at chopping time in midsummer women and children, black
and white, ply their hoes. Cotton-picking time in the autumn brings out
entire families.
LUMBERTON, 111 m. (143 alt., 4,140 pop.), seat of Robeson County,
is on the eastern bank of the Lumber (Lumbee) River. Here are textile mills,
a fertilizer factory, and five tobacco warehouses; the town is also a shipping
point for truck produce. Farmers' cooperatives are represented in stores,
groups, and a curb market.
Robeson County was formed in 1787. Col. Thomas Robeson, Whig hero
of the Battle of Elizabethtown (see tour 5) and later State senator, opposed
the creating of a new unit from his own county of Bladen until it was sug-
gested that the new county be given his name. Robeson County was the first
in the State to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages (1886). The Robeson
County Courthouse (1908) is the fourth to serve the county. It has a com-
plete series of will and deed books beginning with 1787; the first courthouse
was built in 1788. The present structure, of Italian Renaissance design, has
walls of buff brick set in yellow mortar with heavy quoins at the corners.
It is three stories in height with a colonnaded and domed cupola.
Early inhabitants of this section were Croatan Indians who, some con-
tend, are descended from survivors of Raleigh's Lost Colony (see tour iA).
Others maintain that they are descended from Portuguese traders who came
here from Florida (see tour 31a). The first white settlers (1725), Scottish
Highlanders, chose the eastern and western parts of the county; English and
a few French settled the southern portion.
By the latter half of the 18th century Lumberton had become a trading
center for timber and naval stores. Rafts of pine logs on which were piled
other pine products such as tar, pitch, turpentine, and resin, were floated
down the Lumber River to Georgetown, S. C. When the timber was depleted,
Robeson County residents turned to farming and cattle raising.
During the Revolutionary War the section seethed with conflict between
Whig and Tory factions; the royalists usually emerged victorious.
Lumberton is at the junction with US 74 (see tour 31a).
ROWLAND, 129 m. (151 alt., 915 pop.), named for a pioneer family of
the section, was once only a cotton market, but has become the marketing
center of a prosperous agricultural region producing corn, grain, and melons.
Left of US 301 at its junction with State 71 in Rowland is a marker
pointing out the Grave of Dr. James Robert Adair in the family grave-
yard. Dr. Adair was a surgeon on the staff of King George III, and later
TOUR 3 325
surgeon in Gen. Francis Marion's army during the Revolution. He spent
nearly 40 years among the Indians, chiefly the Chickasaw, and published in
1775 the History of the Indian Tribes, a book expounding his theory that
the Indians are of Semitic origin, but valued for its intimate account of the
habits and customs of the tribes. He was able to win the allegiance of the
Indians from the French and Spanish to the English. The song, Robin Adair,
written by Lady Caroline Keppel, resulted in his return to England and their
marriage.
Right from Rowland on paved US 501 to Ashpole Presbyterian Church, 1.5 m.,
successor to a log church built here in 1796. The present building, third on the site,
was partly completed during the War between the States. Simple lines are accentuated
by a small belfry over the front entrance. The gallery, whose east side was reserved
for slaves, remains unchanged. Timbers are hand-hewn, mortised with wooden pegs.
Weatherboarding, flooring, and seats are hand-planed and put together with hand-made
nails. The origin of the name is accredited to John Cade, one of the early settlers, who
built bridges of ash poles across the millrace just below his dam.
Once the church gave each member in good standing a small metal disc or token,
which allowed them to partake of communion. The principal event of the year was the
Spring Sacrament, which persists as Homecoming Day (3rd Sunday in May).
Ashpole Cemetery, in use for more than 150 years, is on the eastern side of
Mitchells Creek, near the site of the old Adair home.
At 132 m. US 301 crosses the South Carolina Line, 26 miles north of
Florence, S. C. {see s. c. tour 24).
TOUR
Fayette ville — Fort Bragg — Manchester — Spout Springs; State 24. 23 m.
The Atlantic Coast Line R.R. parallels the entire route; Cape Fear R.R. serves Fort Bragg
Military Reservation. Roadbed paved throughout.
The route between Fayetteville and Spout Springs runs through sandy hills
forested with pine and scrub oak.
State 24 branches northwest from US 301 {see tour j) in FAYETTE-
VILLE, m. {see fayetteville).
At 4 m., in a grove, is the Nott House {private), an ante-bellum planta-
tion house sheathed with wide clapboards and having broad, double gal-
leries at the front and rear. Hand-made iron hinges and fasteners are attached
to solid paneled doors and shutters.
FORT BRAGG, U. S. MILITARY RESERVATION {open), 10 m. {for
information concerning artillery practice and directions to Long Street
Church inquire at headquarters), is a field artillery training center covering
120,000 acres in Cumberland and Hoke Counties, the largest military reser-
vation in the United States. The post was established in 1918 and named for
Gen. Braxton Bragg, Confederate corps commander {see tour 24).
Gen. Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, made this site his headquarters
while he harassed British forces. CornwalliSj after the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse {see tour /j), maintained headquarters here.
Fort Bragg has a complete system of municipal and recreational facilities,
a chapel, and a school for children; the buildings are modern, built of brick
and stucco. The post organization is made up of four regiments of field
artillery with latest equipment. A field artillery board tests experimental
materiel on the firing range. Pope Field, the Air Corps station, is garrisoned
by Flight C, 16th Observation Squadron, and the Second Balloon Squadron.
The landing field has a mile-long runway.
In summer the Reserve Officers Training Corps comes to Fort Bragg for
training, units of the North Carolina National Guard encamp for two weeks,
and the Citizens Military Training Camp is conducted. Since the establish-
ment of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1932, Fort Bragg has been head-
quarters of District A.
Long Street Church, organized in 1758, is on the old Yadkin Rd. within
the reservation. Highland Scots settled the region as early as 1736. The Rev.
Hugh McAden, a Presbyterian missionary, first held services at the home
of Alexander McKay in 1756. Two years later Long Street, Old Bluff, and
326
TOUR 3 A 327
Barbecue Churches were organized, with the Rev. James Campbell, a native
of Argyllshire, as first pastor. For 137 years services were held continuously
in Long Street Church, whose name is believed to refer to the settlements
lining the road for a mile or more. The simple hip-roof structure was built
(1845-47) of hand-dressed longleaf pine timbers. The interior is entered
through two front doors between which is the pulpit, set high up against the
wall.
Near Long Street Church is the Site of the Battle of Monroes Cross-
roads (Mar. 10, 1865). Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick commanded the Federals
and Lt. Gen. Wade Hampton the Confederate forces. Upon the arrival of
Federal reinforcements the Confederates retreated.
Beyond the rock wall of the church cemetery a stone marks the graves of
30 unidentified men who fell in the battle. Highlanders and their descendants
are also buried here.
In MANCHESTER, 13 m. (190 alt., 49 pop.), once a turpentine shipping
point on Lower Little River, is the Site of Holly Hill, now occupied by a
story-and-a-half house. It was the Murchison family seat from the days when
Kenneth Murchison, a Revolutionary soldier, erected his home in a mag-
nificent grove of hollies.
At 17.6 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Left on this road to OVERHILLS (197 alt., 200 pop.), 1.2 m., the Percy Rockefeller
Estate, which at one time covered 40,000 acres. The rambling red brick mansion with
tile roof and iron balcony was erected in 1928. There is a smaller, white-painted brick
house, and a golf course.
Visible on either side of the highway at 22 m. is a rare variety of pyxie
plant, the flowering moss (Pyxidanthera breuijolia) . Apparently a relic of
an almost extinct family, it survives in compact mats, three to five feet wide,
of tiny white wheel-shaped flowers, closely overlapped on slender, branching
stems. It was discovered in 1928 by Dr. B. W. Wells, head of the Botany
Department of State College, Raleigh, and is believed to exist only within a
6-mile area around SPOUT SPRINGS, 23 m. (333 alt., 106 pop.).
TOUR 4
Junction with US 301 — Goldsboro — Warsaw — Junction with US 421; US
117. 101 m.
Atlantic Coast Line R.R. parallels route.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in towns; tourist homes and camps along the highway.
US 117 crosses eastern North Carolina flat lands where shadowy cypress
swamps are almost as common as tobacco fields. Cotton farms are numerous
though truck is also produced in large quantities.
US 117 branches south from its junction with US 301, m. (see tour 3),
5 miles south of Wilson.
At 2.1 m. the highway spans Black Creek, a mile north of where Corn-
wallis crossed during his retreat from Wilmington in 1781 over Old Fort
Road, now called Cornwallis Trail.
FREMONT, 9 m. (152 alt., 1,316 pop.), was the birthplace of Charles
Brantley Aycock (1859-1912), Governor of North Carolina (1901-5), and a
champion of public education.
GOLDSBORO, 21 m. (in alt., 14,985 pop.), seat of Wayne County, is
a manufacturing and agricultural town on the Neuse River in the approxi-
mate center of eastern North Carolina's bright-leaf tobacco belt. Miniature
firs, pines, and other shrubs grow in the midstreet parks of the residential
boulevards. Tobacco warehouses and 30 manufacturing enterprises give the
town a flourishing trade. The Wayne County Fair is an annual (Oct.) event
here.
Wayne County, established in 1779 from part of Dobbs, and named for
"Mad Anthony" Wayne, Revolutionary hero, has a gently rolling surface
suitable to diversified farming. From here are shipped Irish potatoes, cucum-
bers, string beans, strawberries, and watermelons.
Goldsboro, formerly Goldsborough, founded soon after completion in 1840
of the Wilmington & Raleigh R.R., now part of the Atlantic Coast Line,
was named for a civil engineer who assisted in the rail line survey. Goldsboro
and Waynesboro were settled by English immigrants from whom most of
the present white inhabitants are descended. When the county seat was
moved from Waynesboro in 1847 to the new railroad village, many houses
and stores were torn down and rebuilt at Goldsboro. In 1865 a part of Sher-
man's troops were concentrated here.
Dr. Edwin A. Alderman, president of the University of North Carolina
328
TOUR 4 329
(1896-1900), of Tulane University (1900-1904), and of the University of
Virginia (1904-31), was a resident of this town.
The Wayne County Courthouse occupies the original courthouse site.
A whipping post stood on the lawn until after the War between the States.
The City Hall is a light brick structure of two stories with Ionic portico,
a pedimented, Italian Baroque cupola, and statues of Liberty and Justice
surmounting low square towers at the front corners. The Memorial Com-
munity Building (1924), N. William and E. Walnut Sts., whose construc-
tion was financed by popular subscription, is headquarters of various civic
organizations and has a gymnasium. The I.O.O.F. Childrens Home, E.
Ashe and N. Herman Sts., occupies a half-dozen brick buildings surround-
ing a large playground with recreational facilities.
The Colonel Washington Home, 215 SW. Center St., in an oak grove,
was a headquarters for Gen. W. T. Sherman in 1865. The two-story frame
structure with its double-gallery porch is boarded up and in a state of dis-
repair. The Slocumb House {private), Ashe and Jackson Sts., a two-story
frame building with bracketed cornice, peaked dormer, and broad front
porch supported by modified Ionic columns arranged in pairs, was head-
quarters for General Logan of the Union Army.
The Borden House {private), S. George St. facing Chestnut St., was
headquarters for General Schofield. This remodeled two-story brick resi-
dence has an unusually heavy cornice and a small arched portico.
In the Willow Dale Cemetery, Elm St., is a Confederate Monument
with the statue of a southern soldier on a granite base. It was erected in
1883 from proceeds of a bazar to which contributions were made by north-
ern business firms.
Goldsboro is at the junction with US 70 {see tour 28).
At 23 m. on the northern bank of Neuse River is the Site of Waynes-
boro, former seat of Wayne County (1782- 1847), first known as the Court
House. Dr. Andrew Bass, delegate to the Provincial Congress of 1775 and
to the Hillsboro convention of 1788, who owned the land on which Waynes-
boro stood, is believed to have been its founder. Waynesboro disappeared
after removal of the seat to Goldsboro.
At 23.1 m. the route crosses the muddy Neuse River. Along these shores,
on Dec. 14, 1862, General Evans repulsed Federal troops under General
Foster, who had won a skirmish two days earlier at Kinston.
At 25 m., embedded in the cement pavement of the highway, is a Tomb-
stone (R) broken during the War between the States by the wheels of a
gun carriage. Inscribed "Gone But Not Forgotten," it marks the grave of a
circus clown who died near here in the 1840's.
At 31 m. is a marker indicating the former Grave of Ezekiel and Mary
Slocumb, Revolutionary figures of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, who
were buried on the Slocumb farm here until they were moved to Moores
Creek Battlefield {see tour 2g). Lieutenant Slocumb made a leap on horse-
330 TOURS
back over a wide ditch and high wall on this farm to escape British soldiers.
Mrs. Slocumb, left at home with an infant when her husband departed for
Moores Creek, had a dream in which she beheld her husband lying mortally
wounded. She saddled a mare and rode 75 miles until she heard the sound of
the cannon. Quickening her pace, she arrived at a clump of woods. ". . . . Just
then I looked up, and my husband, as bloody as a butcher and as muddy as a
ditcher, stood before me." She spent the remainder of the day succoring the
wounded on the battlefield.
MOUNT OLIVE, 35 m. (165 alt., 2,685 P°P-)> 1S m a farming area that
produces bright-leaf tobacco, cotton, vegetables, berries, and melons. The
town is the State's largest bean market, handling about 250,000 baskets
annually. Mount Olive was founded upon the advent of the railroad in
1839-40. Its first industrial plant was a turpentine still. Confederate troops
were encamped here for a few days in March 1865, prior to the Battle of Ben-
tonville (see tour 5). A farm near Mount Olive was the birthplace of Curtis
H. Brogden, Governor of North Carolina (1874-76), father of Willis }.
Brogden, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina
(1926-35).
FAISON, 42 m. (166 alt., 589 pop.), is one of the largest cucumber mar-
kets in the world. A local pickle plant (open; apply at office) annually uses
about 70,000 bushels of cucumbers besides cauliflower, onions, and sweet
peppers. Strawberries and produce are shipped.
The Faison Home (private) was built prior to 1785, as the residence of
Henry Faison, first settler and founder of the town. The white frame house
with green blinds has lost its early character through remodeling. In the
Town Cemetery are old gravestones and ground-level vaults.
Right from Faison on State 403 to the Williams Home, 0.3 m., a square frame two-
story sttucture erected in 1853. A six-column portico rises to the eaves, and there are
two one-story wings. The fine proportions are said to be the result of the influence
of an aunt who was deeply interested in Ruskin's writings on art. General Terry of the
Union Army maintained his staff here in 1865. In the Williams Art Gallery of Plan-
tation Life {open by permission) is a collection of paintings by Mrs. Marshall Williams
(b. 1866), including ante-bellum scenes and portraits.
East of Faison are level piney uplands penetrated by streams bordered
with swamps; south and southeast are pocosins (see tours ib and 28).
WARSAW, 51 m. (160 alt., 1,222 pop.), is a truck market center border-
ing on the cotton belt.
Right from Warsaw on paved State 24 is TURKEY, 5 m. (153 alt., 213 pop.), a
pepper market. Each year in June and July farmers and traders bring in great loads of
bell peppers, hot peppers, and the tiny bird's-eye variety which rivals the output of
Mexico. Up to 12,000 baskets are sold daily during the season. Inhabitants of Turkey pay
no city property taxes; municipal funds are provided by license taxes, fines, and other fees.
KENANSVILLE, 59 m. (127 alt., 450 pop.), seat of Duplin County,
was named for the family of Col. James Kenan (d. 1810), who in 1765 led
a force of volunteers from Kenansville to Brunswick (see tour iC) to op-
pose enforcement of the Stamp Act. He served as county sheriff, trustee of
TOUR 4 331
the University of North Carolina, councilor of State, and for many years was
in the general assembly.
Among documents in the Duplin County Courthouse is a record of the
trial of Darby and Peter, two Negro slaves convicted Mar. 15, 1787, of mur-
dering their master with an ax. Darby was sentenced to be ". . . tied to a
stake on the courthouse lot and there burned to death and to ashes and his
ashes strewed upon the ground " Peter, less severely punished because of
his youth, was to have "one half of each of his ears cut off and be branded
on each cheek with the letter M," and receive n lashes. Also in the court-
house is the signed Oath of Allegiance and Abjuration, adopted in Duplin.
Grove Academy was conducted here in the middle 1800's. Among its
students were William R. King, Vice President of the United States (1853-
57), and F. M. Simmons, U. S. Senator from North Carolina (1901-31). A
school for young women, known as the Female Seminary, was operated here
until the 1920's. An early philanthropist was Alexander Dickson (d. 1814),
who bequeathed most of his large estate to the poor children of his county.
The first church built by Scotch-Irish settling here about 1736 was near
what is now the old Rutledge Cemetery. The Golden Grove Church, the
congregation's third, near the center of town, is weatherboarded, painted
white, and has a square tower and pointed windows.
In the Duplin County jail, in September 1831, Dave Morisy, a Negro, was
incarcerated for fomenting a plot in which insurgent slaves were to murder
all the white people between Kenansville and Wilmington, and then to seize
Fort Caswell at Smith ville (Southport). The revelation of the plan caused
intense excitement. Some 15 Negroes were arrested, and prominent citizens
asked Gov. Montfort Stokes for militia to guard the jail. Dave confessed,
implicating David Hicks, a Negro preacher. The two were convicted and
publicly hanged. Their heads were cut off and placed on poles at highway
intersections and slaves were marched by to gaze upon them. Dave's head
was placed on the Wilmington Road (now US 117), which became known
as the Negro Head Road.
TIN CITY, 75 m., is a farm village.
Right from Tin City on paved State 41 is WALLACE 2 m. (51 alt., 734 pop.), market-
ing center of a large strawberry-raising section. An auctioneer conducts the sale of ber-
ries in a shed, open on all sides. An annual Strawberry Festival is held early in June. The
time was selected, according to an auctioneer, because "the growers won't have time to
count their money until the market closes."
At 77 m. is the junction with graded State 401.
Right on this road is WILLARD, 1 m. (50 alt., 100 pop.), and the North Carolina.
Coastal Experiment Station, conducted by the State in cooperation with the Federal
Government. Here experiments are being carried on to produce a variety of scuppernong
grape that will bear in clusters, thus facilitating transportation. The scuppernong, a mem-
ber of the muscadine family, is a white grape of delicious flavor, probably the oldest
cultivated native American variety. It is common in the Cape Fear River section, originat-
ing, it is believed, along the banks of the Scuppernong River in Tyrrell County (see
tour 26a).
A field day and farmers' picnic, held annually since 191 7 (2nd Thurs. Sept.) at the
station, attracts thousands of farmers and their friends. For 10 cents a person may enter
33 2 TOURS
the vineyard and eat all the grapes he wishes. On the following day a similar gathering
of Negro farmers is held.
Adjoining the experiment station on the west is Penderlea Farms, a project inaugu-
rated by the Division of Subsistence Homesteads and managed (1939) by the Farm
Security Administration. It contains 192 farmstead units of about 20 acres; each has a
one-story frame house, a barn, a pigpen, a poultry house, and a corncrib. All the houses
have complete bathrooms, and are equipped with electricity and water under pressure.
The cost of the complete farm units, $5,750, has been prorated so that their occupants
can acquire them with payments extending over a period of 40 years. Some of the families
selected have been removed from submarginal land taken out of cultivation by the Gov-
ernment, others were promising but impoverished tenant farmers. They raise as much of
their subsistence as possible and are given advice on farming and the preservation of their
foodstuffs by agents of the Farm Security Administration. The project contains approxi-
mately 10,500 acres, which includes a community pasture, a timber lot, a playground, and
an athletic field. The schoolhouse serves also as a community building; tractors and other
heavy equipment are owned by the project.
At 85 m. in the Graveyard of Old Hopewell Presbyterian Church
is the Grave of Hinton James, who, after walking 170 miles to Chapel
Hill, became, on Feb. 12, 1795, the first student to matriculate at the
University of North Carolina. He studied engineering and later did much
to improve the channels in the Cape Fear River.
BIG SAVANNAH, 87 m., is a railroad station in an area noted for the
variety of its wild flowers and shrubs. Here grow the wild orchid, and
several insectivorous plants including the bladderwort, the pitcherplant, and
the rare Venus's-flytrap, which is found only near the Carolinas' coast. This,
described by Darwin as "the most wonderful little plant in the world,"
grows to a height of from 4 to 12 inches and produces a white showy flower
in early May. In a group of three near the center of each half of the leaf
are triggers which, when touched, cause the leaf to close like a trap. Insects
thus caught are digested by enzymatic juices secreted by the plant.
In the swamps the prevailing trees are the bald cypress and juniper (white
cedar), usually festooned with Spanish or gray moss, which is not moss
nor a parasite but is related to the pineapple and the aerial orchids of the
tropics.
BURGAW, 89 m. (49 alt., 1,209 pop.), is the seat of Pender County.
The county was formed in 1875 and named for William Dorsey Pender
(1834-63), youngest major general of the Confederacy. The county claims
the greatest diversification of crops in the State but strawberries are the
main product.
Left from Burgaw on sand-clay State 53 to State-owned HOLLY SHELTER GAME
REFUGE, 15 m. About 15,000 of its 35,000 acres have been opened as public hunting
grounds where bear, deer, quail, and waterfowl are taken in season (see general infor-
mation). The refuge is in Holly Shelter Pocosin, which covers more than 100 square
miles in the eastern central section of Pender County.
ST. FIELENA, 91 m. (55 alt.), is the first of several agricultural colonies
developed for immigrants by Hugh MacRae, Wilmington real estate oper-
ator. Land acquired by the development company was cut into small farms
of 10 to 30 acres. These were improved, equipped, and sold to the colonists
on easv terms.
tour 4 333
The first group at St. Helena was composed of seven families from
northern Italy, thrifty, industrious, and experienced grape growers. Forage
crops are grown in summer and cover crops in winter to keep the land
constantly in productivity. Scientific methods of agriculture are followed.
Settled on MacRae's other developments are: Hollanders at Van Eden,
in Pender County; Germans at New Berlin, in Columbus County; Poles
and Ruthenians at Marathon, and a mixed group, principally Dutch, at Castle
Hayne (see tour 29).
At 101 m. is the junction with US 421 (see tour 29).
TOUR
Junction with US 301 — Clinton — Whiteville — (Conway, S. C); US 701.
Junction with US 301 — South Carolina Line, 111 m.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in towns; summer hotels at White Lake; tourist homes and camps along the high-
way.
Between the junction with US 301 and the South Carolina Line, US 701
crosses generally level countryside having many lakes, and is bordered by
long stretches of pine forests and marshlands of luxuriant growth. The
farms produce truck and berries except near the South Carolina Line where
cotton and tobacco are the principal crops.
US 701 branches south from its junction with US 301, m. (see tour j£),
at a point 4 miles southwest of Smithfield.
At 12 m. is the junction with an unpaved road.
Left on this road to BENTONVILLE BATTLEFIELD, 7 m., where the Confederates
under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston were defeated, Mar. 19-21, 1865, by Sherman's army in
the last major battle of the War between the States. Federal casualties were reported as
1,646 and Confederate losses, 2,606. Approximately 10 miles of Confederate trenches,
still well preserved, run across the battleground.
The Bentonville Battle Monument (1927), erected jointly by the North Carolina
Historical Commission and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, stands in a tri-
angular grassplot. On a half-acre park, over a mass grave of 300 unidentified Confederates
killed at the Harper House, is a stone pyramid, erected in 1934 by the Goldsboro Rifles.
The Harper House, 9 m., a two-story wooden structure, with its blacksmith shop and
outbuildings was filled with Confederate wounded. It bears bullet holes and other marks
■of battle.
CLINTON, 33 m. (158 alt., 2,712 pop.), the seat of Sampson County,
was founded and laid off in 1818 and named for Richard Clinton, who
gave five acres for the county seat. The local industrial establishments in-
clude a large lumber plant. The county, formed in 1784 from part of Duplin
and named for Col. John Sampson, is noted for its large huckleberries,
locally referred to as Sampson Blues.
On the courthouse square is a Monument to William Rufus King, 13th
Vice President of the United States (1853), who was born near here and
practiced law in Clinton. In the Daniel Joyner House (1810) white women
and children sought refuge from the threatened Negro insurrection of
September 1831 (see tour 4).
Clinton is at the northern junction with US 421 (see tour 29).
334
tour 5 335
Right from Clinton on paved State 24, in a farming section where quail and small
game are plentiful, is ROSEBORO, 12 m. (137 alt., 768 pop.). The Culbreth family, who
are said to have furnished more ministers of the gospel than any other family in the State,
live here.
1. Left from Roseboro on Butlers Island Rd. across Big Swamp, 3 m. to the junction
with a trail; at the west margin of the swamp L. on this trail to the end of the floodgate
dam. Cross two streams on the log footway and follow path to high land on HICKS
ISLAND (open), 4.5 m., a primitive beauty spot, thickly grown with shrubs and moss-
hung trees, and brilliant in the spring and summer with wild flowers. This privately
owned 1,000-acre island is surrounded by the waters of South River, Big Swamp, and
Little Swamp. The first English trappers who came here are said to have found blue-
eyed Indians who spoke a dialect similar to 16th-century English. Some people believe
that these Indians were descendants of Raleigh's Lost Colony (see tour iA).
2. Right from Roseboro on State 242, on Little Coharie Creek, is the Site of the
Home of Gabriel Holmes, 2 m., Governor of North Carolina (1821-24). At SALEM -
BURG, 6 m. (318 pop.), is the Duke-endowed coeducational Pineland College, estab-
lished in 1914. It offers elementary, preparatory, and junior college courses. A 500-acre
farm provides food for 175 students, employment for many of them, and a crop surplus
that is marketed.
At 36 m. is the southern junction with US 421 (see tour 29).
GARLAND, 46 m. (62 alt., 509 pop.), on the South River, was formerly
an important lumber-market center but is now chiefly a shipping point for
huckleberries.
Between Garland and the South Carolina Line are numerous lakes and
dry basins known as bays. Many geologists believe these were formed by
the fall of meteors.
WHITE LAKE, 62 m. (89 alt.), is a resort village.
1. Left from the town on an improved road to WHITE LAKE (hotels, cottages, and
bathhouses; good rod fishing), 1 m., spring-fed and surrounded by large areas of white
sand broken by pines and turkey oaks. The lake is about 1.3 miles wide, and its water is
unusually clear.
2. Left from the village of White Lake on unpaved State 41 to BLACK LAKE (swim-
ming, boating, fishing), 6 m., about the same size as White Lake.
At 63.7 m. is the junction with sand-clay State 53.
Left on State 53 to SINGLETARY LAKE (bathing beach, boathouses, picnic grounds,
tennis courts), 6 m., a recreation center in the 35,000-acre JONES AND SALTERS
LAKES LAND UTILIZATION PROJECT. The assembly hall and bunkhouses are for
the use of boys and girls camps. Within the project the Government has built highways
and truck trails; fire hazards have been reduced and a wildlife conservation program
inaugurated.
At 68 m. is the junction with sand-clay State 242.
Right on State 242 to evergreen-bordered JONES LAKE, 3 m., in the Land Utilization
Project, a recreation center for Negroes.
US 701 crosses the valley of the rushing Cape Fear River on a high cause-
way. The Cape Fear has often overflowed its banks, causing much damage
to the bottom lands.
336 TOURS
ELIZABETHTOWN, 69 m. (85 alt., 765 pop.), seat of Bladen County,
on the western bank of the Cape Fear River, was settled by Scotch, English,
and Irish soon after the county had been formed in 1734, and in 1773 was
named for Queen Elizabeth. In front of the community building is a marker
commemorating the Battle of Elizabethtown.
Old plantations along the river have fallen into ruins although at present
there are many prosperous farms. For several years lumbering was an
important industry here. A peanut-products factory is one of the chief indus-
trial plants.
The Tory Hole, Site of the Battle of Elizabethtown, is on Broad St.,
near the center of town. In 1781 the region around Elizabethtown, Camp-
bellton, and Fayetteville was a Tory stronghold. Whigs were driven from
their homes and their estates pillaged. One August night a small band of
patriots, having decided to strike back, reached the banks of the Cape Fear
opposite Elizabethtown, which was then held by 300 Tories under Godden
and Slingsby. They waded across and launched an attack. After Godden and
Slingsby had been mortally wounded the Tories retreated, some taking refuge
in houses, others leaping to safety into a deep ravine, since called the Tory
Hole.
At 78.3 m. is the junction with a graveled road.
Left on this road 2.3 m. to the Brown Marsh Presbyterian Church (R), a weather-
boarded structure with an entrance on the left side, and another on the gable end. The
building has remnants of solid shutters for the windows of the five bays. Within are rude
benches and a rear gallery. The building was erected in 1825, replacing one built in 1787.
Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, father of Woodrow Wilson, occasionally preached here. In the
cemetery are buried the ancestors of Anna Mathilda McNeill Whistler, mother of James
Abbott McNeill Whistler, the painter.
CLARKTON, 79 m. (93 alt., 458 pop.), an agricultural village, is one
of the oldest tobacco markets in the State. There was a Highland Scotch
settlement here as early as 1760.
In WHITEVILLE, 92 m. (66 alt., 2,203 pop.), founded in 1810, and the
seat of Columbus County, are several tobacco warehouses. Some contend that
the name commemorates John White, associated with the Lost Colony (see
tour 1 A), but it probably honors John B. White, member of the general
assembly of 1809, whose family deeded (1809) the land for the first court-
house. The county was formed from Bladen in 1808. Woodrow Wilson and
his father were guests at the old White house when it was occupied by Col.
W. M. Baldwin. When young Woodrow was caught climbing a tree in the
White yard on the Sabbath, Presbyterian wrath is said to have broken the
Sabbath calm.
The Memory grape that bears a large black fruit, was introduced here in
1868 by Col. T. S. Memory, who discovered it growing among his Thomas
vines.
Whiteville is at the junction with US 74 (see tour 31a).
In Welsh Creek Township, about 4 miles northeast of Whiteville, are sev-
tour 5 337
eral hundred so-called Free-issues, people of mixed Indian, white, and
Negro blood, whose ancestors were woodsmen when turpentine was profit-
ably produced in this region.
At 94 m. is the junction with State 130 (see tour 5A).
Between 94 m. and the South Carolina Line, US 701 crosses TRUCE
LAND, set apart in June 1781 as a refuge for non-combatants during the
Revolutionary War by an agreement between Colonel Gainey and Gen.
Francis Marion. The area was under rigid military rule. Toward the end of
the war the section became a refuge for robbers and renegades.
TABOR CITY, 110 m. (1,165 pop.), is a market for tobacco and other
agricultural products. From 50 to 75 thousand hampers of beans are sold
here annually.
At 111 m. the highway crosses the South Carolina Line, 28 miles north
of Conway, S. C. (see s.c. tour 24).
TOUR
Junction with US 701 — Old Dock — Crusoe Island; State 130, county road.
18 m.
Paved highway to Old Dock.
State 130 branches southeast from its junction with US 701, m. (see
tour 5) 2 miles south of Whiteville, and runs through lowland swamps and
pocosins.
OLD DOCK, 15 m. (35 pop.), a waning farm village, in ante-bellum
days was an important shipping point for naval stores; its name refers to
wharfs that once stood along the Waccamaw River.
Left from Old Dock on a dirt road through Green Swamp to CRUSOE
ISLAND, 18 m., a community isolated for several generations. Not prop-
erly an island, this point is an elevated knoll in country consisting of
meandering streams of dark water and tangled swamps where large herds
of deer survive and bears often overrun the section, preying upon livestock.
Almost every home has a kennel of bear hounds.
The country around the Green Swamp and Lake Waccamaw was first
granted to Patrick Henry. It is said that later owners, not interested in settling
the land, divided it into 640-acre tracts and used it chiefly for stakes in
gambling.
One of the many explanations of the origin of Crusoe Island's inhabitants
is that they are descendants of a band of pirates who fled to the back country
to avoid capture after an unsuccessful raid on the river settlements. Another
is that their ancestors were a tribe of coastal Indians who were forced into
the swamp by the early settlers. A third, and more widely accepted version,
is that the island was settled by French refugees.
This story is that in 1804, during Napoleon's rule, a number of men were
sentenced to death for treason. Some of the officers in charge, including a
young French surgeon, Jean Formy-Duvall, conspired to help the prisoners
escape and a pseudo death report was returned by Formy-Duvall. After one
of the supposedly dead men had been captured, the young surgeon, with a
number of others involved, left France for Haiti. Shortly after their arrival,
the island was thrown into a panic by Jean Jacques Dessalines, the Negro
who expelled the French and from 1804 to 1806 reigned as emperor. Formy-
Duvall, his family, and three other French families, to escape Dessaline's
cruelty, fled the island, finally reaching Smithville, now Southport. Learning
of the isolated section in the Green Swamp and fearing that they might be
returned to France, they moved into the interior. Still another theory is that
338
tour 5 a 339
during the War between the States many nonslaveholding whites fled here
to avoid being drafted for military service. For many years there was a
definite line beyond which no Negro could pass.
Most of the inhabitants are sturdy, blond, and have florid complexions.
Their speech, which contains no trace of Latin, bears a close resemblance to
certain northern English dialects. Particularly noticeable is the manner in
which they linger on the last letter or syllable. "Th'ust a daid stick inter
t'land," they say, speaking of the fertility of their soil, "an' u'd grow-awe."
Handicrafts were being taught the islanders by WPA workers during the
late 1930's.
TOUR
Junction with US 158 — Nashville — Wilson — Junction with State 102; State
58. 78 m.
Norfolk Southern R.R. parallels route between Wilson and Stantonsburg.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in towns.
This route crosses rolling hills and small, rapid streams in farming coun-
try where bright-leaf tobacco and cotton are the staple crops. In the forests
pine predominates over the hardwoods.
State 58 branches south from its junction with US 158, m. (see tour
24a), a mile east of Warrenton.
At CENTER VILLE, 19 m. (100 pop.), is the junction with unpaved
State 561.
Left on this road is the Portis Gold Mine, 6 m., at the confluence of Shocco and Fish-
ing Creeks, discovered about 1845 by a settler named Portis who was amazed by the
firelight gleam of gold particles in the clay with which he chinked his cabin. The mine,
operated intermittently until 1936, produced gold worth $3,000,000.
At 28 m. is the Site of Belford, in ante-bellum days an important junc-
tion of the Halifax-Raleigh stage route. A neighborhood church retains the
name.
At 32 m. is Rose Hill (private), a mansion built in 1792 by George
Boddie on land granted to his father, Nathaniel Boddie, by Lord Granville.
Its double porch is fronted by Doric columns and a circular drive winds to
the entrance. The flower garden was laid out by a landscape gardener from
England. In 1876 the house was enlarged and it has been subsequently re-
modeled and modernized, but the original lines have been preserved.
NASHVILLE, 35 m. (180 alt., 1,137 pop.), and Nash County, of which
it is the seat, were named for the Revolutionary patriot, Brig. Gen. Francis
Nash (see tour //). This pleasant tobacco-belt town has a wide business
street which develops into a residential boulevard planted with broadleaf
Norway maples. This region is favorable to diversified farming as well as to
tobacco culture. The cornerstone of the brick Nash County Courthouse
(1883) contains a quart of Nash County brandy.
Nashville is at the junction with US 64 (see tour 26a).
SILVER LAKE, 48 m., is a recreation center.
340
TOUR 34I
WILSON, 54 m. (147 alt., 12,613 pop.) {see tour 3), is at the junction
with US 301 {see tour j) and US 264 {see tour 2j).
STANTONSBURG, 65 m. (92 alt., 607 pop.), incorporated in 1817 and
supposedly named for the founder, was a thriving village before the Revo-
lution; it has become a marketing center for a tobacco-producing area.
At 78 m. is the junction with State 102 {see tour 2), 2 miles west of
Snow Hill.
TOUR
(South Hill, Va.) — Henderson — Raleigh — Southern Pines — Rockingham —
(Cheraw, S. C); US i.
Virginia Line — South Carolina Line, 180 m.
Seaboard Air Line R.R. parallels the route between Norlina and Rockingham.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in cities and towns; tourist homes, inns, and camps along route.
Section a. VIRGINIA LINE to RALEIGH; 66 m. US i
This route runs through rolling cotton, corn, and tobacco farm lands,
and occasional pine and oak forests. US i crosses the Virginia-North Carolina
Line, m., 15 miles south of South Hill, Va. {see va. tour /).
At NORLINA, 8 m. (438 alt., 761 pop.), is the northern junction with
US 158 (see tour 24a).
Between Norlina and Henderson lies part of the State's "black belt,"
populated by descendants of slaves, numerous in this plantation region.
Many Negroes bear the names of the families to whom their ancestors
belonged. Operating in this section prior to the War between the States were
groups of white men called by the Negroes "paddyrollers." The name
referred to the patrols of six men from each militia company established by
legislative acts, whose duty it was to patrol each district at least once every
two weeks, apprehending and punishing Negroes found outside their masters'
plantations without passes or making themselves otherwise objectionable.
In Negro dialect the patrols became "patteroles," or "patter-rollers," which
forms are used by Joel Chandler Harris in Uncle Remus and by Charles W.
Chesnutt in the Conjur Woman. As the common punishment was to place
the offender across a barrel and apply a paddle instead of the legal lash, and
as the barrel was apt to roll under the impact, the administrators became
facetiously known as "paddle-rollers," and finally "paddy-rollers."
At 9.8 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road to the junction with another dirt road, 1.4 m. ; R. 2 m. on this
road to Poplar Mount {private), in a grove of great oaks (R). Before the War between
the States the house was surrounded by a grove of imported yew trees, of which only a
single magnificent tree remains. The rambling story-and-a-half house is covered with
beaded weatherboarding, with entrance door protected by a low gabled porch. There are
two end chimneys at the right end, beyond which are several additions. On the left is a
small office building with hip roof and a small porch supported by octagonal posts.
Poplar Mount was built as the home of Weldon Nathaniel Edwards (1 788-1 873),
342
tour 7 343
Congressman (1815-27), State senator (1833-36, 1850-54), speaker of the State senate
1850-54), leader in the organization of the secession party early in 1861, and president
of the North Carolina secession convention in 1862. Edwards practised scientific agricul-
ture. Instead of planting cotton he concentrated on the growing of grain, hay, fruit, and
tobacco, and the breeding and improvement of stock. Game chickens were his pride and
joy and furnished entertainment for his numerous guests.
RIDGEWAY, 10 m. (422 alt., 100 pop.), is in a region of prosperous
small farms producing vegetables, berries, fruits, and Ridgeway cantaloups.
Most of the farmers came here in the 1880's from southern Germany by
way of New York and Pennsylvania. Since the beginning of the settlement,
when most of the people spoke no English, the Lutheran Church has been
the center of social life. The church served also as a schoolhouse and, until
the children began attending State schools, both English and German were
taught. Part of the church services are still conducted in German.
MANSON, 12 m. (429 alt., 70 pop.), is a community of farmhouses.
About 1850 the Roanoke Ry. built a line from this point to Clarksville, Va.
During the War between the States, General Longstreet's soldiers took up the
entire railroad and laid it between Greensboro and Danville, Va., to trans-
port supplies from western North Carolina to Richmond.
MIDDLEBURG, 17 m. (489 alt., 138 pop.), a farming community
founded in 1781, was midway between terminals of the Raleigh & Gas-
ton R.R. Dr. Joseph Hawkins established one of the State's earliest medical
schools at his home here in 1808. Several granite quarries are operated in the
vicinity.
At 17.5 m. is the junction with a dirt road.
Right on this road to Pleasant Hill (private), 0.6 m., a two-and-one-half-story clap-
boarded house with gable roof, dormers, and twin end chimneys. The low wings on each
side of the central section and some of the ornaments in the cornice, notably the Greek
fret, are possibly additions of the 1850's when the house changed ownership. An in-
appropriate porch with rough stone columns was added in 1869.
Pleasant Hill was erected by Col. Philemon Hawkins, Jr. (1752-1833). Hawkins fought
alongside his father, Tryon's chief aid at Alamance (see tour 25), but father and son
later became ardent patriots. The son was a colonel in the Provincial militia, member of
Provincial Congresses and of the 1789 convention that ratified the Federal Constitution
(see fayetteville). Pleasant Hill in 1777 was the birthplace of Colonel Hawkins' son,
William Hawkins, Governor of North Carolina (1811-14).
At 2.1 m. is the junction with a dirt road; L. 1.5 m. on this road to the junction
with a sand-clay road; R. 2 m. on this road to Ashland (private). This two-story house,
three bays wide, has a doorway on the right-hand bay and a story-and-a-half addition on
the right with end chimneys matching the twin chimneys on the left side of the main
house. The beaded weatherboarding is painted white, and both eaves and window head-
ings have well-designed cornices. A later porch extending across the entire facade is sup-
ported by Roman Doric columns, supplemented by log posts. Ashland was built in 1746
by Samuel Henderson, farmer and miller. He was one time high sheriff of Granville
County and became the father of Richard Henderson.
Near Ashland is the Grave of Richard Henderson (1735-85), judge of the Crown
who was driven from the bench at Hillsboro by the Regulators (see tour 23); they later
burned his home. Judge Henderson was the founder and president of the Transylvania
Colony, organized in 1775 to form a new State in the Indian territory that later became
Tennessee and Kentucky. Daniel Boone helped in the negotiations with the Indians for
344 tours
the purchase of the land and, with 30 axmen, went ahead to cut a passage through the
tangled laurel thickets for the emigrants.
HENDERSON, 23 m. (513 alt., 6,345 P°P-)> an industrial town in the
bright-leaf tobacco belt, is the seat of Vance County. Its huge warehouses
bustle with activity in the fall as tobacco farmers bring in their crops by
automobile, truck, and wagon. Auction sales of tobacco (Mon.-Fri., Sept.
to Christmas) are bewildering scenes. Only warehouse habitues can under-
stand the jargon of the auctioneer as he works with lightning rapidity. In-
dustrial plants include cotton mills, a fertilizer plant, and motor truck
factory.
Henderson is the residence of the Castello family, former circus riders,
whose real name is Loughlin. The mother of the family is descended from
one of the last jesters of the English court. The old barn in which they had
a practice circus ring for winter rehearsal is still standing.
On the courthouse lawn is a Monument to Leonard Henderson (1772-
1833), Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, for whom the town was
named when laid out in 1840.
Henderson is at the southern junction with US 158 (see tour 24a).
Right from Henderson on paved State 39 to WILLIAMSBORO, 7 m., settled about
1740 and called Nutbush until 1780 when Col. Robert Burton named the town Williams-
borough for his father-in-law* Judge John Williams, who had given him the land. By
the early 1800's the place was a thriving community with the finest race track in the
State.
The Site of the Sneed Mansion House is on one of the original town lots. The
mansion was such a favorite with lawyers and judges that, until about i860, court was
often said to have "adjourned to Sneed Mansion House."
St. John's Episcopal Church, a white clapboarded structure with gable roof was built
in the late 18th century. The entrance in the front gable end, which is topped with a
small wooden cupola, is protected by a small gabled portico with four slender posts; in
the pediment of the portico is a symbolic star. The parish was organized in 1746. The
first rector was the Rev. John Cupples, sent out in 1766 by the Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Gospel. The roster of the first vestry includes names prominent in the section.
On the south side of Main St. is a long lane leading to Cedar Walk {private), hidden
from view by a few of the cedars that gave the place its name. It was built in 1750 by
Hutchins Burton for a boarding school, and called Blooming Hope. Burton hanged him-
self from the attic stairwell and visitors testify to the presence of his ghost. The house is
two stories high with a central door flanked by pilasters. The wing at the left, a later
addition, has a fine dentiled cornice, the detail of which resembles the work at Burnside
and Prospect Hill (see architecture).
1. Right from Williamsboro 1 m. on a dirt road to the Ruins of Oakland. Four chimneys
are all that remain of the summer home occupied about 1820 by James Turner, Governor
of North Carolina (1802-5), and U. S. Senator (1805-16).
2. Left from Williamsboro 0.9 m. on a dirt road to the junction with another dirt road;
R. 1.3 m. on this road to the junction with a marked lane; R. 0.6 m. on the lane to
Burnside (private). This two-story weatherboarded house has a dentiled cornice and
upper and lower doorways with semicircular fanlights and side lights. A brick in the
east end chimney bears the date 1801. The interior carved woodwork, designed with
varying detail, is characteristic of the Classic Revival period.
Tradition is that in 1760 this was the home of Col. Memucan Hunt, first State
treasurer, and later that of his son, Dr. Thomas Hunt, who inherited the place about
1820. It was named Burnside in 1824, after Dr. Hunt had sold it to Patrick Hamilton,
one of five brothers who came here from Scotland about 1806. The Hamiltons were
tour 7 345
born in Burnside, Lanarkshire, according to the tombstone of William Hamilton (1779-
1840) in St. John's Churchyard.
On State 39 at 12.7 m. in Townsville (421 alt., 244 pop.), is the Nutbush Presby-
terian Church (1805), whose congregation was organized in 1754. This little white
weatherboarded box of a church with square-headed windows was one of the few
churches for white people where John Chavis often preached between 1809 and 1832.
Chavis, a free Negro, displayed unusual intelligence as a child and was sent to Prince-
ton — according to tradition, to demonstrate whether a Negro could acquire a college
education. He became a Presbyterian minister and taught school in Raleigh and other
North Carolina towns. Among his pupils were Willie P. Mangum, later a U. S. Senator,
Charles Manly, Governor of North Carolina (1849-51), and the sons of Chief Justice
Leonard Henderson.
BEARPOND, 28 m.
Left from Bearpond on a graveled road to the Site of Gillburg, 2 m., marked by
stone slave houses built before 1820.
KITTRELL, 31 m. (372 alt., 220 pop.), is surrounded by the flowering
fields and rows of evergreens of a nursery.
Right from Kittrell on the unpaved Lynbank Rd. to RUIN CREEK, 2 m., Site of
Popcastle Inn, a Colonial tavern and gaming house operated until about i860. It is said
to have been built by a nobleman, a political refugee from Europe, and later owned by
Captain Pop, a pirate who hid gold nearby.
At 35 m. US 1 crosses Tabbs Creek on which John Mask Peace, first
known white settler of this region, lived in 1713.
FRANKLINTON, 40 m. (432 alt., 1,320 pop.), is a textile-manufacturing
and lumber-milling town as well as a shipping point for cotton and bright-
leaf tobacco.
Left from Franklinton on paved State 56 is LOUISBURG, 10 m. (226 alt, 2,182
pop.), seat of Franklin County. This town, the "old fords of the Tar," was first settled
in 1758, and in 1764 was named in commemoration of the capture by American forces
of the French fortress at Louisburg, Nova Scotia. Lumber is the principal manufactured
material. Louisburg is the birthplace of Edwin W. Fuller, author of the Angel in the
Cloud and Other Poems and Sea Gift (1873), a novel once so popular at the University
of North Carolina that the work was known as the Freshman's Bible.
Louisburg College, in a 10-acre oak grove, is a Methodist coeducational junior col-
lege, with a student body of about 400. The buildings of red-painted brick are scattered
about the administration center (1855), which has a Greek Doric portico; the later
wings have small Roman Doric porticoes. A chimney, remains of a building erected in
1 814 and burned in 1928, bears a tablet with the date 1802. The school was chartered
as the Louisburg Female Seminary in that year when it was decided to separate the male
and female departments of the Franklin Academy for Males and Females, whose first
building was erected in 1779.
In 1855 tne school was reorganized as a private college. In 1891 it came into the
possession of Washington Duke, who operated it until his death in 1907; his son,
Benjamin N. Duke, gave it to the North Carolina Methodist Conference.
The Drinking Fountain and Marker, Courthouse Sq., was erected to commemorate
the designing by Orren Randolph Smith, a North Carolinian, of the Stars and Bars —
first of the Confederacy's four flags — and its first display in North Carolina at Louis-
burg, Mar. 18, 1 861.
1. Left from Louisburg on oil-treated State 561 to the junction with a dirt road, 2.5 m. ;
L. 2 m. on the dirt road to the John Allen Place {private). The house is covered with
beaded weatherboarding and fronted by a one-story bracketed porch. The east chimney
346 TOURS
is said to date from 181 8, but the part belonging to this date has been incorporated with
the rest of the story-and-a-half structure and is indistinguishable. The west chimney bears
the date 1837.
Inside are beautiful old furniture and interesting relics. John Allen was known as
"Spelling John" because of his phenomenal memory. He could spell a word and tell
where it stood by page and line in the old blue-back speller. The family has a lustre
goblet that he won as the best speller in North Carolina, and a letter signed by Robert E.
Lee testifying to the excellence of John Allen's scholarship at Washington (later Wash-
ington and Lee) College. The family also has a book of calculations used for dictation
in the schools when textbooks were not available; it was written about 1814 with a
goose quill and illustrates the "rule of threes." John Allen's half brother, Orren Randolph
Smith, was living here when his Confederate flag was first displayed.
On State 561 is (R) the Old Collins Place {private), 9.4 m., a two-story house, two
rooms wide, with two stone end chimneys. Every opening in the facade is designed with
a Palladian motif.
2. Left from Louisburg on paved State 39 to the Home of Green Hill (private), 1 m.,
where Bishop Coke held the first North Carolina Methodist Conference in 1785. This
well-preserved white frame farmhouse has dormer windows, three great brick end
chimneys, and high porches. Green Hill was prominent in State as well as Methodist
affairs, represented Bute County in four Provincial Congresses (1774-76), and was a
major of the Bute militia in the Revolution.
3. Right from Louisburg on paved State 39 to the junction with a dirt road, 2 m. ; L.
2 m. on this road to the point where Lynch's Creek enters Tar River, the Site of the
Hanging of Major Lynch (1767). This British officer, commissioned to collect taxes
in the frontier Colony, was here summarily executed, carrying out the sentence of a
mock court; the term "lynch law" is believed by some to have so originated. One of the
last remaining bands of Tuscarora Indians in North Carolina was exterminated here in
1725. Skeletons and relics have been found nearby.
At 49.5 m. US 1 follows a boulevard whose grassy parkway is planted
with dwarf magnolias and shrubs. In WAKE FOREST, 50 m. (400 alt.,
1,536 pop.), a college town, the streets are bordered with fine trees, and old
houses harmonize with the ivy-grown buildings on the wooded campus of
Wake Forest College (Baptist) in the heart of the village. When Wake
Forest Institute opened in 1834, each of its 16 students was required to bring
an ax and a hoe in addition to two sheets and two towels.
Reorganized as a college in 1838, Wake Forest in 1894 added a school
of law and in 1896 a department of religion, first in connection with an
American college of liberal arts. The standard four-year course leads to
degrees of B.A. and B.S., and graduate work is offered leading to the M.A.
degree. A summer school is conducted.
The college buildings occupy a beautiful 25-acre campus shaded by mag-
nolias, oaks, maples, elms, and cedars. Wait Hall, erected in 1839 and named
for the institution's first president, Samuel Wait, was destroyed by fire in
1933. A building program in the 1930's included a new Wait Hall, three-
story brick building in modified Georgian Colonial style; the William
Amos Johnson Memorial Medical Building; a combination gymnasium
and auditorium; concrete stadium and field house. The Old Dormitory
was built about 1839 by Capt. John Berry (see architecture). Off the
campus are the Calvin Jones House (1820); the North Brick House
(1838) which served as the home of early presidents; and the South Brick
House (1838).
tour 7 347
The marked Site of Isaac Hunter's Tavern, which Hunter operated
in 1788, is at 60 m. The North Carolina General Assembly ruled that the
State capital should be placed within 10 miles of this point.
RALEIGH, 66 m. (363 alt., 37,379 pop.) {see raleigh).
Points of Interest: State Capitol, Christ Church, Site of the Birthplace of Andrew
Johnson, Joel Lane House, N. C. State College of Agriculture and Engineering, and
others.
Raleigh is at the junction with US 15A {see tour 9), US 64 {see tour
26), and US 70 {see tour 28).
Section b. RALEIGH to SOUTH CAROLINA LINE; 114 m. US 1
Between RALEIGH, m., and 14 m., US 1 unites with US 64 {see
tour 26).
This route swings into thickly wooded farming country where cotton,
corn, and tobacco are the predominant crops.
MEREDITH COLLEGE, 3.5 m., is a four-year Baptist college with a
student body of more than 500 young women. Fourteen buildings, most of
them of brick, lie at the end of a tree-lined avenue (R). Established in 1899,
the institution was named for the Rev. Thomas Meredith, for many years
a leader of the Baptist denomination in North Carolina. A summer session
is conducted in conjunction with Wake Forest College.
METHOD, 4 m. (444 alt., 300 pop.), Negro village, was developed by
Berry O'Kelly (d.1932), Negro educator, merchant, and leader, who founded
the school which bears his name. The plant includes three large brick build-
ings and a church.
At 5 m. is the junction with US 70 {see tour 28), which unites with US
1-64 between this point and 8 m.
In the State Fairgrounds, 5 m. (R), the annual fair {yd w\. Oct.) is
attended by about 250,000 people. A steel grandstand and concrete bleachers,
race tracks, agricultural exhibit buildings, machinery sheds, stock barns,
offices, and a hospital are included in the equipment.
State Highway Shops, 5.1 m., a group of sprawling, barnlike buildings
(R), include a supply depot, garage, and repair shop.
At 8 m. US 70 {see tour 28) branches R.
At 8.5 m. on US 1-64 is CARY (496 alt., 900 pop.), a farming com-
munity founded about 1852 by A. Frank Page, father of Walter Hines
Page, the author, editor, and wartime Ambassador to Great Britain (1913-
18). The Birthplace and Home of Walter Hines Page {private) is
across the railroad tracks, half a block from Schoolhouse St. The two-story
white dwelling stands in a grove of elms, surrounded by a picket fence.
348 TOURS
Page as a boy of 12 is said to have walked the railroad tracks 8 miles to
Raleigh to hear President Andrew Johnson speak.
Right on a graveled road from a brick filling station at the outskirts of Cary to the
junction with dirt Reedy Creek Rd., at a schoolhouse, 2 m. ; R. 2.5 m. on this road through
a pine forest to the Old Company Mill, on the bank of Crabtree Creek beside a dam.
Walter Hines Page laid some of the scenes of his novel the Southerner in this neighbor-
hood. The old mill, owned by his grandfather and operated as a powder factory during
the War between the States, is in good condition, its overshot wheel intact after 100
years. In front of the mill are marks of an old trail, probably a portion of the old Rams-
gate Road cut by Governor Tryon on his way to quell the Regulators {see tour 25). Boy
Scout cabins and a pond (swimming) occupy the space in the woods. The site is part of
Crabtree Creek Park, a 6,000-acre national recreation and demonstration area.
At 14 m. US 64 (see tour 26) branches R.
At 16 m. on US 1 is APEX (504 alt., 863 pop.), which received its name
in the early 1870's when a survey for the Raleigh & Augusta R.R. showed
this to be the highest point on the right-of-way between Norfolk and San-
ford. After North Carolina had adopted prohibition in 1907, Apex was
used by the Baldwin gang as headquarters for distributing liquor run in
from Virginia.
The route crosses the Haw River, 30 m., through a region where the hills
attain the elevations of small mountains, and the landscape takes on a
rugged aspect seldom found in the Piedmont. Swift-flowing streams, Rocky
River, Robinson, and Bear Creeks, furnish power for many small mills that
grind the wheat grown in the region.
US 1 crosses the Deep River, 31.5 m., a narrow stream that twists through
green valleys. High abrupt banks in places become hanging cliffs with a
drop of 100 feet or more. Rabbits, squirrels, and birds are abundant. Deep
River joins the Haw a mile to the southeast, their confluence forming the
Cape Fear.
LOCKVILLE, 41 m., formerly known as Ramseys Mill, was the scene
of a British encampment after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (see tour
13). Cornwallis' troops remained only long enough to build a bridge across
Deep River.
Between this point and 52 m., US 1 unites with US 15-501 (see tour 10).
South of Lockville US 1, called the Jefferson Davis Highway, has bronze
and granite markers placed at 10-mile intervals by the United Daughters
of the Confederacy to honor the President of the Confederacy.
At 42 m. the highway crosses the Granville Line (see tour 2 and
history).
SANFORD, 46 m. (375 alt., 4,253 pop.), seat of Lee County, on the edge
of the pine belt bordering the Sandhill section, is the market town for four
counties. Loads of tobacco and cotton on the way to the warehouses give the
town animation in the fall. In the surrounding country descendants of Staf-
tour 7 349
fordshire potters who came here 200 years ago continue their craft, using the
old-time kick wheel and mule-power grinding mills.
The North State Pottery {open) is one of the largest and best known
in the State.
Sanford is at the junction with US 421 {see tour 29).
At 47.5 m. is the junction with a country road.
Left on this road a short distance to the Buffalo Presbyterian Church. The white
frame Victorian Gothic building, erected between 1878 and 1880, is the fourth to serve
the congregation. The Scottish congregation was organized before April 1796.
CAMERON, 57 m. (304 alt., 287 pop.), is one of the largest dewberry
markets in the world, shipping an average of 60,000 crates each May.
VASS, 61 m. (287 alt., 602 pop.), is likewise a dewberry market.
At 62 m. the route crosses Little River. Beyond are the dry, white ridges
of the Sandhills. Shortleaf pines give way to the lighter green, longleaf
variety. The region abounds with fox, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, rabbit,
quail, and dove. Many deer stray into this section from the game refuge at
Fort Bragg {see tour 3A).
SOUTHERN PINES, 72 m. (516 alt., 2,524 pop.)
Transportation: New York -Florida Limited via Seaboard Air Line R.R. Additional trains
with through Pullman service in winter.
Accommodations: 11 modern hotels, most of them open only during winter season;
tourist homes and boarding houses; rates slightly higher in winter.
Information Service: City Clerk, Library, E. Broad St.
Golf (rates also by season): Mid-Pines Country Club, 18 holes, greens fee, $2; Pine
Needles Country Club, 18 holes, greens fee, $2; Southern Pines Country Club, two
18-hole courses, greens fee, $1.50.
ANNUAL EVENTS
Golf Tournaments: Weekly matches between Dec. 15 and Apr. 1; Women's Mid-South
Championship (54 holes), 3rd wk. Mar. Horse Events: Sandhills Steeplechase and
Racing Assn. meet, 3rd Sat. Apr.; gymkhanas on alternate Fridays throughout season;
horse shows, Jan. and Apr.; hunter trials, Mar. Tennis: Spring tournament, 2nd wk.
Mar.; Dogwood tournament, 4th wk. Apr.
This winter resort whose golf courses attract the foremost professionals
and amateurs of the country, was established primarily as a health resort.
Exploitation of the mild dry climate, coupled with the adaptability of the
Sandhills to peach growing and truck raising, helped to develop this region
of pine barrens, which, after the exhaustion of its hardwoods, had almost
reverted to a wilderness.
During the season Southern Pines' population swells to about 5,000 resi-
dents. The town, incorporated in 1887, centers around the landscaped rail-
way station. Broad Street, running parallel with the tracks, is a two-way
boulevard with a parkway of magnolias, pines, and blossoming shrubs.
Here are gift shops, book stores, newsstands, specialty shops, and a motion
picture theater.
350 TOURS
The writers' colony at Southern Pines had as its founder James Boyd,
author of Drums, and his wife, who influenced Katherine Newlin Burt,
the novelist, and Struthers Burt, novelist and essayist, to join them here.
Other members of the colony are Lawrence B. Smith, author of fishing and
hunting stories; Walter and Bernice Gilkyson, short-story writers, and Almet
Jenks and Maude Parker, contributors to national magazines.
Southern Pines is at the junction with State 2 {see tour J A).
ABERDEEN, 76 m. (500 alt., 1,382 pop.), is a trading town and shipping
point for tobacco, truck, and fruit. A. Frank Page, a miller, and father of
Walter Hines Page, came here from Wake County. The family built the
railroad that is now part of the Norfolk Southern. Originally called Blues
Crossing, the town became Aberdeen when it was incorporated in 1893.
Many of the early settlers in this section were Scottish.
Left from Aberdeen on paved State 5 to Old Bethesda Church (adm. by permission
of Mrs. Belle Pleasants whose house is 100 yds. R. Homecoming usually 1st Sun. in Oct.),
1 m. The church (1850), a rectangular white clapboarded structure with tower and spire
in the center of the facade, contains an old slave gallery with a separate entrance. At the
close of the War between the States, part of General Sherman's army encamped in and
around the building.
The congregation, organized in 1790 by the Philadelphia Presbytery, built its first
church that year in the midst of a 5-acre tract which had been granted in 1766 by King
George III to John Patterson.
In Bethesda Cemetery is the Tomb of Walter Hines Page. On a simple slab of
gray granite is inscribed only his name and the dates Aug. 15, 1855— Dec. 21, 1918.
Here also is the Grave of Frank Page, his brother, first chairman of the North Carolina
Highway Commission, which started the State's present highway system. Beneath the
cedars in the older portion of the cemetery lie crumbling, crude, and stained monuments
to early settlers. One is inscribed: "In Memory of COLIN BETHUNE (an honest man).
A native of Scotland by accident, but a citizen of the U.S. from choice who died Mar. 29,
1820. Aged 64 years.
His dust must mingle with the ground
Till the last trump's awakening sound
It will then arise in sweet surprise
To meet its savior in the skies."
PINEBLUFF, 80 m. (307 alt., 289 pop.), a small winter resort, has a few
scattered houses, many of them winter residences, on its wide streets. The
large hotel was converted into a club, later into a sanatorium.
At 84 m. the route crosses the Lumber River and runs through the Sand-
hills into a region of dark pine forest and darker cypress swamp, draped in
vines and Spanish moss.
HOFFMAN, 88 m. (428 alt., 569 pop.), is the center for the 62,000-acre
SANDHILLS LAND UTILIZATION PROJECT. Here the Bureau of
Agricultural Economics is (1939) demonstrating the restoration of economic
value to submarginal farm lands and cut-over forests by developing them as
recreation, forestry, and wildlife conservation areas. With the exception of
the fish hatchery, this project when completed will be administered by the
State.
Within this area are: the Indian Camp Recreational Park {cabins,
TOUR 7 351
trailer camp, recreation pavilion), on the shore of 80-acre Lake McKinney
{boating, bathing); the Bureau of Fisheries' McKinney Lake Hatchery
containing 20 one-acre ponds for propagating bass, bream, and crappie; the
Hoffman Nursery, growing from 15 to 25 million forest seedlings for
reforestation work on its 175 acres, and the Pine Forest Game Farm,
equipped with a brooder house, incubator house, fences, and coops for the
propagation of quail and turkeys.
ROCKINGHAM, 102 m. (211 alt., 2,906 pop.), seat of Richmond
County, was established in 1785 and named for the Marquis of Rockingham
who befriended the Colony before the Revolutionary War. Many of the
inhabitants are descendants of original settlers and the town has retained
somewhat the air of another generation. Although the county has over a
million peach trees, cotton constitutes 75 percent of the farm output. The
10 mills in the region employ white operatives exclusively.
In Rockingham Saturday is still "Negro day." The Negro population of
the section is almost as large as the white. Since they live mostly on the
cotton plantations, where the land is level, the rows long, and the summer
sun scorching, Rockingham grants them one day to call their own. The
carnival spirit prevails as whole families stroll about in their best clothes.
In picking time cotton hands discuss the price of cotton and the wages
planters are paying for labor in order to bargain with their overseers.
Rockingham is at the junction with US 220 {see tour 13) and US 74
{see tour 31b).
South of Rockingham US 1 parallels the Pee Dee River and at 114 m.
crosses the South Carolina Line, 10 miles north of Cheraw, S. C. {see s. c.
tour 6).
TOUR 7 A
Southern Pines — Pinehurst; State 2. 7 m.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Resort hotels, many open only in winter.
State 2, known as Midland Rd., branches northwest from its junction
with US 1 in SOUTHERN PINES, m. (see tour 7). Midland Rd., a
boulevard with pine-planted central parkway, is paralleled in stretches by
bridle paths.
The residential suburb, KNOLLWOOD, 2 m., is composed of country
estates, winter cottages, and year-round residences.
At 2.5 m. is the junction with a marked paved road.
Right on this road to KNOLLWOOD AIRPORT, 2.5 m.
At 2.6 m. is the junction with a marked sand road.
Left on this road is the Carolina Orchid Growers Greenhouses (open 2:30-4:30
weekdays; adm. $1; proceeds to charity), 100 yds. The climatic conditions of the tropics
are maintained for the many rare orchids grown here.
At 6 m. is the Sandhills Steeplechase and Racing Association Track
and Arena (meet yd Sat. Mar.).
PINEHURST, 7 m. (536 alt., 1,600 pop.).
Railroad Station: South edge of village at US 15-501 for Norfolk Southern R.R.
Airport: Knollwood Airport, 5 m. east on State 2 and paved road.
Accommodations: 5 large hotels; rates higher Oct. to May.
Information Service: Pinehurst, Inc., 1 Dogwood Rd. at Market Sq., or E. C. Mignard,
Hotel Ambassador, New York City.
Golf: Pinehurst Country Club, four 18-hole courses; greens fee, $1 to $2.50.
Tennis: 6 sand-clay courts.
ANNUAL EVENTS
Golf Tournaments: Mid-South Professional Tournament, mid-Nov.; Seniors Tournament,
2nd wk. Mar.; United North and South Open Championship, 3rd wk. Mar.; North
and South Invitation Championship for Women, last wk. Mar., 1st wk. Apr.; North
and South Invitation Amateur Championship, 2nd wk. Apr. Tennis: United North
and South Tournament, 2nd and 3rd wks. Apr. Races: Sandhills Steeplechase and
Racing Assn. meet, 3rd Sat. Mar. Horse Show: Pinehurst Jockey Club, Mar. 28-29.
Field Trials: Continental Field Trial Club, late Nov.; Pointers Club of America mem-
bership events, 1st wk. Dec; open events, 2nd wk., Dec; Pinehurst Field Trial
Club, 2nd wk. Jan. Kennel Show: Pinehurst Kennel Club, auspices American Kennel
Club, early Apr.
352
tour 7 a 353
Pinehurst is a winter resort, resembling a country village. Roads and drives
ramble past great estates, many of which are open the year around, com-
fortable hotels and inns, and numerous smaller residences and cottages de-
signed in a modified Georgian Colonial style. Aymar Embury II, of New
York and Pinehurst, set the architectural style of the colony. Frederick Law
Olmsted, landscape architect, laid out the parks and open spaces, ornamenting
the curving roads with evergreens, hollies, and flowering shrubs. Sweet-
scented longleaf pines give the village its name.
The Market Place, Pinehurst's business district, is the focal point of the
village, which does not depend on the surrounding country for patronage
or supplies. While tennis courts and country club verandas attract gay
throngs, groups of elderly ladies take the air in old-fashioned tallyhos or
victorias, and children pile into wagonettes when they go on picnics.
James W. Tufts, of Boston, in 1895 bought 5,000 sandy acres from the
family of Walter Hines Page for $1 an acre. His early plans for using
some of his millions to build a health resort did not materialize but later
he established a recreational and sports center here. The founder's son,
Leonard Tufts, further developed the resort.
Pinehurst, not incorporated as a town, is a private business enterprise oper-
ating under the corporate laws of North Carolina. A special charter in 191 1
granted the owners the right to exercise police powers. The village regulations
prohibit locomotives from operating at night, dogs from howling at night,
and roosters from crowing.
The Village Chapel (nonsectarian, Episcopal ritual; Sun. services during
winter season; frequent organ recitals), one block south of Market Sq., is a
pale red brick structure suggestive of old New England meetinghouses. The
facade is marked by a portico of four Corinthian columns supporting a simple
pediment. A square tower in the Wren tradition, with a four-faced clock,
diminishes in stages to a slim octagonal spire that rises high above a back-
ground of dense foliage. There are urns on each set-back of the tower.
Hobart Upjohn's design for this church (see architecture) was awarded a
Diploma of Merit at the International Exhibit at Turin, Italy, in 1926, the
year of its completion.
The Woman's Exchange, opposite the chapel, occupies a log cabin, built
in 1823 and once the kitchen of an early plantation house. Moved here to
serve as a museum, the cabin is a clearing house for home products of
Moore County, including needlework and antiques.
The Pinehurst Country Club, two blocks southwest of the chapel, is a
center of social and sporting life. Broad verandas and terraces overlook the
four golf courses. Donald Ross, golf architect whose home is in Pinehurst,
planned the courses. Number Two is used for championship play. Number
One was designed especially for ladies and Number Four for beginners.
TOUR 8
(Clarksville, Va.) — Oxford — Durham; US 15.
Virginia Line — Durham, 47 m.
Southern Ry. parallels route between the Virginia Line and Durham; Seaboard Air Line
R.R. between Oxford and Durham.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels at Oxford and Durham.
Between the Virginia Line and Durham, US 15 traverses rolling country-
side and elevated flat lands where tobacco and corn are produced on small
farms. The route is marked by granite squares and bronze tablets every 10
miles to designate this as part of the Jefferson Davis Highway.
US 15 crosses the Virginia-North Carolina Line, m., 6 miles south of
Clarksville, Va. (see va. tour 3).
STOVALL, 7 m. (478 alt., 415 pop.), is dependent on the growing of
tobacco and vegetables.
Right from Stovall on an unpaved road to the marked Site of the Home of John
Penn, 4 m., a North Carolina signer of the Declaration of Independence; Penn came
from Virginia in 1774 and resided here until his death in 1788. He was buried here
until 1895 when his remains were moved to Guilford Battleground (see tour /j); the
body of his wife, Susannah Lyne, lies in the family burying ground.
At 8 m. is the junction with a narrow concrete road.
Left on this road to the Home of Col. William T. Gregory (private), 1 m. Near
his home Colonel Gregory (1868-1933), an eccentric landowner and tobacco planter,
operated a general store where he gave away rather than sold articles.
At 17 m. is the northern junction with US 158 (see tour 24a), which
unites with US 15 between this point and Oxford.
OXFORD, 18 m. (476 alt., 4,101 pop.), seat of Granville County, is a
manufacturing town and tobacco market where autumn sales are conducted
in nine large warehouses. The State's first storage warehouse devoted solely
to aging cured leaf tobacco was built here in 1866.
Oxford was founded in 1764 when Bute County was formed from Gran-
ville (see tour 24A) and the seat of Granville was moved to Samuel Benton's
plantation, called Oxford. Granville County had been formed in 1746 and
named for John Carteret, Earl of Granville, who retained his domain when
the other Lords Proprietors surrendered their charters to the Crown in 1729.
The Oxford Academy, authorized in 181 1 when the general assembly
empowered trustees to raise funds by means of a lottery, was established
354
tour o 355
in 1817 and existed until 1880. At the eastern city limits on US 158 is the
Site of Horner Military School, established in 1851 by James Hunter
Horner and moved to Charlotte in 1914.
Oxford Orphanage, College St., occupies the site of St. John's College, a
Masonic seminary for male students that existed between 1858 and the War
between the States. The orphanage, opened in 1873 by the Grand Lodge of
Masons in North Carolina, provides academic courses and vocational train-
ing for about 400 children. The Oxford Colored Orphanage, founded by
Negro Masons in North Carolina, is maintained by the State.
The Granville County Courthouse, whose front portion was built in
1838, contains county records from 1786. At Capehart Cleaners, opposite
the courthouse, is a Collection of Indian Relics found in this section. In
the 17th and early 18th centuries, Granville County was the home of 17
Indian tribes, most powerful of whom were the Tuscarora.
Between Oxford and Creedmoor the route passes the homes of white and
Negro tenant farmers and traverses fields of tobacco and corn.
At 28 m., across the railroad to the L., is HESTER (90 pop.), a farm
village dominated by the meeting hall of Hester Grange, a farmers club.
Right from Hester on a sand-clay road to Indian Grave Hill, 1 m., where many
Indian relics have been found and carried away by amateur archeologists.
At 32 m. US 15 skirts (L) the edge of CREEDMOOR (358 alt., 388
pop.), sustained by a small lumber mill and a farm trade.
Creedmoor is at the junction with US 15A (see tour 9).
In NORTHSIDE, 38 m. (56 pop.), the highway spans the Neuse River,
narrow and shallow in this upland reach.
DURHAM, 47 m. (405 alt., 52,037 pop.) (see durham).
Points of Interest: Durham Hosiery Plant, Liggett and Myers Tobacco Co. Plant,
Erwin Cotton Mills, American Tobacco Co. Plant, Duke University, and others.
Durham is at the junction with US 501 (see tour 10) and US 70 (see
tours 25 and 28).
TOUR 9
Creedmoor — Raleigh — Fayetteville — Laurinburg — (Bennettsville, S. C); US
15A, 15.
Creedmoor — South Carolina Line, 132 m.
Norfolk Southern R.R. parallels the route between Raleigh and Fayetteville; Aberdeen &
Rockfish R.R. between Fayetteville and Raeford; Laurinburg & Southern R.R. between
Raeford and Laurinburg.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in cities and towns; tourist homes, inns, and camps along the highway.
Between Creedmoor and Laurinburg US 15A winds along the eastern
slopes of the Piedmont Plateau. Thick forests of cedar, holly, and stubby-
leaved slash pine rise over growths of dogwood and redbud in the northern
portion; longleai pine dominates the southern. Fields are planted with
tobacco, cotton, and occasionally vegetables.
US 15A branches south from US 15 at CREEDMOOR, 0. m. {see tour 8).
Between 9 m. and 15 m. is the HARRICANE SECTION, once notorious
for the illicit manufacture of corn liquor in stills concealed among the hills
and pine woods.
RALEIGH, 24 m. (363 alt., 37,379 pop.) {see raleigh).
Points of Interest: State Capitol, Christ Church, Site of the Birthplace of Andrew
Johnson, Joel Lane House, N. C. State College of Agriculture and Engineering, and
others.
Raleigh is at the junction with US 64 {see tour 26), US 1 {see tour 7),
and US 70 {see tour 28).
South of Raleigh US 15A passes through a section that contains some of
the most productive farming land in North Carolina. Peach orchards blossom
along the route in spring, and in summer miles of cotton fields show their
delicate blooms.
CARALEIGH, 26 m. (355 alt., 200 pop.), is a village built to house
the employees of a cotton mill, since closed.
At 27.5 m. is the entrance (R) to CAROLINA PINES, a recreational
development {hotel, clubhouse, restaurant, golf course, la\e, tennis courts,
riding stables). Frogs are propagated here and mineral water bottled.
The 219-acre Raleigh Municipal Airport, 28 m., a regular stop on the
Eastern Air Lines route, has three paved runways, a Weather Bureau station,
and passenger accommodations.
356
tour 9 357
At 28.1 m. a tablet imbedded in a boulder commemorates the Ramsgate
Road. This highway between Wake Crossroads, now Raleigh, and Orange
County was built by Gov. William Tryon in 1771 before his expedition
against the Regulators (see tour 25). The route, so named for the old
Ramsgate Road in England over which pilgrims to Canterbury journeyed
centuries ago, was nicknamed Ramcat or Rhamkatte in derision of Tryon.
FUQUAY SPRINGS, 43 m. (963 pop.), a tobacco-market town, was once
a health resort. It has a mineral spring covered by a springhouse in a wooded
park.
At 55 m. is the northern junction with US 421 (see tour 29).
The highway crosses the deep Cape Fear River at 55.5 m.
LILLINGTON, 56 m. (752 pop.), the seat of agricultural Harnett
County, was named for Revolutionary Col. Alexander Lillington (see tour
29).
At the McKinnon House (R), 75 m., during the War between the States,
Federal soldiers hanged McKinnon for refusing to reveal where he had
hidden his share of the money distributed by directors of the local banks
when Union troops were approaching. After the soldiers had left, a slave
cut down and revived his master.
At 76 m. is the junction with an unpaved road.
Left on this road to Carvers Falls, 0.5 m. Here the Cape Fear River is 60 feet wide
and drops 18 feet. The falls serve as shower baths for youngsters who use the thick
forest and ravine for bathhouses.
Tokay Vineyard, 80 m., once the site of a large winery, was replanted
in 1934 after a long interval of neglect.
The Parapet, 82 m., is the name given to ruins of breastworks thrown
up during the War between the States by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army
in anticipation of a Federal attack on Fayette ville.
FAYETTEVILLE, 83 m. (107 alt., 13,049 pop.) (see fayetteville) .
Points of Interest: Market House, First Presbyterian Church, Cool Spring, Site of
Cross Creek, Site of Flora Macdonald's House, and others.
Fayetteville is at the junction with US 301 and State 28 (see tour 3)
and with State 24 (see tour 3A).
Southwest of Fayetteville whites and Negroes of all ages work in the
cotton and tobacco fields along the road. Occasionally in late summer, when
immediate harvest is necessary to prevent cotton rotting on the stalks, girls
and women incongruously dressed in beach pajamas or shorts work in the
fields.
The Duncan Shaw House, 92.5 m., built in i860, is a plantation dwelling
with a two-story front porch supported by columns made to simulate stone.
Beams and clapboards are pegged together.
358 TOURS
LAKE RIM, 93 m., has a 240-acre STATE FISH HATCHERY and
GAME FARM, established in 1924. The hatchery propagates large-mouthed
black bass, blue bream, and crappie; the game farm, quail, pheasants, and
wild turkeys. Demonstration and experimental areas are planted with Asiatic
chestnuts, pines, and black locusts.
RAEFORD, 105 m. (262 alt., 1,303 pop.), seat of Hoke County, is a
cotton-manufacturing town.
At Raeford is the junction with paved State 211.
1. Left from Raeford on State 211 to the Antioch Presbyterian Church (L), at a
bend in the road, 6.9 m. This weatherboarded building painted white is six bays
long. Above the entrance doors are four rectangular windows, with a quatrefoil opening
in the gable. Galleries run around three sides of the interior. The church was built
about 1883 near the site of an older building whose pews were used by Union soldiers
to build a bridge over Raft Swamp River. In the church cemetery are the graves of
early Scottish settlers including that of the Rev. John Mclntyre (1750-1852), who came
to America in 1791, was ordained in 1809, and preached in both English and Gaelic
at several churches in this area. He was one of the organizers of the Fayetteville
Presbytery in 1813 and the Synod of North Carolina at Alamance Church the same year.
Local legend says he preached a sermon on his 100th birthday.
Right from Antioch Church 2 m. on a sand-clay road to a granite marker, indicating
the Site of the Battle of McFall Mill or Raft Swamp, Sept. 1, 1781. Less than
100 Whig patriots under Colonel Wade met a much larger number of Tories under
Colonels Ray, McDougal, David Fanning, and "Sailor" Hector McNeill. The Con-
tinentals were defeated and pursued by Fanning, who killed 19 Whigs and captured
54 prisoners. The Tory loss was negligible.
On Oct. 15, 1 78 1, McNeill, encamped on the edge of the swamp, heard that Ruther-
ford was resting at McFall Mill, and proceeded to take up the causeway. When Whig
dragoons under Major Graham launched a surprise attack the Tories fled, their horses
floundering through the water; many were overtaken and killed. This marked the end
of armed Tory opposition in this section.
At RED SPRINGS, 12 m. (204 alt., 1,300 pop.), is a medicinal spring whose sulphur
water is colored by a red pigment. Chief industrial plants are silk, rayon, and lumber
mills. The population is composed of three racial groups, exemplified by separate doors
at the local theater: for whites, for Robeson County Indians, and for Negroes.
The town is built on land granted to "Sailor" Hector McNeill in 1775; a large
portion of it is still owned by his descendants. By 1850 this was a recognizable community
known as Dora, the general assembly authorizing the change of name to Red Springs
in 1885.
Flora Macdonald College, a Presbyterian school for girls, started as Floral College
(see tour jia). In 1914 the name was changed to honor Flora Macdonald, the Scottish-
American heroine who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape during the last Stuart
uprising in Scotland (see fayetteville). Although some historians maintain that
none of Flora's children were buried in America, memorial services were held Apr. 28,
1937, for two children supposedly hers, whose remains were moved from an isolated
spot in Montgomery County to the college campus. The college owns a collection of
paintings, mostly modern American.
Flora Macdonald College confers A.B. and B.S. degrees. Seven modern brick buildings
occupy a gardened campus, shaded by longleaf pines, particularly lovely when the
azaleas bloom in April.
2. Right from Raeford on State 211 is TIMBERLAND, 4 m., (50 pop.), an agricultural
village and winter resort. SANATORIUM, 10 m. (57 pop.), is a small village in which
is the North Carolina Sanatorium for the Treatment of Tuberculosis, established
in 1907 and maintained by the State since 1909. A tablet at the entrance to the main
building honors the founder and first superintendent, Dr. James E. Brooks. The modern
tour 9 359
$3,000,000 plant accommodates 550 resident patients. There is a separate Negro division.
The institution issues a monthly paper, the Sanatorium Sun.
Across a ravine about 200 yards at 108.6 m. is Bethel Presbyterian
Church, a weatherboarded, white-painted building erected in 1855. The
porch gable is supported by four slender columns and an octagonal domed
cupola surmounts the center of the roof. The church society was organized
about 1780. In the church Bible are entries reputedly indited by General
Sherman but probably written by some wag in the Federal Army:
"Mr. McNeill will please preach a sermon on the illusions of pleasure and
hope.
"Mr. McNeill will please prove the absurdity of the Universalist doctrine.
"Mr. McNeill will please preach a sermon from the First Epistle of John,
4 Chapter.
"Mr. McNeill will please pray for Old Abe.
"By order of W. T. Sherman, Major Genl. Comd. U. S. Forces."
WAGRAM, 115 m. (309 pop.), on the edge of the Sandhills, is a shipping
point for peaches.
Right from Wagram on a graveled road to the Site of the Old Spring Hill Baptist
Church, 0.8 m. In the church cemetery is the Grave of John Charles McNeill (1874-
1907), author of Songs Merry and Sad, and Lyrics from Cotton Land.
Near the cemetery is the small brick Hexagon House, in the 1860's a meeting place
of the Richmond County Temperance and Literary Society. The hexagonal building has
a window on each side and a door facing the road. On the hip roof is a wooden
goblet, turned upside down.
At 121.5 m. is the junction with the dirt Wire Rd., so named when a
telegraph line was run beside the road; it was part of the ante-bellum stage
route between Cheraw, S. C, and Fayetteville.
Right on this road to the Laurel Hill Church (R) 2.6 m., a weatherboarded build-
ing with an octagonal cupola and two doors in the front gable end. One of General
Sherman's buglers carved his name in the belfry in 1865.
In the graveyard is buried Duncan McFarland, Congressman (1805-7) and wealthy
landowner. Tradition relates that he once rode horseback all the way to Washington,
but slaves had to cut a bridle path to the road before he could set out on his journey.
LAURINBURG, 125 m. (227 alt., 3,312 pop.), seat of Scotland County,
was founded in the 1870's. The county was formed from Richmond County
in 1899 an d named for the homeland of its first settlers.
The Scotland County Courthouse (1901-2), Church St., is a square
building with a Corinthian portico. In the yard is the William Graham
Quakenbush Monument, an obelisk on a granite base. Quakenbush was
principal of the Laurinburg High School (1879-1900). The Confederate
Monument is a 30-foot column supporting the figure of a soldier.
At McDougald's Funeral Home, half a block south of the courthouse,
hangs the Mummy of Ferrenzo Concepio, an itinerant Italian musician
who was murdered with a tent stake at Laurinburg in 1909. The undertaker
embalmed the body but has waited in vain for relatives or friends to claim it.
The privately owned Laurinburg Industrial Institute, occupying sev-
360 TOURS
eral brick buildings, offers its 800 Negro students academic and vocational
training.
Laurinburg is at the junction with US 74 (see tour 31a), and US 15, now
the route.
At 126 m. is the southern junction with paved US 501.
Left on US 501 to Stewartsville Cemetery, 3 m., an old Scotch burying ground.
Many of the monuments are ornamented with thistles.
Buried here is the Rev. Colin Lindsay, born in Scotland, according to the story,
several years after the supposed death of his mother. After Mrs. Lindsay had apparently
died, she was interred in the family vault. Roused by grave robbers seeking valuables,
she lived to regain her full health and some years later to become the mother of Colin.
He came to America in 1792, and shortly afterward settled in this region.
At 132 m. US 15 crosses the South Carolina Line, 10 miles north of
Bennettsville, S. C. (see s. c. tour 3).
TOUR I O
(South Boston, Va.) — Roxboro — Durham — Junction with US i; US 501.
Virginia Line — Junction with US 1, 85 m.
Norfolk & Western Ry. parallels the route between the Virginia Line and Durham.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels in cities and towns; tourist homes and camps along the route.
Between the Virginia Line and Durham US 501 crosses generally level
terrain; between Durham and Pittsboro the country is broken by ridges
and ravines utilized for woodland and pasture. Bordering the highway are
fields of tobacco and corn interspersed with pine and oak forests.
US 501 crosses the Virginia-North Carolina Line, m., 14 miles south
of South Boston, Va. {see va. tour //).
ROXBORO, 13 m. (671 alt., 3,657 pop.), a cotton-manufacturing and
tobacco-marketing center, is named for Roxburgh in Scotland; it is the seat
of Person County, formed in 1791 and named for Revolutionary Gen.
Thomas Person {see tour 24a and chapel hill). This region is an exten-
sion of the Virginia Blue Wing copper district, containing novaculite, a
quartz used for whetstones; silver, and in the western part, granite valuable
for building.
Manufactured products include toweling, upholstery and drapery fabrics.
One cotton mill has a yearly output of 60 million pounds of yarn.
The town was founded when the temporary seat of Person County was
moved here from Payne's Tavern and a courthouse was erected between
two springs. John R. Green, a Roxboro native, originated Bull Durham
tobacco {see Durham). William W. Kitchin, Governor of North Caro-
lina (1909-13), was a native of Person County.
The white stone, box-shaped Person County Courthouse was built in
1930. On the lawn is a square granite block inscribed with the names of the
county's Confederate soldiers, and honoring Capt. E. Fletcher Satterfield
(1837-63), killed at Gettysburg.
Roxboro is at the junction with US 158 {see tour 24a).
South from Roxboro on the sand-clay Hurdles Mill Rd., which was the Colonial rou'e
between Virginia and Hillsboro, to the Site of Payne's Tavern, 4 m. Local tradition
asserts that this was the birthplace of Dolly Payne Madison, wife of President James
Madison, though records of New Garden Meetinghouse {see tour 25) fix her birthplace
there. A farmhouse occupies the tavern site, but there are traces of a brick wall that once
surrounded the tavern. At this inn — referred to as Payne's "onery," presumably a cor-
ruption of "ordinary" — Cornwallis passed a night in 1781. After the death in Phila-
361
362 TOURS
delphia in 1793 of her first husband, John Todd, and one of her two children, Dolly
is said to have returned here with her small son while James Madison visited at the
Taylor home near the tavern.
At 27 m. US 501 passes (L) the edge of Rougemont (275 pop.), whose
name (Fr., red mountain) was suggested by the color of the soil on nearby
Riggs Mountain.
Quail Roost Farm (open), 29 m. (R), is a model 1,500-acre dairy farm
stocked with purebred Guernseys.
At 30 m., beside the junction with a paved road, is a Memorial Tablet
to Willie (Wiley) Person Mangum, president of the U.S. Senate (1842-45).
Left on this road to 4-mile-long LAKE MICHIE, 3 m., Durham reservoir. Shrubs,
holly trees, and wild flowers line the shore. This territory, in which many Indian relics
have been found, was the home of the Occoneechee, Eno, and Adshusheer Indians
until about 1750. At 7 m. on the paved road is the junction with a narrow, unimproved
road (impassable in wet weather); L. 4 m. on this road to the Grave of Willie P.
Mangum, marked by a simple, crumbling headstone.
An arrowhead (R) 35 m., bearing a bronze tablet, points out part of the
Indian Trading Path. A natural outcropping of rock nearby is shaped like
a horseshoe. Here, tradition says, an Indian chief came frequently to invoke
the assistance of the war god for his tribe.
At 39 m. is the junction with a marked unpaved road.
Right on this road to the Duke Homestead (open 3-5 p.m. Sun.), 1 m., a small
white clapboarded dwelling built in 1851 by Washington Duke, founder of the Duke
tobacco family (see Durham). The walls and floors are of hand-hewn pine. The
house has been restored, and the original furniture, with supplementary pieces also used
in the 1860's, has been placed in the rooms.
At BRAGGTOWN, 40 m., is the junction with a paved road.
Left on this road to Fairntosh Plantation (grounds and out-buildings open), 7 m.
The square, green-shuttered manor house, of white clapboards and fronted by a broad
porch, was built in 1802 by Duncan Cameron, who defended North Carolina landowners
when the heirs of Lord Granville sued for recovery of property confiscated by the State
at the outbreak of the Revolution. The house contains much of the original furniture.
In the carriage house is the Cameron carriage and nearby are the old red brick kitchen,
the white-painted law office of the master, a row of slave cabins, and a schoolhouse.
A gray frame chapel containing a hand-made walnut altar and pews is lighted by a
cluster of stained-glass windows.
DURHAM, 43 m. (405 alt., 52,037 pop.) (see Durham).
Points of Interest: Durham Hosiery Co. Plant, Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co. Plant,
Erwin Cotton Mills, American Tobacco Co. Plant, Duke University, and others.
Durham is at the junction with US 15 (see tour 8) and US 70 (see tours
25 and 28).
Between 50 m. and 54 m. US 501 traverses a shallow valley called the
Triassic Sea by geologists.
TOUR 10 363
At 52 m. is the junction with the Mount Moriah Church Rd.
Right on this road 300 yds. to the Fossil Forest, fields from which petrified wood has
been unearthed.
CHAPEL HILL, 55 m. (501 alt. 2,699 P°P-) ( see chapel hill).
Points of Interest: Old East, University Library, Kenan Stadium, Playmakers Theater,
Coker Arboretum, Widow Puckett House, Gimghoul Castle, and others.
Left from Chapel Hill on paved State 54 to the junction with paved State 55, 6 m. ;
R. 4 m. on State 55 to the O'Kelly Church, a two-story white clapboarded structure
with a small steeple. Here a monument marks the grave of James O'Kelly (1757-1826),
founder of the O'Kellite sect. O'Kelly objected to the episcopal powers of Bishops
Coke and Asbury and, in 1792, followed by a group of dissenting ministers, broke away
from the Methodist Episcopal Church. This schism was first known as the Republican
Methodist but the name was later changed to the Christian Church, and in 1932 merged
to become the Congregationalist-Christian Church.
PITTSBORO, 72 m. (409 alt., 675 pop.), seat of Chatham County, is the
market town for an agricultural region and has a plant that manufactures
silk garment labels. The county was named for the Earl of Chatham and
the town for his son, William Pitt, champion of Colonial rights in the
British Parliament. The town was setded in 1771 by planters of the Cape
Fear region, attracted by its pleasant summer climate.
Chatham County Courthouse (1882), is a three-story square structure
with a raised basement, a pedimented portico, and red-painted brick walls
having stuccoed white columns and pilasters. The building is topped with
a tower and octagonal, domed belfry. It occupies a central square from
which branch Pittsboro's old streets. On July 16, 1781, when Pittsboro was
still called Chatham Courthouse, David Fanning with a party of Tories
raided the town while a court martial was in progress, capturing 44 persons.
Fanning terrorized a wide area (see tours ii, zj, 26b, and 32). Cornwallis
spent the night at Chatham Courthouse in the course of his march to
Wilmington after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
The Yellow House (private), on the south side of the square, was moved
from the west side. The right end of the house, which has weathered clap-
boards and sagging sills, survives from the house built by Patrick St. Law-
rence, early town commissioner and trustee of Pittsborough Academy, which
was so luxurious that it bankrupted both St. Lawrence and his contractor.
A device for fastening folding doors to the ceiling allowed the entire lower
floor to be thrown into a ballroom.
The Waddell House (private), Hillsboro St., a two-story yellow frame
house with red blinds and red brick end chimneys, was the birthplace of
Capt. James Iredell Waddell (1824-86), commander of the Confederate
cruiser, Shenandoah, which carried the only Confederate flag that ever went
around the world. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Waddell, then in
the Pacific, sailed around Cape Horn to England where he remained until
the members of his crew were granted amnesty.
St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (1833), Salisbury St., is a small
rectangular building, its entrance marked by a low square tower and steeple
364 TOURS
on the right of the facade. A veneer of red brick was applied (1938) over
the original clapboard construction. The congregation was organized in
Revolutionary days. Within the building, finished in stained pine, are a
slave gallery and furnishings carved from native walnut by one of the rectors,
the Rev. R. B. Sutton. The communion service was made of family silver
given by communicants. In the old graveyard is the Crypt of John Owen,
Governor of North Carolina (1828-30).
The Pittsborough Scientific Academy Building {private), a gabled
white frame structure of one room, is now incorporated into a residence.
Erected in 1886, it once housed the academy, established by legislative act
in 1787. William Bingham was its first principal and among its pupils were
John Owen and Charles Manly, Governor of North Carolina (1849-51).
The village of LOCKVILLE, 85 m., is at the junction with US 1 (see
tour yb).
TOUR II
(Danville, Va.) — Yanceyville — Hillsboro — Chapel Hill; State 14.
Virginia Line — Chapel Hill, 57 m.
Southern Ry. intersects the route at Hillsboro.
Roadbed paved throughout.
Hotels and boarding houses in towns.
This route traverses an agricultural region of low, rounded hills, the "up-
country" to which the early planters of Tidewater Carolina took their house-
holds in summer. The section is rich in history and legends of Colonial,
Revolutionary, and ante-bellum days.
State 14, a continuation of Va. 86, crosses the North Carolina Line in
DOWDY TOWN, m., 3 miles south of Danville, Va. (see va. tour 4).
South of this point the road widens and runs through a wooded countryside
dominated by pine, oak, walnut, sycamore, and poplar. The bottom lands
are planted with tobacco, cotton, and corn.
Bright-leaf tobacco was developed on the Slade brothers farm on Rattle-
snake Branch near PURLEY, 10 m. (600 alt., 75 pop.). Here a piece of
gray sandy loam unsuited to other crops was planted with tobacco. It pro-
duced a leaf lighter in color, sweeter, and finer in texture, which
proved highly suitable for smoking mixtures, cigarettes, and plug-tobacco
wrappers.
Bright-leaf culture spread from this section, known as the Old Bright
Belt, to other counties having the same type of soil. Barns used for curing
are usually built of hand-hewn logs chinked with red clay, and roofed with
hand-riven shingles. Fireboxes, fed from the outside of the building, have
metal flues that extend to the far side of the barn and back to an exit above
the firebox.
During the four days required for curing a barn full of tobacco an
attendant must keep up the fires and guard against accidents. Sometimes,
the process becomes a social occasion to which neighbors are invited. In
late summer they feast on watermelons and roasted corn; when nights grow
colder a hot stew or other food is served and young and old gather around
the fire to sing familiar hymns and ballads.
At 10 m. is the northern junction with US 158 (see tour 24b).
In YANCEYVILLE, 12 m. (619 alt., 500 pop.), seat of Caswell County,
people arise early, and open their stores on the courthouse square before
breakfast, but close them for midday dinner. Ample time remains for dis-
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366 TOURS
cussing the news under the trees in front of the brick courthouse, which was
erected soon after Person County was cut off from Caswell in 1791.
Until 1 8 10 the community was known as Caswell County Courthouse, for
Richard Caswell, first constitutional Governor (see tours 2 and 28). When
incorporated the town was named for Bartlett Yancey (1785-1828), a na-
tive of Caswell County who served four years in Congress. He was gradu-
ated from the University of North Carolina despite his mother's protests
that she "had never known a young man to enter that institution who was
ever of any account afterwards." Except when an uncle lent him a horse,
he walked the 40 miles to Chapel Hill. Later he studied law under Judge
Archibald Murphey, and helped create the educational fund that was the
beginning of the public school system of the State.
For half a century Yanceyville was an important town but it was handi-
capped by lack of transportation facilities. Laurence Stallings, co-author of
What Price Glory? once lived here.
Caswell County, like Alamance and Orange with a population pre-
dominantly Negro, was visited by carpetbaggers and was the scene of con-
siderable Ku Klux Klan activity during the Reconstruction period. The
slaying of carpetbagger John W. Stephens at Yanceyville in 1870 by mem-
bers of the Klan resulted in a reign of terror and finally in the impeachment
of Gov. William Holden (see history). When Capt. John G. Lea (see tour
24b), former Klan leader, died in 1935, he left a sworn statement relating
that "Chicken" Stephens was tried in absentia by a Klansmen's jury and
sentenced to die for the burning of buildings and the destruction of crops.
Lured to a purported conference in the courthouse, Stephens was disarmed
and stabbed to death.
Martial law followed; Colonel Kirk and his regiment of Tennesseans took
charge. Prominent men, including Colonel Lea, were arrested. However,
it was never proved who killed Stephens nor even that there was a Klan
in Caswell until Colonel Lea's death. The Negroes, frightened by the
mysterious and unpunished slaying, ceased their political activity. Klan
records show that besides the Stephens case, in Caswell County two
white men and six Negroes were whipped, a Negro wounded, and another
killed.
At 13 m. is the junction with paved State 62.
Left on State 62 is MILTON, 12 m. (314 pop.), founded in 1728 and long noted
for its horse races. It was the social and trade center of this tobacco- and corn-growing
section when tobacco was brought by flatboats up the Dan River. Early citizens refused
for a time to let a railroad run through the town lest the noise demoralize the slaves
and frighten the horses. Many of the public records were destroyed during the Revolution
when Cornwallis and his troops were pursuing General Greene. A few ante-bellum houses
remain on the elm-shaded streets.
An Apothecary Shop is identified by glass jars of colored liquids in the window. A
"sody water" fountain installed in the 1890's has never been popular. Hitching posts
remain from horse and buggy days and benches still line the street in front of stores.
In the Presbyterian Church are pews which, according to tradition, were made
and presented by Tom Day, a freed mulatto, who made furniture still prized in the
Carolinas and Virginia.
TOUR II 367
PROSPECT HILL, 29 m. (714 alt., 100 pop.), a farming village, was
settled shortly after the Revolutionary War.
Left from Prospect Hill on unpaved State 144 to Bushy Fork Crossroads, 7 m.; R.
2 m. on an unpaved road to the junction with a dirt road at a white house; R. 1.5 m.,
on the dirt road to Union Grove. Baptist Church, built by Negroes in 1893. Three
stone gateways each have granite tablets inscribed with names of four families of the
congregation symbolical of the 12 tribes of Israel. The church bell, mounted on a little
hill, can be heard for 10 miles. In a clear spring are white pebbles each placed by a
church member. The leader of a church-owned flock of chickens, a pet rooster named
for the Apostle Paul, lies buried beneath a marker inscribed: "PAUL, Killed Nov. 10,
1933, Aged 10 years."
At 40 m. is the junction with the sand-clay Caldwell Rd.
Left on this road to the junction with a side road, 1 m. (opposite a two-story frame
dwelling); R. 1.5 m, on this road to Tyaquin, site of the home of Thomas Burke
(1747-83), Governor of North Carolina (1781-82). He named the estate for his family's
seat in Ireland, though he had emigrated to America because of a family quarrel. Here
Burke retired at the expiration of his term as Governor. His grave, in a grove on the
plantation, is marked by a heap of stones.
At 41 m. is the junction with a lane.
Left on the lane a short distance to the Kirkland Place, also called Ayrmount
{private), on land granted to William Few in 1763. The two-story building of brick
laid in Flemish bond is three bays wide, with flanking one-story, two-bay wings. The
end chimneys are flush with the wall. William Few, father of William Few, Jr., the
autobiographer, and of James Few, the Regulator, operated a tavern here and ran
a mill on the Eno River. James Few was hanged from a tree on the battlefield
immediately after the Alamance engagement {see tour 25).
HILLSBORO, 42 m. (543 alt., 1,232 pop.), seat of Orange County, is in
the fertile valley of the Eno River, just east of the low-lying Occoneechee
Mountains. The Haw, Eno, and Occoneechee Indians lived here and left
many relics and legends (see tour 25). The factories in this little industrial
village contrast with weathered old houses and massive trees.
Hillsboro's manufactures include cedar chests, oil, flour, timber products,
cotton, and rayon. Nearby deposits of granite, sandstone, and other minerals
are a commercial asset. Much of the stone used in the Duke University build-
ings {see Durham) was quarried 2 miles to the north.
Almost the entire white population is descended from the Scotch-Irish,
Welsh, English, and Germans who took up land in the Earl of Granville's
territory. When the town was platted in 1754 by William Churton, Gran-
ville's surveyor, it was called Orange as was the county. Later it was named
Corbinton for Francis Corbin {see edenton), but in 1759 it was incorporated
as Childsboro for the attorney general. In 1766 Governor Try on named it
Hillsborough in honor of the Earl of Hillsborough, kinsman of Lady Tryon
and Secretary of State for the Colonies. Planters from the low country,
including Governors Tryon and Martin, seeking refuge from the heat
and mosquitoes, brought their families to Hillsboro, making it a gay summer
capital.
As the court town and county seat it became the center of Regulator dis-
turbances {see tour 25). On Sept. 24, 1768, Regulators took possession of
the town, and for two days conducted mock courts. They plundered and
368 TOURS
burned the homes of officials, many of whom fled. After their defeat May 16,
1771, at the Battle of Alamance (see tour 25), six of their leaders were
hanged here.
The Provincial Congress met at Hillsboro August 1775, as did the general
assemblies in 1778, 1780, 1783, and 1784. During the Revolution the town
served as a concentration point. Before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse
(see tour 73) Cornwallis occupied the town (Feb. 20-25, I 7^ 1 ) anQl invited
all loyalists to join him. He paved the muddy main streets with great cobble-
stones, part of which remained until 1909.
On Sept. 13, 1781, Hillsboro was raided by a Tory band under Col. David
Fanning and Col. Hector McNeill, who seized Governor Burke and his
suite and took them to Wilmington. Burke was transferred to Charleston
as a prisoner and closely confined on Sullivans Island. He was paroled to
James Island, where he lived in constant danger of his life. After his appeal
for protection was ignored, he escaped, fled to North Carolina, and resumed
his official duties.
Here in the 1788 convention anti-Federalists, led by Willie Jones (see
tour 3), prevailed against the Johnston-Iredell-Davie followers to reject
adoption of the Federal Constitution, delaying North Carolina's entry into
the Union until November 1789 (see fayetteville).
Brig. Gen. Francis Nash (1742-77), brilliant young Hillsboro officer, left
his name to a North Carolina county and town (see tour 6), and to the
capital of the State of Tennessee. A star in a pavement at Germantown
marks the spot where he fell. Other noted residents were: Willie P. Mangum
(1793-1861), Whig political leader, Congressman (1823-25), and U.S. Sena-
tor (1830-35, 1840-52); Dr. Edmund C. F. Strudwick (1802-79), nrst presi-
dent of the State medical society, and J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton (1878-
), whose writings include Reconstruction in North Carolina, North
Carolina Since i860, and numerous historical monographs.
Orange County Courthouse, SE. corner King and Churton Sts., two
stories in height and constructed of hand-pressed red brick, was built in
1845 by Capt. John Berry. At the center of the low-pitched roof is a low
square tower and octagonal cupola. The temple-like Doric portico is of Greek
Revival design. The first of the building's predecessors burned in 1790;
the second was razed and its timbers used to build the colored Methodist
church, still standing. Records date from 1755. The cupola clock was made
in Birmingham, England, in 1766 and presented to the town supposedly by
George III about 1769. It once reposed in the tower of St. Matthew's Church
and for a time in the old market house. Its original bell was lost, the story
goes, when the clock was thrown into the river by raiding Tories and the
bell was perhaps used to make cannon. A chest in the sheriff's office con-
tains old measuring cups and the standards of weights sent from London.
Eagle Lodge (private), Churton St., a severe two-story brick building,
three bays long, fronted by a four-columned, pedimented Ionic portico, is a
good example of Greek Revival design. It was erected (1823-25) with pro-
ceeds from a lottery conducted by the lodge. The building stands on the
Site of the Residence of Edmund Fanning — the house was destroyed by
TOUR II 369
the Regulators. In ballads sung by the Regulators, Fanning, register of deeds
o 
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