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Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!
While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her;
Tho' the scorner may sneer and witlings defame her,
Our hearts swell with gladness whenever we name her.
Hurrah! hurrah! the Old North State forever,
Hurrah! hurrah! the good Old North State.
Tho' she envies not others their merited glory,
Yet, her name stands the foremost in liberty's story,
Tho' not true to herself e'er to crouch to oppression,
Who can yield to just rule more loyal submission?
Plain and artless her sons, but whose doors open faster,
At the knocks of the stranger or the tale of disaster?
How like to the rudeness of their dear native mountains
With rich ore in their bosoms and life in their fountains.
And her daughters, the queen of the forest resembling,
So graceful, so constant, yet to gentlest breath trembling,
And true lightwood at heart; let the match be applied them.
How they kindle and flame! O none know but who've tried them.
Then let all who love us, love the land that we live in,
As happy a region as on this side of Heaven;
Where plenty and freedom, love and peace, smile before us.
Raise, aloud, raise together, the heart thrilling chorus.
[Views of State Buildings]
"Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine;
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to down home--the 'Old North State'."
NORTH CAROLINA, the "State of Superlatives," is a territory so large and a land so rich in Nature's endowments that few of her own people really know her. Little wonder is it, therefore, that the newcomer is amazed at the potential strength exhibited on every hand, or that the citizen of a less favored area is dazzled by the tales he hears of North Carolina's present greatness. Twenty years ago North Carolina ranked as one of the most backward of American States, while today she is perhaps the foremost of all the United States. In these twenty years North Carolina has gradually forged to the front in every line of endeavor until today the eyes of the whole nation have turned to the Tar Heel State to learn of her progress and opportunities.
Within the past few years much has been written about North Carolina, and travelers are boosting the State far and wide, yet no attempt has been made to give the public an accurate, authentic sketch of the State embracing all the phases of her life and progress. DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA has been prepared expressly for the purpose of presenting to the outside world a concise, authentic and complete story of the North Carolina of today. Into this one volume has been incorporated the gist of the hundreds of items and bits of data that have been published in various forms during the past two years. DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA is a volume of facts only--no statements of a doubtful nature are made. Every item printed herein has been attested to by persons who are in a position to verify that particular fact. Every effort has been made to give the reader an impartial story relating the present accomplishments of the State as they really are.
No subject can be fully portrayed without the use of illustrations, so hundreds of photographs have been reproduced in this volume illustrating the subjects described. The views found in the Atlas have been carefully selected from a collection of over eighteen hundred pictures, over half of which were photographed by the Editor. Every one of the one hundred counties of the State has been visited personally by the Editor during the past eighteen months in an endeavor to collect first hand all the data and scenes that should have a place in a volume of this kind.
The contents of DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA will be found divided into three distinct sections. In the fore-part a number of subjects of State-wide importance are discussed and illustrated, while in the center section will be found a two-page display space devoted to each of the fifty-six incorporated cities of the State having a population of over twenty-five hundred people according to the 1920 United States census. In these displays an effort has been made to eliminate that flowery type of description so popular with many of the writers of today and to present to the reader the actual facts about the city in question. Each of these sketches has been verified and signed by at least two prominent citizens of that particular city. In most cases these have been the Mayor and the president of some civic organization. Further mention of these may be found below. The third section is devoted to miscellaneous subjects and contains a sketch of each county in the State, State maps and a complete list of all those manufacturing plants and features of the State that rank as distinct leaders in the South, in the United States or in the world. Few people realize that North Carolina has such a large list of these.
The publication of DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA must accomplish three purposes, otherwise it will have been in vain. First, it must supply the interested outsider with just that information he seeks about the North Carolina of today. Second, it must not only cause the citizen of another section to become interested in North Carolina, but must convince him that North Carolina is in reality the "Land of Opportunity" and bring him to the State to become a part of the life of her people, whether he be a manufacturer, an agriculturalist, a business or professional man, a laborer or whatever be his vocation--he must be brought to North Carolina. The third object is to better acquaint the people of North Carolina with their State so that they may intelligently boost the land they love by knowing the real facts about her and that by knowing these facts they may be inspired to higher ideals in making her a still greater land of prosperity. And the youth of the State should find herein a record of achievement that should fill them with pride in the record of their fathers and inspire them to prepare themselves to lead this great State forward to greater laurels in the days to come. With these objects accomplished this volume will have fulfilled its mission.
As you read these pages and view these pictures may you overlook any imperfections and endeavor to see North Carolina as she is, the "State of Superlatives"--the "Land of Opportunity." With no lesser ambition than to present North Carolina as she is today this volume has been prepared and humbly submitted by
THE EDITOR.
Charlotte, N. C., June 1, 1924.
Now that DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA is a reality, the Editor pauses for a moment to review the fifteen months spent in the preparation of this volume. The Editor recalls the numerous auto and rail trips that have taken him to every corner of this great State; recalls the hours spent taking photographs, compiling data and writing the 98,000 words of descriptive matter contained herein and recalls the many nights spent in arranging the innumerable details involved in getting such a volume ready for publication. Then there were statements to investigate and verify and proofs to correct besides a mass of miscellaneous work, including trimming, mounting and lettering the photographs and designing the pages. Yet the Editor could never have done all the work involved without the assistance of a vast army of organizations and individuals throughout the State, who greatly aided in the compilation of the data used. While all these organizations and individuals cannot possibly be thanked separately the Editor is herewith attempting to list below those who had a greater part in making this volume possible.
First among those to whom the Editor wishes to give due credit is the late Major W. A. Graham, who, as Commissioner of Agriculture of North Carolina, gave his hearty support and approval to the plans for the publication of the Atlas. Much valuable aid has been given by Mr. K. W. Barnes, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and by Miss Frances Knight of the same Department. The one person who has been of the greatest aid to the Editor is the one who has handled all the correspondence and bulk of office work. Special thanks are due this tireless worker who has been the Editor's most faithful helper and most ardent supporter, Mrs. Drummond. Much valuable assistance has been rendered by Mr. D. B. Scoggin, of Winston-Salem.
The Editor wishes to heartily thank the organizations listed below for their support, thus enabling their cities to have the very best representation possible in the Atlas. We wish to thank the Chambers of Commerce of the following cities: Asheboro, Beaufort, Burlington, Charlotte, Concord, Dunn, Durham, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Gastonia, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Greenville, Hamlet, Henderson, High Point, Kings Mountain, Laurinburg, Lexington, Mooresville, Morehead City, Oxford, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, Shelby, Southern Pines, Wadesboro and Wilmington.
We wish to thank the City Councils of the following cities: Albemarle, Asheville, Beaufort, Concord, Edenton, Elizabeth City, Hamlet, Kings Mountain, Lexington, Lincolnton, Monroe, Oxford, Rockingham, Southern Pines and Thomasville.
The following organizations gave the Editor such fine support that they deserve special mention. They include the Woman's Clubs at Asheboro, Dunn, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greenville, Hickory, Laurinburg, Lumberton, Morganton, and Washington; the American Legion Auxiliary at Kinston, New Bern and Raleigh. Other Women's organizations who were real helpers are the Library Association at Sanford and the Civic League at Statesville.
We wish especially to thank the Real Estate Board of Winston-Salem, the Kiwanis Club of Lincolnton, and the American Legion of Wilmington, and the Parent-Teacher Associations at Henderson, Hendersonville, Rocky Mount and Salsibury.
In addition to the above organizations the following are just a few of the hundreds of individuals who have given their aid: Mr. A. V. West, Mayor, Mount Airy; Mr. W. M. Gordon, Monroe; Mr. Swain Elias, Attorney, Canton; Mrs. A. S. Beard, Newspaper Correspondent, Belmont, and Mrs. Chas. C. Cooper, Charlotte.
The Editor's thanks are also due the one hundred and fifty people throughout the State who have verified the various statements contained in this volume. The newspapers of the State have always given us publicity where requested and they have done much to pave the way for the favorable reception of this publication.
Although every effort has been made to make this Volume absolutely complete and accurate, omissions or errors may have occurred and the reader will render us a distinct service by calling our attention to any apparent error in order that it may be corrected in future editions.
You have read this work on your own State, and we feel sure that you liked it. Therefore you will want to spread the glad news of North Carolina's leadership as outlined in DRUMMOND'S PICTORIAL ATLAS OF NORTH CAROLINA.
North Carolina, one of the thirteen original colonies, lies in the Southeastern area of the United States between the parallels of 34 degrees and 36½ degrees north latitude, and between the meridians 75½ degrees and 84½ degrees west longitude. Bounded on the north by Virginia, and on the south by South Carolina and Georgia, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to Tennessee on the west.
North Carolina has an area of 52,286 square miles, of which 48,666 is land and 3,620 is water. The extreme length of the State is 503½ miles, while the average breadth is 100 miles and extreme breadth 187½ miles. Its topography is similar to a great inclined plain sloping down from an altitude of over 6000 feet to the level of the Atlantic Ocean. In descending from the Smoky Mountains, the highest part of the Appalachian chain, to the Atlantic, three broad plains or terraces are crossed. The first of these, the Western or Mountain Section, is a high mountain plateau which suddenly drops a distance of about 1500 feet, to the second level. This is known as the Middle Section or Piedmont Plateau, while the Low Country, or Coastal Plain, is some 200 feet lower. The area from the head of the tides downward, is known as the Tidewater Section.
North Carolina lies on the same parallel of latitude as the central Mediterranean basin, the most favored climatic region on the globe. While this position in the warm temperate zone determines the chief climatic features of the State, these are modified by various causes. The influence of elevation in the Western Section predominates. While Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies, is 6,711 feet, the average height of this area is 4000 feet. In this area where the winters are more severe and the summers cooler than in the Piedmont area, the dryness of the air makes the climate more salubrious. The Blue Ridge protects the area from the bitterly cold winds of the northwest, giving an average annual mean temperature of 55 degrees. In this area there are many valleys whose winter climate is as mild as that of the Piedmont where snow is seldom seen. Eastern Carolina feels the effect of the presence of the sea which tends to lessen both the diurnal and seasonal changes of temperature and to increase the amount of precipitation. Although the Gulf Stream is not near enough to greatly affect it, the climate is semi-tropical and is very enjoyable both winter and summer. Between these two sections of the State every variation of climate may be found, suitable to any taste. Snowfall in the State is very light and seldom remains on the ground more than two or three days.
North Carolina is inseparably connected with Sir Walter Raleigh and the beginning of the English settlement in America. The first colony landed here on July 26, 1585 but no permanent settlement was effected until about 1663. North Carolina has always been active in the affairs of the country. The Battle of Alamance, May 16, 1771, was the first battle of the Revolution while the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20, 1775, preceded the national declaration of 1776. The Battle of Kings Mountain was fought on the border between this State and South Carolina, while the Battle of Guilford Court House was the forerunner of Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown. Although next to the last State to secede, North Carolina furnished one-fifth of the Confederate army and lost more men than any other Southern State. The State was just recovering from this blow when the World War began, but once again she did her part. North Carolina gave $3,000,000 for work among the soldiers, bought more than $30,000,000 of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and furnished 92,510 men for the service. One North Carolina division, the 30th, broke the Hindenburg line in the most famous battle of the war while the State furnished the Secretary of the Navy, Josephus Daniels, and the Ambassador to England, Walter Hines Page. Today North Carolina is in the midst of the greatest period of development and prosperity she has ever known.
The Government of North Carolina, like that of the United States, and all the other States, is a constitutional democracy. While the Federal Government is one of granted powers, having only such powers as are given in the Federal Constitution, the State has all the essential powers of government to be exercised by the people through their representatives, except such power as may be limited by the Federal or the State Constitution.
The cost of Government in this State in 1922 totaled $25,364,112, or a per capita cost of $9.58. The 1918 per capita cost was only $2.19. This increase is due to the fact that this State has broken away from the old idea prevalent among the Southern States that the State was merely a Big Policeman. North Carolina's present rate pays for the new educational system, highways, public buildings and permanent improvements and is still below the average for the United States and only ranks thirty-third. Considering the benefits derived, the cost of Government is very low.
North Carolina is made up of people of a singularly homogeneous character. It was originally settled by Virginians, mainly English; Pennsylvanians, Scotch-Irish, Scotch-Highlanders and Lowlanders, Swiss, French Hugenots and Germans. The fusing of these elements of Anglo-Saxon, Celt and Norman have given the vision and aggressiveness of the English, the conservation and acumen of the Scot, and the industry and steadfastness of purpose of the Teuton, which are creating a State destined to be one of the marvels of modern civilization. There are over 2,500,000 of this people in the State. North Carolina has practically no foreigners within its borders. According to the latest figures available (1922), North Carolina had the highest birth rate of any State, with 30 births for each 1000 population.
With the advent of good roads came an awakening in the interest of education and the whole State is now awake to the needs of new equipment and trained teachers for every department. Over $15,000,000 in bonds has recently been voted by various counties to provide schools. In 1921 the State provided a loan fund of $5,000,000 to aid county boards in building schoolhouses. As a result of this new interest in education there is now at least one accredited High School in each of the 100 counties of the State and illiteracy in the State has decreased from 29.4 per cent in 1900 to 13.1 per cent in 1920 (both races). The scale of salaries whereby a teacher can increase her income by raising the class of her certificate has greatly aided the system. Of 17,000 teachers in 1921 over 12,000 were enrolled in summer schools, taking special work. Rapid strides are now being made along educational lines, both in grammar and high schools and in the colleges and universities. North Carolina leads the South in education.
In point of actual service, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is the oldest State University in America, having been founded in 1789. The 600-acre grounds, 35 buildings, endowment and equipment, are valued at $4,250,300. Over 2800 students are enrolled annually. There are 10 other State institutions for white, and 5 for colored, while there are 26 colleges for whites and 30 universities, colleges and schools for colored. (Editor's note--The College Section will be found on pages 8 and 9).
North Carolina's wealth has tripled in a decade, according to the census report of the period from 1912 to 1922. This wealth totaled $4,543,110,000, or an increase of 175 per cent. The per capita wealth was $1,703, or an increase of 135.2 per cent. The estimated value of all real property and improvements increased from $637,860,000 to $2,209,432,000 or 216 per cent. Only four States and the Philippine Islands showed an increase in total payments of revenue in 1923. New Hampshire came first with 37 per cent while North Carolina came second with 15 per cent, having paid a total of $140,347,366, thus leading the whole South and being the only Southern State showing an increase. The State ranks fifth in Federal Income Tax payments. Total banking resources are: (1921) $386,046,574. There are 160,000 motor cars in the State representing an expenditure of $175,000,000.
North Carolina's rivers, not including innumerable small rivers and creeks, are over 3,300 miles long with a total fall of 33,000 feet, or an average of ten feet to the mile. The total waterpower furnished the State by these streams is estimated at 3,370,000. That furnished by the Roanoke River within the State is 70,000, of the Yadkin 255,000, giving a capacity to turn 7,360,000 spindles; for Deep, Haw and Cape Fear Rivers an aggregate of 130,000 horsepower with power to turn 5,200,000 spindles, or a grand total of 600,000 horsepower for the rivers named, ascertained by actual measurements. The State now produces over 2,000,000 kilowatt hours daily, being excelled by only one State east of the Mississippi--New York State. The greatest electric power development in the country is centered here in the Piedmont area. The Southern Power Company whose ten plants on the Catawba operate over 800 miles is a Charlotte concern and has made and is still making extensive developments in the State. The Tallassee Power Company of Badin with a huge plant there is now planning a large reservoir above the Badin dam while numerous other developments throughout the State are under way.
North Carolina's manufactured products in 1919 had a value of nearly a billion dollars, $943,808,000 to be exact, and this does not include domestic industries not organized into factory systems. Only fourteen States made a better showing, while Texas was the only Southern State ahead of North Carolina. North Carolina has 5,999 mills employing 157,659 wage-earners receiving $126,753,000 yearly. The capital employed is $669,144,000, while the value of manufactured products is $943,808,000. North Carolina led the South in 1919 in the number of factory establishments with 5,999 as against 5,603 for Virginia, her nearest competitor. In the number of wage and salary earners she led Georgia, her nearest competitor, by 34,000. In the amount of capital employed she led Texas by more than 100 million and Virginia by 230 million dollars. In the total value of manufactured products Texas was the only Southern State which outranked North Carolina, and her lead was only 57 million dollars. Georgia, the next in line, fell behind by 250 million dollars. In the value added to raw material by manufacturing, North Carolina greatly out-distanced the whole South--with 417 million dollars as against 298 million for Texas, 269 million for Virginia and 253 million for Georgia. But in percentage of value added by manufacture, North Carolina led the whole United States with the exception of Wyoming. The value by manufacture in North Carolina was 249 per cent. The closest Southern State in this regard was South Carolina with 220 per cent. Thus it is seen that North Carolina has a clear lead in the South in manufacturing industries.
North Carolina leads the world in tobacco manufacture and the thirty-three tobacco factories of the State consume a fourth of all the leaf tobacco used in manufacture in the entire United States, and pay a full fourth of all the tobacco taxes of the Union. Only Kentucky is ahead of North Carolina as a tobacco growing State. North Carolina leads the South in the cotton textile industry in almost every detail--in the number of mills, the number of spindles and knitting machines, in the number of looms installed year by year, in number of operatives, amount of capital employed, the volume of wages, in variety of cotton textiles produced, in the total value of products and in the value added by manufacture of raw materials. The State's mills use a half million more bales than the State produces in average years. There are now 513 cotton mills in the State as against 180 in South Carolina and 173 in Georgia. North Carolina has more mills that dye and finish their own products than any other Southern State. In North Carolina are the largest towel mills in the world, the largest hosiery mills in the world, the largest denim mills in the United States, the largest damask mills in the United States, the largest underwear mills in America, while Gaston County with 100 mills is the fine combed yarn center of the South. North Carolina also leads the South in number of furniture factories, variety of products, total value of products, amount of capital invested, and number of operatives. (Editor's note--A complete list of the plants in the State which lead the world, the United States or the South in their line is given on page 147).
North Carolina crops are as varied as those enumerated in the Federal Census for every item mentioned therein can be grown in this State, except a few of the purely tropical ones. Fifty years ago North Carolina was in a very primitive State while today it ranks fourth in the United States in the value of its leading crops and fifth in value of all crops. Every product grown between Canada and the tropics may be grown except a few of the purely tropical ones. Western North Carolina pastures make livestock raising and dairying profitable while 26 cheese factories produce over a half million pounds of cheese a year. Kraut factories are also very prosperous. Piedmont Carolina operates a majority of all tractors used in the State while most of the 7,100 pure-bred cattle are here. Over three-fourths of all the State's creameries are here also. The leading crops here are cotton, corn, wheat, tobacco and clover. The Sandhill Section, noted for its poor soils, is today prosperous, shipping annually over 1,500 cars of luscious peaches and over 68,000 crates of dewberries, as well as large quantities of melons, sweet potatoes, and produces cotton, corn and tobacco. Among the richest lands in the State are those of Eastern Carolina, producing great quantities of truck, soy beans, peanuts, potatoes, corn, and tobacco, while no State can produce pork more cheaply. North Carolina acres have produced 125 bushels of oats and 150 bushels of corn while Eastern Carolina has cotton lands equal to those of the Mississippi Delta and corn lands equal to those of the recognized corn belt States. The climate is such that every crop and every form of animal life from Canada to the tropics can be found in this great State. And yet agricultural development is still in its very infancy.
North Carolina lays great stress on horticulture. The wide range and high quality of fruits grown in this State were shown at the National Horticultural Congress, Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1910, when the Sweepstakes trophy for the best general collection of fruit in the United States was won by North Carolina against the keenest competition. Thirty-three States, from all over the Country were competing. With its wonderful and varied climate, long growing seasons, highly adaptable soils, North Carolina seems to become to the East what California is to the West. Cheap lands and nearness to the markets of the East and South make horticulture development here an alluring opportunity.
The apple, with an annual production of 6,000,000 bushels, is the leader and always commands prizes at expositions because of its quality. Peaches rank next while other fruits include strawberries, grapes, dewberries, figs, pecans, pears, cherries, quinces, plums, cranberries, raspberries and blackberries. No State in the Union offers a broader or more complete field from a trucking standpoint than North Carolina. Among the truck crops that bring large returns are: Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, cabbage, onions, watermelons, cantaloupes, cucumbers, string beans or snaps, English peas, cauliflower, beets, celery, asparagus, egg plant and spinach.
North Carolina is noted for the great variety of its minerals and continual discovery of new deposits in commercial quantities has made it one of the foremost fields for prospecting. As demand has increased many of these, thought to be rare, have been found in great amounts. Both zircon and monazite are mined by the ton here for incandescent light manufacturing companies, and Samarskite by the hundred weight for use in chemical research. Besides containing a little of over 219 species many of these are now found in commercial quantities.
North Carolina made a beginning at real highway construction in 1919 hen the automobile license fees were increased to raise funds to meet the terms of receiving Federal Aid, but a more progressive program was passed by the 1921 Legislature when a system of 5,500 miles of hard-surfaced roads leading to all county seats was provided for, to be paid for by a bond issue of $50,000,000, by license fees and a tax of one cent a gallon on gasoline. At present over 1,350 miles of highways are under construction estimated to cost $22,300,000. Of this mileage 446 miles are being hard-surfaced, while the remainder will be temporarily top-soiled and hard-surfaced later. This system has pushed the State to the forefront as a leader in highway construction. All roads of the State system are built and maintained by the State as a whole, thus shifting the burden from the county, city and town to the whole State. Many beautiful concrete bridges are being built, the most notable of which has been recently completed. This is the Williamston drawbridge over Roanoke River. This bridge and a concrete causeway through the swamp is 3.9 miles long and is considered the longest highway bridge in the Country. The distance between Windsor and Williamston has been shortened from 140 miles to 17 miles by this bridge. North Carolina highways have proved their worth already by stimulating every line of endeavor in the State.
North Carolina has a shore line of only about 300 miles but if the sounds, estuaries and other indentations are followed, a coast line of nearly 1500 miles is revealed and along the entire length almost, commercial fishing is a lucrative employment. Fifty-five kinds of fish, both salt and fresh water, abound in these waters and are shipped to all the leading markets of the South and East. The leading shipping centers are Currituck, Elizabeth City, Edenton, Manteo, Washington, Morehead City, Beaufort, New Bern and Wilmington.
North Carolina's leading ports are: Wilmington, the largest, Southport, Morehead City, Beaufort, New Bern, Washington, Edenton, and Elizabeth City. The Southern end of the Inland Waterway is at Morehead City, the northern end at New York City. This waterway, which is separated from the ocean by a narrow reef of land along the North Carolina Coast, enables boats to sail the placid waters of the numerous sounds protected from the tumultous ocean waves outside. Moreahed City, Beaufort, Washington, Edenton and Elizabeth City are connected with this Inland Waterway, The Harbor of Refuge, the finest natural harbor on the American Coast, is located at Cape Lookout just outside the southern end of the Inland Waterway. The State is drained by several large river systems which run out of the State in all directions eventually reaching both the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Among these rivers are the Hiawassee, Tennessee, Pidgeon, French Broad, Broad, Nolechucky, Linville, New, Catawba, Yadkin, Pee Dee, Cape Fear, Lumber, Tar, Dan, Neuse, Haw, Deep, Waccanaw, Chowan, Perquimans, Little, Pasquotank and Roanoke Rivers.
The State is well served by railways, having three large trunk systems crossing it from the North to the South--the Southern, Seaboard Air Line and Atlantic Coast Line. Two trunk lines, the Southern and the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railways, cross the Blue Ridge within its borders, connecting the Middle West with the Southeast. Numerous long and short lines connect all parts of the State with these major routes. The Norfolk Southern, serving Eastern Carolina, is one of the important systems. A more complete idea of the value of these railways to the State may be gained from the sketches in this volume.
North Carolina is favored in the beauty and variety of its scenery as are few other States. Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak in the East--6,711 feet high--overlooks 64 peaks over 6000 feet and several a mile high. This area is dotted with many beautiful lakes, while a dozen rivers wind their way through the mountains to the plains beyond, and in descending make numerous beautiful waterfalls. Even the Piedmont Plateau holds its charming spots such as Hanging Rock, Morrow Mountain, and its broad, rolling plains of fertile fields; while the horizon is streaked with the smoke of busy factories. Through the rich farms of Eastern Carolina the wide, sluggish rivers crawl slowly down to the broad expanse of sound and bay. No wonder North Carolina draws tourists from all over the United States, having scenery of a dozen States rolled into one, the roads to reach it and the climate to enjoy it.
North Carolina's excellent all-year climate naturally makes her a state of resorts, both winter and summer. Asheville and Hendersonville both draw a large all-year tourist population while dozens of places such as Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, Black Mountain and Ridgecrest, are visited every summer by thousands of tourists from all over the East and South. The Piedmont Plateau, with Hanging Rock, Cleveland Springs, Moores Springs, Morrow's Mountain and numerous cities, offers all that could be desired in climate at any season, while Pinehurst, in the Sandhills, is the greatest golf center of the United States. Large modern hotels both at Pinehurst and Southern Pines, are taxed to capacity to accommodate the thousands who winter at these popular resorts. Elizabeth City and Washington offer excellent hunting and fishing to the winter tourist, while Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach are popular seaside resorts in the summer season. Morehead City and Beaufort on the Atlantic are all-year-round resorts offering excellent hunting, fishing and other sports.
North Carolina was originally covered by forests, and today two-thirds of its land area, or 20,000,000 acres, is timber covered. North Carolina is therefore a great lumber State. North Carolina has the greatest number of custom mills of any State and ranks seventh in production of lumber, its value being about $50,000,000 in 1919. In value of wood and timber produced from the farms, North Carolina leads all other States, with a total value of $32,735,000. The State ranks eighth in manufacture of veneers, third in raw products consumed in manufacture of dyestuffs and extracts, and fourth place in production of tanbark wood.
Altogether there are 153 kinds of woody plants, and of these over 70 are trees of the first size and 57 are of great economic value. Of these 14 attain in this State a height of over 100 feet, while 3 of them reach a height of over 140 feet. A few of these are found only in this State or extend but a short distance beyond. These are: The yellow-wood, the large-leafed umbrella, the Carolina Hemlock and the Clammy Locust.
A large area of forests has been recently set aside by the United States Government and is known as the Pisgah National Park or Forest Reserve--being located around Mt. Pisgah.
North Carolina offers more opportunity today than any State in the Union. Its climate is the best all-year-round of any State east of the Mississippi, its lands grow practically any crop, its 6000 manufacturing plants produce nearly everything used in daily life, its roads are new and the best in the South, its schools as good as can be found, its natural resources the most varied in the United States, its native population provides efficient labor, and its proximity to the leading markets assures a ready disposal of crops. These help to make North Carolina the land of opportunity. The above paragraphs have presented facts that by these facts may be gained a small idea of the past and present accomplishments of the people of this State, thus showing the possibility of greater future development.
State Schools
Demoninational Colleges
Highway Scenes
Highway Scenes
Products of the Farm
Manufacturing in North Carolina
Here and There in North Carolina
Scenes from the Land of the Sky
Hail to the Highlands of North Carolina!
Grandest of States let them ring with her name.
Where now the "willing" who dares to malign her?
Where now the country who knows not her fame?
Hail to the Highlands! The land of bright waters,
Land of the mountains, the cliff and the dell.
Health to her sons, long life to her daughters!
Peace to the homes where the mountaineers dwell!
Hail to the Highlands! How fruitful their valleys,
Boundless their forests, and priceless their ores!
Healthful the zephyr that over them dallies,
Swept from the glen where the cataract roars.
Hail to the Highlands! Upon them is dawning.
Light that will fill them with wealth and with power.
What of the noontide, if this be the morning?
What will the fruit be if this is the flower?
Western N. C. Lakes
Western N. C. Rivers
Western Carolina Waterfalls
Western Carolina Mountain Views.
Piedmont Carolina Scenic Gems
Piedmont Carolina Scenic Gems
Eastern Carolina Choice Scenes
Eastern Carolina Gems
EASTERN CAROLINA
RESORT HOTELS OF THE STATE
Albemarle, the County Seat of Stanly County, is situated in the central part of North Carolina. Albemarle is 123 miles southwest of Raleigh, 46 miles east of Charlotte and 86 miles south of Greensboro.
The Winston-Salem Southbound and the Southern Railways serve the city. The former operates through sleepers from Roanoke, Va., to Jacksonville, Florida, in connection with the Norfolk and Western and the Atlantic Coast Line. The Southern, by connections at Salisbury, gives, the city direct access to all leading Northern and Southern markets. The Raleigh-Charlotte branch of the Norfolk Southern crosses the Southern part of Stanly County with direct connections at Raleigh for Norfolk.
Albemarle is the hub of the Stanly County Highway system. 150 miles of the famous Stanly County shale highways have already been constructed while an additional 50 miles is now under construction, making a total of 200 miles of county road costing about $1,000,000.00. Two fine top-soil roads built by State and Federal aid, are the Charlotte-Albemarle-Raleigh capital highway, and the Salisbury-Albemarle-Wadesboro highway. Two large concrete bridges have been constructed at a cost of over $200,000.00, one of which connects Stanly with Anson County while the other joins Stanly and Montgomery Counties. The County highways are splendidly maintained by the Stanly County Highway Commission.
Albemarle has two of the largest textile manufacturing plants in the State, with a paid-in capital of $5,000,000.00 who operate 160,000 spindles. Over 4500 operatives are employed with an annual payroll of over $2,000,000.00. Albemarle has two large knitting mills with several hundred employees, and large cash payrolls also. A large flour and feed mill in the city has a capacity of grinding 250,000 bushels of grain annually. Other industries include a cold storage plant, a large ice factory with 30 tons daily capacity, and three large lumber plants and woodworking establishments. The total amount invested in manufacturing and power in Albemarle and Badin is approximately $18,000,000.00 with annual payroll of over $3,000,000.00. (Badin is one of Stanly's aggressive towns.)
Albemarle has one National Bank and two State Banks with combined resources of approximately $2,000,000.00. There are also six rural banks in the county with total resources of over $450,000.00. Albemarle has two Building and Loan Associations, one of which carries over 10,000 shares.
Albemarle has a splendid telephone exchange capable of serving 1000 subscribers, and it reaches to all parts of the county. Albemarle has an up-to-date water, sewer and light system costing $300,000.00. A new concrete dam and reservoir have recently been completed at a cost of $200,000.00, which will supply the city's needs for years to come. Albemarle gets her electric power and lights from the Southern Power Company who has a trunk line running through the city, direct from Great Falls, S. C. The city has $500,000.00 worth of bitulithic paved streets already completed with $200,000.00 worth of new paving under way. The city has an up-to-date fire-fighting equipment with a new $12,500.00 fire truck, and enjoys low insurance rates. A new $125,000.00 hotel has just been completed. There are two other hotels.
Albemarle is a city of prosperity, of industries, excellent retail and wholesale houses, of fine streets, beautiful residences and offers to the newcomer the things that mean success in any line. The County offers that fine climate that makes for health and happiness on rich farms or in the exploitation of her varied resources. Inquiries are welcomed.
Every part of Stanly County is traversed by its famous shale highway system. One of the largest shale brick plants in the South is located here, making brick that are in demand all over the United States.
Efird Cotton Mills
One of Albemarle's Hotels
A Bridge near Albemarle
One of Albemarle's Churches
Albemarle is the county seat. It has a population of approximately 10,000 including the immediate suburbs. Stanly County has a population of over 30,000. The value of taxable property in Stanly County is $30,000,000 and the tax rate is $1.00 per hundred.
Stanly County is very young in educational development, yet great progress has been made in recent years. Albemarle has an accredited High School with over 750 pupils and is a fully recognized High School. Excellent schools are located in the towns of Badin, Norwood, and Oakboro and at Wiscassett and Efird Mills. There are nine consolidated schools, all offering grade and high school work to about 6,000 pupils. Three years ago there were only four small rural schools, while today there are five brick and four wooden buildings. Eighteen trucks transport the pupils to and from school. The Mecklenburg Presbytery maintains a Normal School at Albemarle. The Mission Board of the Methodist Church maintains an accredited high school in the upper part of the county. A $60,000.00 brick building has just been completed for this school.
Albemarle has four fine brick churches belonging to the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist denominations.
Stanly County annually produces over 10,000 bales of cotton and 1,000,000 bushels of grain, besides hay, fruit, poultry, lumber, cross ties, truck crops and other crops which net cash returns. Stanly is known as a great clover county. Its soil is especially adapted to the growing of red top clover. Stanly County wheat took first prize at the Paris Exposition. The farms are worked by their owners who are 90% native born.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gold have been mined in Stanly County, and the largest single nugget of gold ever found in the South was found near Albemarle and netted $3000 when coined. The county is also famous for its mineral springs. Rocky River Springs and Misenheimer White Sulphur Springs are the most famous in the county. There are springs of iron, sulphur, arsenic, and magnesia--all at Rocky River Springs.
Stanly County has one of the largest shale brick plants in the South. These brick have a wonderful reputation and are being used all over America. This plant cost $150,000.00 and is only the beginning of this industry, as the shale is here in unlimited quantities.
Stanly County ranks high in water power resources. At present 150,000 horsepower is already developed at Badin with an additional 150,000 horse-power available. Other developments are now being planned.
Badin, "The Aluminum City," is in Stanly County just five miles east of Albemarle. Badin has the largest aluminum manufacturing plant in the United States. Over $12,000,000.00 has been invested at Badin; 1000 of the 3000 population are employed in the plant and receive hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in payrolls. Badin has the highest and largest concrete dam in the United States--210 feet high, 18 feet across the top, and 3700 feet long.
A 2000 acre tract of mountain and forest land six miles from Albemarle has been made into a park. Morrow Mountain rises 500 feet above the Pee Dee River in the centre of this area. From the Pinnacle over 2000 square miles of some of the prettiest panoramic mountain forest and river scenery in the South can be seen, including views of the Pee Dee, Ewharrie and Yadkin Rivers and Badin Lake, all within a few minutes' ride.
The total amount invested in manufacturing and power plants in Albemarle and Badin is between fifteen and eighteen million dollars. 150,000 H. P. is already developed while an additional 150,000 H. P. is available.
Badin Dam 210 ft. high.
Railway across Badin Lake.
Badin Lake.
Bird's eye view of Morrows Mountain Mountain View Park, Albemarle, N.C.
Asheboro is in the foothills of the Alleghany Mountains in the very heart of North Carolina. It is in the center of the State, as the exact geographical center is not far distant. Asheboro is the County Seat of Randolph County, situated in the very heart of the County. Randolph County is bordered by Guilford County on the north, Alamance and Chatham Counties on the east, Moore and Montgomery Counties on the south, and Davidson County on the west.
Asheboro is located on two railways. It is the Southern terminus of the High Point, Randleman, Asheboro and Southern branch of the Southern Railway, and at High Point, 28 miles away, direct connection is made with the numerous trains of the double-tracked main line of the Southern from Washington to Atlanta. Washington is 330 miles from Asheboro, Atlanta 373 miles, and Raleigh the State Capital is only 125 miles by rail. Asheboro is also the northern treminus of the Norfolk-Southern which runs south to Aberdeen 65 miles away, connecting there with the Seaboard Air Line main lines, Richmond to Tamps, and Norfolk to Birmingham. At Star, 23 miles south, connection is made with the main line of the Norfolk-Southern, running from Norfolk through Raleigh to Charlotte. Over 2500 cars of freight originate in Asheboro annually, being distributed all over America and to foreign countries. There are ten passenger trains in and out of the city daily. The County is also served by the Atlantic and Yadkin Railway from Sanford to Mt. Airy.
Asheboro has long been a highway center. It was founded at the crossing of two great roads. One of these ran from Raleigh to Salisbury and Charlotte, while the other was the famous plank road which ran from Fayetteville, at the head of navigation on the Cape Fear, over 100 miles to Salem, the distributing point of the northwest. Today Asheboro still boasts good highways being on four branches of the State system. No. 62 runs from Asheboro to the Virginia line, No. 70 connects Reidsville, Greensboro, Asheboro, Pinehurst, Aberdeen, and Lumberton while No. 75 runs from Lenoir through Statesville, Salisbury, Lexington, Osheboro, Durham and Oxford and on to Virginia. No. 77 is hard surfaced from Asheboro through High Point to Winston-Salem.
Asheboro has an elevation of 900 feet and enjoys a mild equable climate the year round. There is very little humidity, which makes the air always clear and pure. Asheboro nestles in the foothills with several low-lying ranges of mountains in sight of the city.
Asheboro has one of the finest and best directed schools in the State where a thorough course of instruction is offered covering eleven years, including High School work. A commodious brick High School cares for the needs of the city.
Asheboro's religious life is centered in the churches of the leading denominations. There are seven church edifices. These churches maintain a fine moral and religious atmosphere throughout the city.
Randolph County land is very fertile, raising corn, cotton, wheat, cowpeas, oats, rye, sweet potatoes and tobacco. The raising of hogs, horses, mules, sheep and cattle is proving very profitable, netting large incomes every year.
Home Building and Material Co.
Asheboro Wheelbarrow Co.
Central Hotel
Court House
Randolph County's many agricultural products find an outlet through Asheboro, the County Seat. Randolph has for many years been the banner county of the whole State in the production of wheat, and today still maintains her leadership. The farm lands are fertile and well cultivated, and grow a wide variety of crops. Wheat, corn, cotton, cowpeas, oats, rye, sweet potatoes and tobacco are the leading crops. Within the past few years great interest has arisen in raising live stock, cattle and hogs. This has proven very profitable every year. With this diversity of crops and farm products the Randolph farmer is free from the inconveniences of a "one money crop" slump in prices.
Asheboro has over 12 manufacturing industries located in the city, among them being the Home Building and Material Co., the Asheboro Chair Co., the Randolph Chair Co., the Cranford Chair Co., and the Standard Chair Co., Asheboro Wheelbarrow Co., Asheboro Coffin and Casket Co., Acme Hosiery Mills, Asheboro Hosiery Mills, Dreamland Mattress Co., Asheboro Mills, and the Southern Crown Milling Co. The Home Building and Material Co., manufactures lumber from the stump to the finished product, and has a capacity for two complete houses a day. They specialize on schools and residences. The Randolph Chair Co., was organized in 1898 and makes a line of double cane seat chairs and porch rockers which are equal to any manufactured in the United States. The Asheboro Wheelbarrow Co. is the only wheelbarrow factory in the State, while there are only two others in the South. Besides covering the United States an export business has recently been opened. A branch lumber plant is operated at Pittsboro, N. C. The Acme Hosiery Mills, of which D. B. McCrary is President, manufactures a large line of hosiery which is sold over a wide territory. A large plant is operated in the heart of Asheboro.
Asheboro's hotels are: the Central and the Ashlyn. The Central Hotel has 40 rooms, is operated on the American plan and caters to both commercial men and tourists.
Asheboro boasts an excellent water and sewerage system. The system was installed to meet the needs of the city for years to come. The fire department is well equipped with modern appliances. Asheboro has an up-to-date light and power plant and has a fine telephone service, not only in the city but throughout the county.
Asheboro has three banks: The First National Bank, the Asheboro Bank and Trust Co., and the Bank of Randolph. The First National Bank has a capital and surplus of $100,000 and deposits of $665,735.
Asheboro, with her splendid location in the heart of the State, her mild climate and her native citizenship, offers the newcomer many inducements for the location of manufacturing industries. The Chamber of Commerce is ready to serve you.
Asheboro has thirteen manufacturing plants. They are: 4 chair factories, 2 lumber manufacturing plants, 2 hosiery mills, 2 flour mills, 1 wheelbarrow plant, 1 coffin plant and 1 mattress factory.
Acme Hosiery Mills.
Asheboro School
First National Bank
Randolph Chair Factory
The Asheville Plateau, high up in the mountains of the Blue Ridge where the skies are as blue as turquoise and the air is as sweet as the odor of violets, is the setting of the mountain metropolis called Asheville, North Carolina. The city is in Buncombe County, one of the most attractive sub-divisions of the State, located on the Southern Railway System and interlaced by miles and miles of the best highways in Dixie. The Asheville district is noted for its climate, beautiful scenery, and great potential resources, the larger portion of which lie undeveloped right at the doors of railway lines and mountain rivers. Minerals abound throughout the great Western North Carolina territory, of which Asheville is the logical commercial and industrial center; while the rivers, many of which are now unharnessed, represent millions of kilowatts in hydroelectric water power as yet undeveloped. The water power projects, of which there are several under way and some completed, show the great possibilities of the mountain district in respect to future development along this line. In addition, there is a great deal of farm land in Buncombe County suitable for cultivation, and a considerable portion that is already producing the varied crops of the higher altitudes. Dairying and cattle raising are important industries which are growing rapidly and promise great future benefit to all entering these lines.
The city is at the junction of the Cincinnati-Columbia division, Murphy Branch, and Washington-Salisbury division of the Southern Railway, only 120 miles from Knoxville, Tenn., on the western main line of the Southern and 70 miles from Spartanburg, S. C., on the eastern double-track main line of the Southern. The Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway taps the western mountain district and furnishes connection with the Southern leading into the Asheville district. Besides steam railways, motor bus lines connect Asheville with Charlotte and many centers in the western part of the State, thus supplementing transportation to nearby places.
Buncombe County has more miles of paved roads than any county in the South and this highway system joins the main roads of surrounding counties with main arteries running in all directions. When the present paving program of the municipality in completed, it will give Asheville a greater area of paved streets than any other city in the United States of 35,000 inhabitants. The city and county are on the eastern branch of the Dixie Highway, giving direct connection with all the Central States in the North, and with Georgia, Florida and the Gulf and South Atlantic States in the South. This highway is being rapidly developed, not only in North Carolina, but in all the states it traverses. The Dixie Highway is a popular route for Northern tourists who find it ideal as a main highway to Florida. To the west of Asheville a main artery highway leads through the western counties adjacent to the district and connects at Murphy with the Atlantic Highway. To the east, two main highways extend across the State, crossing the main counties of Eastern North Carolina and offering access to the chief coastal cities on the Atlantic Seaboard.
With its splendid railway and highway system the city is the center of a trading area of 25 counties in Western North Carolina. As a result the city is expanding as never before, new industries are springing up and inquiries are pouring in concerning the potential resources of the area. Building broke all past records the first half of the year, yet the building program cannot keep pace with population increase. From 1910-1920 the population increased 51 per cent and at the present apparent growth a new record will likely be shown by the 1930 census.
Within 100 miles around Asheville are 64 peaks 6000 ft. and upward; 23 of them higher than Mt. Washington. Mt. Mitchell, 6,711 ft., "Monarch of the East," is the highest peak east of the Mississippi. The finest and most unique tourist hotel in the world is Grove Park Inn.
Pack Square.
Asheville Country Club & Golf Course. Asheville, N. C.
Biltmore House, home of Mrs. Geo. W. Vanderbilt, Asheville, N. C.
Bear [illegible] ols Near Asheville, N. C.
Probably nowhere else in the world, and certainly nowhere in the United States is there such an extent of mountain valleys, rivers and brooks in one given spot as there is around Asheville, included in what is known as Western North Carolina. Nature was lavish in her wealth in this respect when she began the creation of "The Land of the Sky." Just around Asheville, within the confines of a circular area one hundred miles in circumference, there are some mountain peaks each a mile high, while sixty-four of them tower 6000 feet into the air, while Mt. Mitchell, King of them all, is 6,711 feet in altitude. All of these peaks are within easy reach of Asheville. Mt. Mitchell and Mt. Pisgah, the latter within clear view of the city, are places of unusual interest to the tourists who annually throng the countryside because excellent motor roads run almost to the top of these great pinnacles of earth, rock, trees and flowers. Sparkling streams race through valleys and gorges, tumbling over precipices in cascades and lovely falls throughout the mountainous country, while the tree foliage has been pronounced the most varied to be found anywhere in this hemisphere. From the sides and tops of the mountains one views the magnificence of Nature in all her most glorious moods, ever changing vistas presenting themselves to the eye wherever one may chance to look.
Next to scenery, the climate of Asheville and surrounding country is one of the greatest attractions to thousands of visitors who come to the mountains for recreation, and also to other thousands who come once and remain to make their homes midst the enchanting hills and valleys. Scenery and climate, together with excellent transportation facilities, make this country a natural playground for the South, the East and the Middle West. Asheville's climate is unique in its distinctions and holds high favor in popular estimation. Its southern latitude tempers the rigors of winter, and because of its high altitude, 2,250 feet above sea level, the oppressive summer temperatures of the lowlands are unknown. The warmest month of the year is usually July, with an average temperature of 71.7 degrees, and the coldest month, February, usually has a mean temperature of 38.1 degrees. The mean temperature of the winter months varies only slightly from month to month, and one of the most cheerful aspects of the winter weather is that when cold does rule, it never penetrates like the cold dampness of the lower altitudes. The highest mean temperature that the weather bureau in Asheville has ever recorded was 74.1 degrees in August, 1906, and the lowest mean temperature was 28.8 degrees in January, 1918. The rainfall is never excessive and the greater part of the year is full of sunshine. As a whole, the climate is pleasant and invigorating, and makes Asheville an ideal all-year-round resort.
The soil of Buncombe County holds forth great opportunities for the industrious farmer, and particularly the producer of garden truck. The outlook for the fruit grower is excellent and the apple industry is just developing. The soil grows corn, Irish potatoes, wheat, rye, oats, sorghum cane, cabbage and numerous vegetables of all kinds.
Truly Asheville is "the City of Opportunity" of Western North Carolina, because of her natural advantages of climate and location. Asheville is in the very midst of a vast region of undeveloped water power, minerals, forestry, farm lands, cattle raising and dairying. Asheville is annually attracting a larger number of tourists, many of whom remain permanently.
Asheville facts: Summer Normal School, third year, 1923, had over 1000 in attendance. The largest Mica products manufacturing plant in America, largest furniture factory in the South, and one of the five largest white quilt mills in America, are in Asheville.
Central High School
One of Asheville's Schools
West Asheville School
Biltmore Ave. School
Beaufort is located on the Southern shore of Carteret County about midway between the eastern and western extremities of the County. Beaufort is nearer the Atlantic Ocean than any town or city in the State of North Carolina, having 2500 or more inhabitants. Carteret County is bordered on the south and east by numerous sounds which are separated from the Atlantic Ocean by narrow reefs which form two bays on the Atlantic side--Onslow Bay on the south, and Raleigh Bay on the east. Cape Lookout on the Atlantic is just twelve miles southeast of Beaufort. Carteret is bordered on the north by Pamlico Sound, the Neuse River, Craven County and Jones County, while the White Oak River forms the western border. Beaufort, itself, is almost completely surrounded by water. It is on a peninsular jutting into the waters of Core Sound on the east, Beaufort Harbor on the south, and Newport River on the west. On the north it is bounded by one of the most fertile sections of farming lands in the whole State.
Beaufort is one of the best located Ports of the State. It is nearer the Atlantic Ocean than any other city of the State of over 2500 population. It is directly opposite Beaufort Inlet, less than a mile away. Its harbor, thus sheltered, is within easy access of all ships plying along the coast. Cape Lookout lighthouse is only twelve miles south of the city. Beaufort lies in 34 degrees north latitude and 76 degrees west longitude. It is in the extreme eastern part of North Carolina, Elizabeth City and Edenton being the only two cities in North Carolina of over 2500 population located further east.
The city of Beaufort is served by the Norfolk-Southern railway. This road runs due west from the city, across the Sound to Morehead City then turns north to New Bern, 38 miles away. The main line from Beaufort runs on through Kinston to Goldsboro. At Goldsboro direct connection is made with the Southern Railway to Raleigh, the State Capital, 146 miles from Beaufort, and to Greensboro, 227 miles away. At Goldsboro connection is also made with the Atlantic Coast Line from Wilmington to Wilson, Richmond, Washington and points North. Washington is only 379 miles from Beaufort. At New Bern connection is made to Norfolk, 208 miles away, over the Norfolk Southern Railway, and to Wilmington, 125 miles south over the New Bern-Wilmington branch of the Atlantic Coast Line. Four trains daily, two in each direction, give the city quick connection with both Northern and Southern markets. Fish and other seasonable products are exported quickly and safely to distribution points and markets.
Naturally, a county bordering on so much water carries on a large commerce by means of boats. Beaufort has thousands of dollars invested in boats, with a number of freight, passenger and mail boats running regularly between the city and other points both far and near. Beaufort is the Southern terminal of the Boston-Beaufort Inland Waterway.
Beaufort has just installed a sewer and water system which covers the whole town. It has paved sidewalks and is now paving the principal streets. A fine seawall lies in front of the town. The city owns her own water and electric plants. Beaufort has good public schools and a large private school. Baptist, Congregational, Methodist and Episcopal churches are here. Investigation of Beaufort's numerous advantages is welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce.
Beaufort's fishing industry is one of the largest in the State. Approximately one million dollars is invested in boats, nets and factories. Lumber is also one of the big industries here.
Court House
Inlet Inn
Methodist Church
Looking West on Ann Street
State Highway No. 10 extends over 600 miles across the State from Murphy through Asheville, Hickory, Statesville, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern, and terminates at Beaufort. This is now being hardsurfaced. In addition, county roads bring all parts of the County into connection with Beaufort.
Beaufort is the County Seat of Carteret County and is one of the oldest towns in North Carolina. Carteret County was originally a part of the precinct of Bath which was one of the divisions of territory made by the Lords Proprietors soon after assuming control of the Carolinas in 1763. In 1722 Beaufort was made a Port of Entry and was incorporated the following year by the General Assembly. The first white settlers were French Hugenots in 1707 and these were followed by Swedes, Germans, English, Scotch and Irish. The present population is composed mostly of the decendants of these early settlers. The first court house was erected in 1728 and the first jail in 1736. The court house contains many interesting records of the early days of this community.
The fishing industry in Beaufort is one of the largest in the State and furnishes employment to hundreds of people and approximately a million dollars is invested in boats, nets, factories and other equipment. The U.S. Government maintains an experimental station and laboratory on Pivers Island in the harbor.
The lumber industry is a big one here and the largest mill in the County is located on the outskirts of the town. Besides the saw mills there is a barrel factory which supplies barrels to the potato growers and also makes fish boxes. There is also a knitting mill, an ice factory, and a canning factory in Beaufort. Opportunity is open for other factories here.
Beaufort enjoys a remarkably pleasant climate, characterized by mildness in both winter and summer. This noted mildness is a natural result from the influences surrounding this location. It is nearer the Gulf Stream than any town in North Carolina, being only about fifty miles from this great ocean stream. Snow is a rare occurrence here and there is but little frost. Roses and flowers often bloom out of doors in January. The average winter temperature is 47.5 degrees; summer 78.4 degrees.
The tourists who visit Beaufort in either summer or winter can always find somethings interesting to do. Trips to the ocean beaches, to Old Fort Macon, Cape Lookout, and into the back country are all of unusual interest. The sportsman can always get good fishing and in season there is good shooting. Bear, deer and foxes are fairly plentiful and there is an abundance of duck, goose and brant shooting in nearby rivers and sounds. There are several good hotels, restaurants and boarding houses which cater to tourists.
Beaufort offers excellent opportunity for the development of shipping facilities, and fishing activities. The farmer is welcomed to the rich lands of the county while the steadily increasing tourist trade offers great possibilities.
Beaufort offers the tourist a mild climate both winter and summer, good hotels, excellent fishing all the year, bear, deer, fox hunting, an abundance of good duck, goose and brant shooting.
Public School
Part of Business District
Pivers Island
Old Fort Macon
Midway between Charlotte and Gastonia on "Manufacturers' Avenue," is situated the thriving town of Belmont. Located on the banks of the Catawba River, this town is in the midst of the great electrical power development of the Southern Power Company which operates enormous power plants on the Catawba River, both above and below Belmont. Belmont is situated in the eastern edge of Gaston County and has a large part in making Gaston County the fine yarn center of the entire South. Gaston County itself is bordered on the north by Lincoln County, on the east by Mecklenburg County, on the south by York County, South Carolina, and on the west by Cleveland County.
Belmont is one of the numerous towns of Piedmont North Carolina located on the double-tracked main line of the Southern Railway from Washington to Atlanta. Belmont is 391 miles from Washington and 256 miles from Atlanta By rail it is 185 miles southwest of Raleigh, the State Capital. Being on the main line of the Southern, all Northern and Southern markets are easily accessible for either passenger or freight. In addition to the excellent service of the Southern, the Piedmont and Northern Railway is a distinct asset to the town. This electric railway maintains a line from Charlotte to Gastonia and enters Belmont over a short line from Belmont Junction, some two miles away This railway operates 24 trains a day in and out of Belmont, making direct connection for both Charlotte and Gastonia. Belmont has a total of 31 passenger trains in and out every twenty-four hours.
Belmont is on the National Highway from the North to the South, and the Wilmington-Charlotte-Asheville Highway which is now being hard-surfaced all the way from Wilmington to Asheville. The National Highway is now paved from Kings Mountain on the south to Greensboro on the north. Belmont has long enjoyed concrete roads both to Charlotte and Gastonia, so with this additional mileage paved, Belmont has easy access by motor to all parts of the state. A fine dirt road runs to Mount Holly.
Every half hour during the day there is at least one motor bus passing through Belmont. There are two lines operating between Charlotte and Gastonia, connecting at either point for places beyond. A through line, Charlotte to Spartanburg, another from Charlotte to Asheville, and also one from Charlotte to Shelby, all pass through Belmont.
Several denominations maintain strong, well-equipped churches in Belmont. The Methodists have four, the Baptists three, the Presbyterians two, and the Lutherans one, making a total of ten churches of the Protestant faith. Belmont Abbey Cathedral is located on the outskirts of the town. This Cathedral is one of the largest and finest in the entire South. Belmont's religious and social life is centered in these houses of worship.
Belmont has the largest group of cotton mills in the County, outside the County Capital. Gaston County is the fine yarn center of the entire South.
Business Section
Imperial Yarn Mill
Chronicle Mills
St. Leo's for Boys.
Twelve of the seventeen manufacturing plants of Belmont are cotton mills. These 12 plants have a total of over 175,000 producing spindles divided as listed below: The Climax Spinning Co., 21,760 spindles; the Stowe Spinning Co., 21,760 spindles; the Linford Mills, 16,320 spindles; the Perfection Mills, 16,300 spindles; the National Yarn Mills, 15,000 spindles; the Acme Mills, 13,300 spindles; the Crescent Mills, 13,056 spindles; the Sterling Mills, 13,056 spindles; the Imperial Yarn Mills, 13,000 spindles; the Majestic Spinning Co., 12,716 spindles; the Chronicle Yarn Mills, 10,000 spindles; and the Eagle Mills, with 10,000 spindles, making a grand total of 176,268 spindles.
Other industrial plants that are working for a bigger Belmont include: The Crowell Roller Mill, the Blue Ribbon Bakery, the Montbell Ice and Fuel Co., and the Belmont Printing Company, while one of the most important is the Continental Brick and Tile Co. Belmont is pre-eminently a town of industry and is the largest in the county with the exception of Gastonia, the County Seat.
The Bank of Belmont has kept pace with the growth of the town since its founding in 1910. Today it ranks as one of the large banks of the County, with $50,000 capital stock, surplus of $100,000 and total resources of over $2,147,000.00. Connected with this bank is the Belmont Building and Loan Association which has rendered a real service to Belmont in enabling the citizens to own their own homes.
Belmont is proud of her well-equipped school system. The total amount now invested in schools in Belmont is $178,000.00. The Central School building cost $75,000; the East Belmont School was erected at a cost of $60,000, while the High School with its modern equipment cost $35,000. The colored school for Belmont is valued at $8,000. Belmont sends over 900 pupils to the white schools, with about 300 in the colored school. To teach this number there are 32 teachers for white children and five for colored.
Belmont is known far and near for her two splendid Catholic institutions of learning, the Belmont Abbey College for boys and the Sacred Heart Academy for girls. St. Leo's School for small boys maintained by the Sisters of Mercy is also located here. These schools are well equipped and situated in spacious grounds in the suburbs of town.
Belmont has a number of beautiful residences. These are made more attractive because of the well kept, paved streets and sidewalks on which they are located. All principal streets throughout town are paved. In 1920 the population was 2,941 or an increase of 153% over 1910. The estimate of today's population is 5,000 people.
Belmont has twelve of the one hundred cotton mills of Gaston County. These mills operate a total of over one hundred and seventy-five thousand spindles.
First Methodist Church
Belmont Schools
First Baptist Church
Presbyterian Church
Burlington, "the city substantial," is located in the very heart of Alamance County. The county is bounded by Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell, Orange, Chatham and Randolph Counties. Burlington and Alamance County are located in the heart of the Piedmont Plateau of Virginia, and the Carolinas about equidistant from the mountains to the sea. This section is noted for its climate, fertility of soil, and its ideal living conditions.
Burlington is served by the Greensboro-Goldsboro branch of the Southern Railway. Its ten passenger trains every twenty-four hours give the city excellent outlet and direct connections give it ready access to all leading markets. At Greensboro, only 21 miles west, direct connection is made with the main line of the Southern. Fast trains over this double tracked trunk line place Burlington within 17 hours of New York, 10 hours of Washington, and 11 hours of Atlanta. Burlington's manufacturing plants and shippers are furnished excellent freight and express service to all the leading centers of both the North and South.
Burlington is on several State routes in addition to having excellent highways which radiate to all parts of the county. Burlington is on State Highway No. 10 which runs from Beaufor to Murphy, about 600 miles across the State. Burlington is about one-third the distance from Beaufort to Murphy. Splendid bus service is maintained between the city and Greensboro, and also between Burlington and Durham. At either of these two points connections are made with busses to various points farther away.
Burlington has forty cotton and hosiery mills and eight miscellaneous plants, with over $8,000,000 invested in manufacturing. 24,000,000 yards of gingham and 8,000,000 pairs of hose are manufactured annually. To the prospective manufacturer Burlington offers exceptional opportunities. The city has a plentiful supply of good all-American labor, reasonable rates on hydro-electric power, and numerous other attractive features which appeal to employers of both men and women.
Dairy products and poultry are important factors in trade, because of excellent market facilities at Burlington. The city has three tobacco warehouses and two flour mills. Corn, wheat, tobacco, dairy and poultry products are the principal ones of the county. The annual revenue produced from agriculture in Alamance equals that produced from manufactured products. Thus, agriculture is one of the chief industries of the county.
Burlington's financial institutions are under the management of men long experienced in finance and developing, ready to give you sound, intelligent advice. These four banks have resources that make them amply able to care for the city's needs. Their total resources are over $12,000,000.
Burlington's hotel facilities will be amply increased by the erection of a new hotel now under way. Construction of this handsome new $30,000.00 hotel will add much needed facilities to the present overcrowded hotel accommodations in Burlington. The hotel is being built by the public spirited citizens of Burlington.
Burlington has forty cotton and hosiery mills and eight miscellaneous plants with over ten millions invested in manufacturing, and a weekly payroll of eighty-five thousand dollars. Annual output is 24,000,000 yards gingham and 8,000,000 pairs of hose.
May Hosiery Mills
Graded School
One of the City's Churches
Whitehead Hosiery Mills
Burlington has an unusually large percentage per capita home-ownership, it being about 70 per cent, and the pronounced spirit of progress and prosperity that is being displayed in the building of new homes is obvious to the stranger immediately upon his arrival in Burlington.
Schools are always asked about by parents coming to a new town. Burlington has a fine system of schools, well equipped and with faculties trained to handle youth in a competent way. Burlington is proud of her school system.
Burlington has a number of fine churches, all the leading denominations being represented in the city. They are practical exponents of the great precepts of Christianity. Their buildings reflect not only the general prosperity of the city, but the numerical strength of their congregation as well. They are well attended and their pulpits filled by able men.
Burlington is a city with vision. It has fifteen miles of paved streets, thirty miles of concrete sidewalks, twenty miles of water main, and a modern LaFrance motor-driven fire truck, an excellent water supply, electric light and sewerage systems--all in keeping with the reputation Burlington has as a live and modern city.
Burlington, however, has approximately 5000 people living in the mak-Burlington has a population of 8,861, according to the last count. Burlington, however, has approximately 8,000 people living in the suburbs, making a total population of 16,000. The elevation is 850 feet above sea level. The city has a modern hospital. Over $280,000 was spent in 1922 for municipal improvements. One daily and two weekly newspapers, three building and loan associations, modern co-operative creamery, weekly industrial payroll of about $75,000.00, and hydro-electric power at low cost, are assets to the city.
Alamance County was the scene of the first meeting held in North Carolina to discuss the construction of a railroad. The idea was to build from Morehead to the mountains and use mules for motive power. When the State in 1848 decided to build a steam line from Goldsboro to Charlotte the Whigs favored it, while the Democrats opposed it. The President of the Senate, a Democrat, broke the tie vote in that body by voting in favor of it. This ruined his political career but opened a door of hope to the Western counties. The North Carolina Railroad shops were located at Burlington.
Alamance County started the Revolutionary War and the first battle of the war--The Battle of Alamance (May 16, 1771)--was fought there and not at at Lexington. A long time afterward the county started the cotton mill business and wove the first colored cotton goods made south of the Potomac River. The first "dye house" for coloring cotton yarns was built in this county.
The climate of Burlington and Alamance is even-tempered, mild, dry and healthful--the same climate that has made the Piedmont area so famous.
Burlington invites the inspection by others of her splendid opportunities and advantages to the manufacturer, homeseeker and homebuilder.
Alamance County, one of the South's pioneer textile centers, combines agriculture and industry to such an extent that it is estimated that the value of agricultural products equals the value of those manufactured, amounting to millions annually.
Part of the Business District
Burlington's New Hotel
Municipal Building
Burlington Coffin Plant
Situated in this almost unmatched mountain region of the South, "The Land of the Sky" in Western North Carolina, is Canton, just an hour's ride from Asheville, the metropolis of this western mountain area. Nestling snugly between two beautiful mountain ranges in the valley of the Pigeon River near its head waters, Canton enjoys an excellent all-year climate and many natural advantages that assure its continual industrial development. Canton is in the eastern part of Haywood County, 11 miles from Waynesville the County Seat. Haywood County is bounded by Cocke County, Tennessee, on the north; by Madison and Buncombe Counties on the east, by Transylvania County on the South, and by Jackson and Swain Counties on the west.
Canton is on the Murphy branch of the Southern Railway, 18 miles west of Asheville where direct connection is made for through trains to New York, Washington, Raleigh--the State Capital, Goldsboro, Charleston, S. C., Cincinnati, Ohio, and St. Louis. In addition, the Tennessee and North Carolina Railway runs from West Canton to Spence, N. C., 17 miles south.
Canton is located on State Highway No. 10, which runs from Murphy on the west, and extends through Asheville, Salisbury, Greensboro, Durham, Raleigh, Goldsboro, and on east to the Atlantic Ocean at Beaufort. At Asheville Highways Nos. 20 and 29 are tapped. No. 20 runs from Hot Springs, near the Tennessee line, through Asheville to Charlotte and Wilmington, while No. 29 runs from the Tennessee line through Mars Hill, Asheville and Hendersonville and on to the South Carolina line above Greenville, S. C.
Every year thousands of tourists pass through Canton. Canton is in the midst of the tourist resort section of Western Carolina. Asheville is 18 miles east, while the Methodist Summer Assembly Grounds at Lake Junaluska are only 10 miles west, with Waynesville two miles beyond the latter. A splendid bus service of luxurious motor busses is furnished Canton, either to Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, or Asheville. While primarily an industrial town, Canton's tourist business is a distinct asset to the life of the town. Canton's hotel, the Imperial, is always full to capacity. Canton is annually attracting a large number of tourists.
Canton is primarily an industrial town. The plant of the Champion Fibre Company located here, is one of the largest paper mills in the entire United States. (Special mention is made of this plant on the following page.) Other industries are being attracted to Canton, while at present two new industries deserve mention. They are the Crescent Knitting Mills, and the Royal Clothing Manufacturing Company. A very popular brand of overalls sold all over the South, is made by this company.
The Bank of Canton and the Champion Bank & Trust Company are great factors in the business life of the city. These institutions are amply able to care for the financial needs of Canton.
Canton is the industrial town of Western North Carolina. The largest Tannic Acid plant in the world and largest paper mill in the South are located here.
The Road to Asheville
A nearby Scene
The Mountains in Winter
The Campion Bank & Trust Co.
Throughout the entire South there is no plant similar to that of the Champion Fibre Company at Canton. In the extensive plant of this company are employed all three of the known processes for making paper. They are the soda, the sulphite, and the sulphate. Daily this plant turns out 375 tons of such material and also a variety of by-products for which ready distribution is assured to all parts of the world. Daily more than 37,000,000 gallons of water are consumed. It is thoroughly filtered to remove all impurities. Electrically driven pumps are used for fire protection and a steady pressure is insured by the location on a nearby hill of a large storage basin. More than 600 tons of coal are used daily and all exhaust steam is utilized in the evaporating processes. The Black Diamond Coal mines with a daily output of 1200 tons are operated by the company at Coal Creek, Tenn. The normal supply of wood on hand at the plant for pulp making purposes is 75,000 cords, 60 to 75 carloads arriving daily. The company owns and controls over 125,000 acres of timber lands in Western North Carolina, 60 per cent of which is hardwood. This area is a reserve supply to supplement purchases from farmers within a 250-mile radius who find a ready market for both cord wood and lumber at the plant. At present the company operates two band mills, one at Waynesville, the other at Smokemont, with daily capacity of 75,000 feet. Only the low grade woods are used for pulp making, thus enabling the company to sell over 15,000,000 feet of high grade lumber annually. In order to cut, mill and market all this timber, over 70 miles of railway are owned by the company, and several miles of flumes. Over 1000 men are engaged in these operations.
Nothing is wasted at this plant. As the exhaust steam from the boilers and engines is used for heating and evaporating, even the wood serves a double purpose. The largest tannic-acid plant in the world is located here, over 500 barrels of liquid chestnut wood extract being produced daily. The "spent" wood is then used for pulp-making purposes. Pine wood furnishes turpentine before making pulp. "Bindex," an extract for use in cores for foundry castings, and for dust settling on roads and floors is made. A complete electrolytic plant produces bleach to be used in pulp and paper making and renders a by-product of 10 tons of caustic soda daily, which is distributed to textile mills operating bleacheries in this Country. A paper plant with 50 tons daily capacity produces kraft, wrapping, sulphite bond, book and fine bristol and post card board papers. About one-sixth of the pulp made at Canton is made into paper there. The Company's engineering department does all construction work at Canton. Over 40 miles of railway siding serve the plant at Canton which has its own engines and cars. Over 1500 men are engaged in the operation of this plant and a splendid Y. M. C. A. is provided for their use. A new school building with all modern equipment is a recent development. Even from the above sketch, little idea of the enormity of this plant can be grasped, for it ranks as one of the really great enterprises of America.
Canton offers the manufacturer many natural advantages of location, climate and labor, and new industries are welcome. Investigation is invited.
Canton is the home of the Champion Fibre Co., one of the really great enterprises of America, employing all three processes of paper making.
Offices of the Campion Fibre Co.
Part of the Plant-Champion Fibre Co.
Another View of the Plant.
Bank of Canton.
Charlotte is strategically located in the very heart of the two Carolinas. Surrounded by good roads, fine farming lands, hundreds of manufacturing plants, and large power developments, Charlotte is destined to become the leader of the South.
The Southern, Seaboard Air Line, Norfolk Southern, and Piedmont and Northern (Electric) Railway systems serve Charlotte. Over 100 trains enter and leave the city daily, radiating in eight directions. Headquarters of "Lines East" of the Southern Railway System are located in Charlotte. A new office building is being erected by the Southern to house the various offices.
Hard-surfaced roads radiate from the city in six directions. The National Highway crosses the Wilmington-Charlotte-Asheville Highway here. Motor bus lines run from Charlotte with destinations Greensboro, Raleigh, Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Columbia and Spartanburg, S. C. Shorter lines run to Concord, Salisbury, Monroe, Gastonia, Shelby, Lincolnton and Statesville.
The outstanding historical event in Charlotte's past was the signing of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on the City Square, May 20, 1775.
Within 50 miles of Charlotte over 550,000 people and over 2,000,000 in a 100-mile radius embrace the richest trading territory in the South. Charlotte is the pivot around which are located 770 textile mills, 185 cotton oil mills and 125 furniture factories.
That Charlotte is the commercial and distributing center of the Carolinas is fully demonstrated by the fact that more than 200 large corporations of National reputation handle practically their entire business in this territory through branch plants, offices or representatives located in Charlotte.
This city is the center of the biggest hydro-electric development in the United States--the total horsepower developed and in immediate prospect of development being nearly 600,000--and is the home of the Southern Power Company, the largest hydro-electric company in the Country.
Charlotte is the largest center in the South for textile machinery and equipment, practically all the large companies in the United States and England handling their entire business in the South through Charlotte offices and plants. In addition, a large amount of machinery and equipment for textile mills is manufactured in Charlotte.
Charlotte is the wire center of the Carolinas. Headquarters and relay offices in this city handle all business in North and South Carolina for the Western Union Telegraph Company, the Postal Telegraph Company, and the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company.
Charlotte is the largest banking center of the two Carolinas, having 14 bank and trust companies with total deposits of $30,000,000 and combined resources of $42,000,000. Three building and loan associations have combined resources of over $4,000,000.
The Piedmont Fire Insurance Co., of Charlotte writes more business annually in the State, and has the largest net earned surplus of any North Carolina Fire Insurance Company.
Charlotte is the center of the largest hydroelectric development in the United States, the textile center of the South, and the commercial and distributing center of the two Carolinas.
Charlotte Manufacturing Co.
Textile Mill Supply Co.
Plant of the Southern Asbestos Manufacturing Company.
Brockmann's Book Store
Interior View.
Charlotte Marble & Granite Works.
Charlotte has: 26 miles of paved streets, six hotels with a total of 793 rooms, also a new 12-story hotel just completed, commission form of Government, $1,000,000 annual revenue from taxation, 100 miles of cement sidewalks, five libraries with over 25,000 volumes, 125 miles of domestic and storm sewer, $1,500,000 water works system with daily pumping capacity of 10,000,000 gallons and reservoir capacity of 60,000,000 gallons. Modern motor equipped fire department with three stations; elaborate "white way" system, a very efficient street railway system with 37.4 miles of track. 5000 cars pass Independence Square daily. Six hospitals and sanatoriums. Complete Health Department.
Charlotte has 21 public school buildings, 10,569 pupils and 261 teachers. Institutions of higher learning include Queens College (for young ladies), Boird's School for Boys, Charlotte University School (for boys), O'Donoghue Hall (parochial school), Brown's Business College, King's Business College, Southern Industrial Institute, and Biddle University (colored).
Charlotte is one of the largest distributing points in the South for automobiles and accessories. One of the largest automobile tire manufacturing plants in the South is that of the McClaren Rubber Company at Charlotte. The annual output is valued at over $3,500,000. Charlotte is the Southern Market for dyestuffs--laboratories and offices being maintained here by the leading dye corporations of America. The city has the largest millinery jobbing and importing house in the Carolinas. Brockman's Book Store is one of the largest in the two Carolinas and conducts a large mail order business. Charlotte is one of the South's most important distributing centers for motion picture films, the annual business exceeding $2,600,000. Charlotte is the home of Efird's Department Stores, one of the largest chain store groups in the South. Belk's head store is also here.
Charlotte has annual payrolls of over $12,000,000 from the 200 widely diversified manufacturing and industrial plants. Charlotte has three large cotton oil companies operating eleven mills with an annual output of $10,000,000. The Interstate Milling Company is the largest flour mill in the State, with a daily output of 1000 barrels. The Charlotte Wagon and Auto Company is the largest and best equipped plant for the manufacture of commercial truck bodies, painting and repairing in the South. The largest monumental plant in the two States is the Charlotte Marble and Granite works. The Southern Asbestos Company is one of the two largest asbestos manufacturing plants in the South. The Southern Engineering Company has a large plant for the fabrication of steel for steel frame buildings and bridges. The Charlotte Manufacturing Company manufactures card clothing and reeds and is the only plant in the South making card clothing. The Textile Supply Company carries a full line of everything in mill and factory supplies and was incorporated in 1898.
For years a branch of the Ford Motor Company located here has handled all the business for North and South Carolina and a part of Virginia, while recently Ford has purchased 75 acres in Charlotte to build a $2,000,000 assembling plant with a daily capacity of 400 Ford cars.
This city and territory offers unbounded opportunity in manufacturing, agriculture and mining. Equal opportunities are offered to mercantile establishments, insurance companies, distributors and business interests of every kind.
Charlotte is the center of the most rapidly developing area in the world. 25 years ago there were 150 mills in a 100-mile radius. Today there are 750 with over 10,000,000 spindles.
Plant of Interstate Milling Co.
Efird's.
Charlotte Wagon and Auto Works
Southern Engineering Company
Concord, the metropolis and County Seat of Cabarrus County, is a hive of industry located in the midst of a rich agricultural country. Concord is in the very heart of the county and is the market center of the country. Cabarrus County was formed from Mecklenburg in 1792 and is bordered by Iredell and Rowan Counties on the north, Stanly County on the east and Mecklenburg County on the south and west. Cabarrus County is in the midst of the famous Piedmont Plateau of rich farm lands.
Concord is on the main line of the Southern Railway, which is double-tracked from Washington to Atlanta. It is 359 miles south of Washington and 289 miles north of Atlanta. The County is also traversed by the Norfolk Southern Railway running from Norfolk through Raleigh to Charlotte. The State Capital is about 140 miles northeast. These railroads give the city and county excellent passenger, express and freight service to all leading markets of both the north and the south.
Concord is the hub of a splendid system of county highways and also has three branches of the State Highway System radiating to Albemarle, Charlotte and Greensboro. In the county there are 20 miles of asphalt road, 50 miles of gravel, 500 miles of graded road, 35 miles of state highway and 20 miles of national highway.
Concord's splendid highway connections have been instrumental in giving the city excellent motor bus transportation to a number of nearby points, direct service being maintained to Greensboro, Salisbury, Kannapolis, Charlotte and Albemarle.
There are 35,000 people in Cabarrus County. Cabarrus has a $100,000 county home, $50,000 jail, a $200,000 court house, and a $0.95 per 100 tax rate on property valued at $40,000,000. Cabarrus has a County Highway Commission, full-time physician, bovine inspector, home demonstrator, county nurse, welfare officer, juvenile judge, public library, ten girls' clubs with 215 members, and six community clubs with 750 members.
Concord also has a Merchants Association, Merchants and Manufacturers Club. Country Club with golf course, Young Men's Christian Association, a live Chamber of Commerce, and a Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club, as well as an Elks Club and branches of leading fraternal orders. Concord's tax rate is $1.24 per $100 on property valued for taxation at $12,000,000.00. Concord has a $100,000 City Hall, electric plant, water system, street car line, telephone system, gas plant and fire department. Concord also has a new creamery and a new $50,000.00 theatre and has one of the largest county fairs in the state.
Concord's three banks have a combined capital stock of $600,000.00, surplus and profits of $245,000.00, deposits of $4,705,813.50, and total resources of $5,869,985.38.
The following denominations maintain churches here: Baptist, Methodist. Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal, German Reform, Associate Reformed, Methodist Protestant and Catholic.
The County has six newspapers. One daily, one semi-weekly and four weekly papers cover the city and county with local and world news.
Cabarrus County has 20 cotton mills whose yearly output is valued at thirty million dollars. Cabarrus farms produce cotton, wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, fruits, poultry and live stock.
New Baptist Church.
The New Cabarrus Bank
Presbyterian Church
The Cannon Mills Kannapolis
Concord Plant
Concord has 17 manufacturing plants, while the county has over 60 plants. In the city and county there are 20 cotton mills. These employ 7,000 wage earners earning $5,000,000.00 a year. The cost of materials is $20,000,000.00, while the value of manufactured products is $30,000,000.00. These mills consume 25,000 horsepower. Other industries include an oil mill, bleacheries, ice plants, lumber plants, brick plant, roller mills, a foundry, gas plants, candy factories, a mattress factory, felt shoe factory, toy factory, 2 hosiery mills, a chair factory, and Southern Power Company.
Cabarrus mills produce towels, ginghams, madras, yarns, tire fabrics, sheeting, hosiery, prints and similar lines. These products are produced by some twenty cotton mills and are valued at over $30,000,000.00 annually. Other manufactured products of the county include cotton seed oil and its by-products, ice, brick, lumber and builders supplies, candy, flour, feed, gas and iron goods and several other minor products.
The city and county together employ 225 teachers with a total enrollment of 9,084, including both white and colored pupils. The city has just completed a new High School building at a cost of $225,000.00 and a new $35,000.00 colored school. In addition to graded and high schools there are five institutions of higher learning in the county. These are Stonewall Jackson Training School for Boys (State Institution), Sunderland Hall School, Mt. Amoena Seminary for Girls, Collegiate Institute for Boys, all for white pupils and Scotia College for colored women.
Cabarrus County is primarily a center of agriculture, being in the midst of the famous Piedmont Plateau, noted for its fine farm lands and excellent crops. Cabarrus lands raise cotton, wheat, oats, potatoes, apples, peaches, hay and vegetables. Cabarrus potatoes are unusually large and fine and the county is one of the leaders in the production of this commodity. Poultry and live stock are raised throughout the county.
Kannapolis is one of the unique communities of Cabarrus County, and in fact, of the state. It is the home of the Cannon Manufacturing Company who operate the largest towel mills in the whole world. But this is not its only disinction. The town of Kannapolis built around the Cannon Mills and largely controlled by the mill company itself, lays claim to the distinction of being the largest unincorporated city in the world. It has a population of 7000 (1920). (Editor's note--A special article on Kannapolis will be found on page 138.)
Concord has a commercial hotel at present, but seeing the need for a larger and more modern hostelry, a new eight-story fire-proof hotel is now planned.
From the foregoing sketch of the past and present accomplishments of agriculture and industry in the city and county, some small idea of the greater possibilities along these lines may be gained. Write the Chamber of Commerce.
The largest towel mills in the world are located in Cabarrus County at Kannapolis. This city with 7000 people, lays claim to being the largest unincorporated city in the world.
Post Office
Cabarrus Co. Court House
Methodist Church
New High School
Dunn is situated in the extreme eastern point of Harnett County. Harnett County itself is bordered by Wake County on the north, Johnston County on the east, Cumberland and Hoke Counties on the south, and Moore, Lee and Chatham Counties on the west. Dunn is the largest town in the county, having about 3000 people within her limits.
Dunn is on the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway, 191 miles south of Richmond and 480 miles north of Jacksonville. It is 22 miles from Fayetteville and 53 miles south of Raleigh, the State Capital. Dunn is the southern terminus of the Durham and Southern running from Durham through Varina to Dunn. Harnett County is also served by the Norfolk Southern Railway, the Atlantic and Western Railway, and another branch of the Atlantic Coast Line. The Norfolk Southern runs from the main line at Varina through Lillington to Fayetteville, while the Atlantic and Western connects Lillington, the County Seat, with the Seaboard Air Line Railway at Sanford. The Wilmington-Fayetteville-Sanford branch of the Atlantic Coast line crosses the western part of the county. These roads, through their connections, give outlet for county products to all leading Northern and Southern markets.
Dunn is well served by State Highways, being the crossing point of Nos. 22 and 60. No. 22 runs from Wilson to Fayetteville, while No. 60 runs from the Tennessee line near Boone, through Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Sanford, Dunn, and on to Wilmington. Highway No. 21 from Raleigh crosses No. 60 at Lillington and extends South through Fayetteville and Lumberton to the South Carolina line.
Dunn farmers raise a large variety of crops, including cotton, tobacco, wheat, oats, corn, hay, apples, peaches, watermelons, cantaloupes, sweet potatoes and truck. Poultry, hogs and live stock are raised all over the County. Dunn farmers annually sell 50,000 bales of cotton, 2,000,000 pounds of tobacco, thousands of bushels of sweet potatoes, wheat, oats and corn. Thousands of tons of cotton seed, carloads of green corn, watermelons and cantaloupes, great quantities of apples, peaches, huckleberries, strawberries, dewberries and other small fruits, thousands of pounds of fresh and cured pork and hams, many pedigreed hogs for breeding purposes, pure bred poultry, thousands of creates of eggs, dairy products, truck of every description, peas and peavine hay and a list of other commodities are shipped every year from Dunn.
Dunn has artesian water pumped to all homes, complete sanitary sewerage system, ample hydro-electric power, five miles of asphalt paving, a motion-picture theatre and a modern theatre catering to road attractions, a public library, children's playground, two public park sites, two bathing pavilions, a Chamber of Commerce, a thirty-piece concert band, and a $60,000 agricultural fair plant.
While Dunn depends primarily on agriculture for her prosperity, her 17 manufacturing plants greatly add to the wealth and resources of the community.
Broad Street
One of Dunn's Residences
Lucknow Cotton Yard.
Municipal Building.
Dunn has a total of 17 manufacturing plants, among which are: a farm implement factory, a furniture factory, two large lumber mills, one hosiery mill, a cotton seed oil mill, two machine shops, a railroad repair shop, three monumental plants, a cornice factory, two metal working plants, an ice factory, two ice cream factories, a house furnishings factory and a cotton mill with 40,000 spindles.
Dunn also has a bakery, one newspaper, one printing plant, seven garages, two automobile paint and trimming plants, three wholesale gasoline and motor oil distributors, two plumbing concerns, two electrical contractors, one steam and one hand laundry, two beverage bottling plants, five farm stock dealers, fourteen dry goods and clothing stores, and thirty-seven retail grocers. Dunn is the trade center for 35,000 people.
Dunn has two banks and a Building and Loan Association. The First National Bank has a capital of $50,000.00 with deposits of three-quarters of a million dollars, and resources of $900,000.00 The Commercial Bank has a capital stock of $30,000.00 with deposits of a half a million dollars. The Building and Loan Association has over 3500 shares now in force and has constructed 35 homes since its organization in 1922.
Dunn has seven churches for white people. The denominations represented include the Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Disciples of Christ, Free Will Baptist, Primitive Baptist, and Catholic. There are also six churches for colored Christians.
Hand in hand with the growth of Dunn came the increase in interest in education and provision for the training of the children of Dunn. Today Dunn has three fire-proof modern school buildings for white children. A large children's playground is a distinct asset to the recreation of Dunn's youth.
The forests and streams around Dunn abound in fish and game, offering much pleasure to the sportsman. Fox, racoon, o'possum and quail inhabit the forests around Dunn, making Dunn the mecca of many huntsmen.
Dunn ranks as the largest cotton market of the state. The Dunn market covers two city blocks and handled 150,000 bales between 1917 and 1922 inclusive, or 25,000 bales a year. A fire-proof cotton warehouse is located here with a capacity of 12,000 bales. A large ginnery is operated here, which is one of the most complete in the state.
Dunn offers the manufacturer ample hydro-electric power, fire protection, low insurance rates, raw materials for cotton, cotton seed oil, tobacco, furniture, wood working, lumber, brick, vegetable canning and other factories. Dunn has experienced labor for textile, furniture and wood working plants. The Dunn Chamber of Commerce welcomes inquiry.
Dunn ranks as the largest cotton market in the State, over 25,000 bales a year being sold here. Dunn also has a fire-proof warehouse of 12,000 bale capacity.
Graded School
Devine St. M. E. Church
First Baptist Church.
First Nat. Bank and Street Scene
Durham is situated in the south central part of Durham County and is bounded by Person County on the north, Granville and Wake Counties on the east, Chatham County on the south, and Orange County on the west. Durham is only 26 miles northwest of Raleigh, the State Capital. The County was established in 1881. Durham has an elevation of 406 feet above sea level and an area of 3.87 square miles. The city was incorporated April 10, 1869.
Durham, being located on the edge of the Piedmont Plateau, is favored by a good mild climate at all seasons. With an annual mean summer temperature of 71.3 degrees, and a winter mean temperature of 48, extremes are avoided at all times. Durham's days are 62 per cent sunshine with 47.19 inches annual rainfall. The annual snowfall is 10 inches, with prevailing westerly winds.
Durham has five lines of railroad branching in seven directions. They are: the Southern Railway. Seaboard Air Line Railway, the Norfolk and Western Railway, the Durham and Southern, and the Norfolk Southern Railway. Two lines of the Southern serve the city, one being the Greensboro-Goldsboro branch, and the other connecting at Keysville, Va., with the Danville-Richmond line. These connections with four of the South's large railway systems give the city excellent freight connection with all leading markets.
Durham's health department of 13 employes zealously guards the health of the city. In 1922 the death rate was only 10 to 1000 white people, while the birth rate was 30.7. Watts Hospital (white), one of the finest hospitals in the South, is valued at $1,250,000, with 102 beds and 17 physicians and 48 nurses. Lincoln Hospital (colored), is valued at $150,000 and has 100 beds, 8 physicians and 21 nurses.
Durham is well served by State Highways, being on Nos. 75, 10 and 13, giving outlets in five directions. Both the National and Central Highways pass through the city. These are the principal routes North to South and East to West, respectively. The Greensboro-Raleigh Highway is already hard-surfaced, while the National Highway is in process of being paved.
An important method of transportation in North Carolina is by Motor Bus, and Durham is greatly favored in this respect, having through service to Raleigh, Greensboro, Henderson and Oxford, Roxboro, Pittsboro and Asheboro, Chapel Hill, Siler City and Danville, Va.
Durham has had the Council-Manager plan of government since May, 1921 and is well governed. Among the things of which the city is justly proud is the well equipped fire department with four stations and first-class fire insurance rating. Durham spends hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on her streets and is a well paved city. There are over 60 miles of sewer. Property valuation is $58,005,342, with a tax rate of $1.05 on the $100. The County tax rate is 92 cents.
Durham is the home of Bull Durham and Duke's Mixture smoking tobacco, Piedmont, 111, Chesterfield, Sovereign and Sweet Caporal Cigarettes, and 25 other products.
Durham Hosiery Mills
American Tobacco Co.
Holland Bros. Furniture Co.
Entrance Trinity College.
One of the Dormitories.
The census of 1920 gave Durham 21,719, but by including certain adjoining sections which should be now a part of the city, the population of greater Durham is conservatively estimated at 35,000. It is proposed to include this area in the city limits. Only .09 per cent of the population are foreign-born whites, while 63.9 per cent are native whites with 35.2 per cent colored.
Durham ranks as the second largest industrial city of the State, her output in manufactured products being valued at more than $80,000,000 annually. The Liggett-Myers Tobacco Company and the American Tobacco Company have produced such well known brands as Duke's Mixture and Bull Durham smoking tobaccos, and Piedmont, "111" (one eleven), Chesterfield, Sovereign and Sweet Caporal Cigarettes. It is also the home of the Durham Hosiery Mills, the largest manufacturers of hosiery in the world, and the Golden Belt Manufacturing Company, largest small bag manufacturers in the world. Other Durham products include Erwin and White Star sheetings and pillow cases, Glasgow Zephyrs ginghams, chambrays and cheviots, Virginia-Carolina fertilizers, Occoneechee, Peerless and Climax flours, silk shirtings and sports goods, blank books, castings, cigars, harness, ice, mattresses, brick, overalls, wagons, building materials, bread, and proprietary medicines.
Durham has nine banks with combined capital and surplus of $2,709,000 with annual clearances of over $78,000,000.00, or $6,500,000 a month. The Fidelity is one of Durham's largest banks, while the First National Trust Co. has recently erected a new home to handle their growing business.
The Malbourne Hotel is Durham's popular commercial hotel. Durham also has the Lochmoor Hotel and a new million-dollar hotel project under way.
Durham's public school system is the equal of any in the State. The Durham School of Music and the Southern Conservatory of Music are valued assets, while the Durham Business School is a fully accredited class "A" institution. Trinity College, a Methodist co-ordinate college for men and women, has a $4,500,000 plant and endowment with an enrollment of 930. The University of North Carolina located at Chapel Hill, twelve miles from Durham, has an enrollment of over 2000. The National Training School (colored), has an enrollment of over 225 pupils.
One of the city's representative retail establishments is the Holland Bros. Furniture Company located in the heart of the city. The Durham Public Service Company furnishes efficient electric and street car service for the city.
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company is the largest colored insurance company in the world. This Company owns its own modern office building and is a credit to the race, as well as to the city.
On account of nearness to source of raw materials, cheap electric power and transportation facilities, Durham offers excellent opportunities for the location of industries. Write the Durham Chamber of Commerce.
Durham is the home of the largest hosiery mills in the world, the largest small bag manufacturers in the world, and the largest colored life insurance company in the world.
Building, Durham, N. C. Fidelity Bank
Malbourne Hotel
Durham Business College.
Durham Public Service Co.
N. C. Mutual Life Ins. Co.
Ex-Governor Bickett once called Edenton "the City of a Million Diamonds," and Edenton is just that. Situated on the very shore of the Albemarle Sound, the sunlight sparkles by day upon ever-tossing waves like myriads of little diamonds; while by night the moon gives a new lustre to the radiant wave drops. Edenton is located on the Southern border of Chowan County on Edenton Bay which is a part of the Albemarle Sound. Chowan County is bordered on the south by Albemarle Sound and Edenton Bay, on the west by the Chowan River, on the north by Gates County, and on the east by Perquimans County. It is in the extreme eastern end of North Carolina, near the Virginia line.
Edenton is on the main line of the Norfolk Southern from Norfolk to Raleigh, the State Capital, and Charlotte. It is 82 miles south of Norfolk and 161 miles northeast of Raleigh. It is also the southern terminus of the Edenton-Suffolk branch of the Norfolk Southern. Suffolk is 50 miles north and connection is made here for Richmond and the West. At Norfolk connection is made for the North. Connections to different parts of the south are made at Wilson, Raleigh and Charlotte. Just south of Edenton the Norfolk Southern runs straight across Albemarle Sound over a trestle 6.7 miles long. This is the longest bridge over navigable water in the world and has a draw-bridge in the center to allow boats to pass.
Edenton is on the Coastal Highway which is the shortest route between the North and South. The Edenton Ferry makes three round trips a day between Edenton and Mackeys (only two round trips on Sundays) thus opening this road for tourist travel. This road is now being hard-surfaced all the way to the Virginia line via Hertford and Elizabeth City. The old stage-coach road, known for centuries as the Virginia road, is also being hard surfaced, thus giving the city two direct auto roads to the Virginia line. In addition, the County is spending over $300,000 for twenty miles of lateral roads, so that the County--being but 178 square miles--will shortly be a network of well-made roads, one of the best county systems in the state.
The Edenton-Mackeys Ferry connects Edenton and that section of the State with the south shore of Albemarle Sound and the rest of North Carolina. This ferry is the connecting link between the State Highway System and that part of it lying in the eastern extremity of the state. Three ferries connect Chowan and Bertie Counties, and several steamers navigate the rivers from Edenton. Of special note is the Norfolk-Baltimore and Carolina Line which makes two round trips every week with freight, making direct connection with boats for all Northern ports. The freight lines are quite an asset to Edenton shippers, especially the fishermen.
Edenton's fifteen industrial plants are all successfully operated entirely by local capital. They are: Edenton Cotton Mills, Edenton Peanut Co., Farmers Peanut Co., Edenton Knitting Mills, Eastern Cotton Oil Co., Edenton Ice and Cold Storage Co., M. G. Brown Lumber Co., Edenton Lumber Co., Brown Brothers Grist Mill, cotton gins, a woodworking plant, and three jobbing houses, distributors of Edenton's products.
The importance of the fishing industry to this entire section is very great. Shad and herring fisheries stand out pre-eminently. A Government fish hatchery is maintained at Edenton.
The financial interests of Edenton are handled by the Bank of Edenton and the Citizens Bank who have combined resources of over $1,750,000.00. The Edenton Building and Loan Association has enabled many citizens to build their own homes, and is still active in building the city.
Edenton and Chowan County are supplied with all the latest news by a daily newspaper published in Edenton. This paper is of great service to the County through its publication of market quotations and fluctuations. A weekly paper also supplies many rural communities with news.
The soil of Chowan County is generally fertile. The chief crops are cotton, peanuts and corn. Tobacco can be profitably raised and is gaining in acreage. Most of the county is adaptable to truck farming.
Edenton Cotton Mill
A Residential Street
Edenton Peanut Co.
Farmers Peanut Co.
Edenton Hosiery Mill
Centuries make little difference in nature. This is what has blessed Edenton from earliest settlers' days to the present time, making it "The Little City on a Bay of Myriad Diamonds" where the sparkle of both winter and summer sun transforms the ten miles of Edenton bay into a glorious vision of "things not made by human hands."
Edenton can truly boast of an illustrious past, being the second oldest settlement in North Carolina, once the State Capital and the Port of Entry. Coupled with her history are the names of Rev. Daniel Earle, the fisherman-parson; Joseph Hewes, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence; James Iredell; Governors Johnson and Eden, after whom the town was named. History also recounts the Edenton Tea Party where the ladies declared against British goods as long as the tax remained on tea. The resolutions of the vestry of St. Paul's Church on June 19, 1776, are firmly linked in the minds of many Americans as a page in the grand history of our Nation. These resolutions were enacted two weeks before the Mecklenburg Declaration and were commonly known as their "Declaration of Independence," and constituted the subscription of these people to the political "test" set forth in August, 1775, by the Provincial Congress in Hillsboro. The resolutions expressed "Allegiance to the king but a determination to resist to the fullest any imposition by Great Britain of any taxation assessed without due representation, and by the sacred ties of Virtue, Honor and Liberty to support the Continental and Provincial Congresses to the utmost of their power and ability." They were signed by the eleven vestrymen of St. Paul's Parish. In the accompanying pictures will be seen a few of these historic scenes that are now monuments of the past.
The main thoroughfare of Edenton is 80 ft. wide and extends from Edenton Bay for a mile through the heart of the city, traversing both the business and residential sections. The city has over five miles of asphalt streets in the residential sections, which together with city owned electric power, light and artesian water wells and sewerage system, contribute to the happiness and health of the citizenship. The bonded indebtedness of the city is small. The tax rate in 1922 was $1.18½ per $100.00.
Edenton has a splendid system of public education and additions to the school building in the center of town are being pushed to take care of the rapidly increasing population. Two wings have been completed giving a 50 per cent. increase to meet future demands for space.
St. Paul's Church stands out as a feature of the past, dating back to 1701. The new Baptist Church is a handsome building and covers one-half of a city block. Other denominations represented in Edenton are: Presbyterian, Methodist and Catholic. Each of these congregations worships in its own church edifice.
Today Edenton stands four-square for progress, though she retains one feature which other cities might emulate--her citizens are of the natural Anglo-Saxon stock of their forefathers, with very little foreign blood within her borders. The people are home loving and contented, but are wide-awake to seize every opportunity to advance the best interests of the city.
Edenton has its organizations of both men and women whose object is to advance the social, religious, educational and recreational interests of their city.
One organization keenly interested in the general advancement of the city is the Chamber of Commerce. The Chowan County Chamber of Commerce serves both the city and the county. Any inquiry made of the Secretary of this organization will receive prompt and courteous attention.
The fishing industry of Chowan County for shad and herring stands out pre-eminently as one of the great features of this section, and for this reason the U. S. Government maintains a fish hatchery at Edenton.
Cupola House Erected in 1758 Bank of Edenton
Citizens Bank
Edenton Tea Party House Erected in 1776
Edenton School
Elizabeth City is the metropolis of Albemarle section of North Carolina. It is ideally situated on the banks of the Pasquotank River on the eastern boundary of Pasquotank County. Elizabeth City is the County Seat and is 45 miles south of Norfolk, Va. Pasquotank County is bounded by Albemarle Sound to the south, Perquimans and Gates Counties to the west, and by Camden County to the north and east. The population of the city and its suburbs is approximately 12,000.
Elizabeth City is on the main line of the Norfolk-Southern Railway system from Norfolk to Raleigh and Charlotte. It is 45 miles from Norfolk where direct connection is made with roads to the North, placing the city within 20 hours of the leading markets. Raleigh is 188 miles to the southwest; and from Raleigh, Wilson and Charlotte southern markets are easily reached. A branch of the Norfolk Southern runs from Elizabeth City to Beckford Junction where connection is made for Suffolk, Richmond and the West.
Elizabeth City is on the Coastal Highway--the short route from the North to the South. This highway is in process of being hard-surfaced. In addition to 20 miles of hard-surface road to be built in the County by the State Highway Commission, Pasquotank County is now spending $750,000 on the construction of paved roads throughout the County. Already over 35 miles have been completed. These roads are linking one of the richest agricultural sections of the State with Elizabeth City, the Metropolis of Northeastern North Carolina.
Regular daily boat service is maintained between Elizabeth City and Norfolk, which gives shippers the benefit of both coastwise and export trade.
The agricultural territory adjacent to Elizabeth City is as fine as can be found in the United States. Three crops are grown annually. This year Elizabeth City shipped almost a million dollars' worth of Irish potatoes, 250 refrigerator cars of May peas, besides corn, spinach, radishes, red beets, soy beans, etc. This section is the home of the soy bean industry, and the soy beans grown here are being shipped all over the United States for seed purposes. Agriculture in Pasquotank County has taken on new life with the opening of paved highways to market at Elizabeth City.
Elizabeth City's working conditions are ideal, the yearly average temperature being 60 degrees, with an annual rainfall of 45.55 inches.
Elizabeth City has numerous diversified industrial plants, including lumber mills, a furniture factory, a cotton mill, hosiery mills, ship yards, machine shops, an iron foundry, an ice cream manufactory, a brick yard, a tent and awning manufactory, a flour and feed mill, fertilizer plants, a cement grave vault plant, soy bean harvester manufactories, barrel and basket factories and a meat packing plant. Elizabeth City manufactures more soy bean harvesters than any other city in the United States.
Elizabeth City has four banks, three white and one colored. These banks have a combined capital of $865,000.00; combined resources of $655,000 and combined deposits of $4,674,000.00. It also has the oldest Joint Stock Land Bank operated in either North Carolina or Virginia.
With the ever-increasing agricultural and industrial development, Elizabeth City offers great opportunities to the Agriculturist, the Manufacturer and the Home Seeker. Investigate Elizabeth City's opportunities.
Hinton Building
High School Building
Court House
Street Scene
The historic features of Elizabeth City and vicinity date back to the time of the early settlers. Elizabeth City is only forty-five miles from the birthplace of Virginia Dare, the first white child born in America.
Elizabeth City has a community hospital, a motorized fire department, a municipal market, and a modern and efficient school system. The city has ten miles of paved streets and twenty-five miles of paved sidewalks. The city has recently voted bonds in the amount of $800,000.00 with which to erect its own light and power plant and water plant in order to meet the demand of the growing city for additional lights and water, and at the same time establish rates lower than at present prevailing. A modern sewerage system will also be installed by the city. Elizabeth City is planning these utilities plants so that they will suffice for the city for many years to come.
Elizabeth City has nine churches--many of them being handsome edifices. Most of the leading denominations have adherents in the city and many of the churches have strong congregations, while all have both Sunday Schools and young people's organizations connected with the work of the church.
Elizabeth City is North Carolina's largest food fish center. There are three reasons why this is true. The first is its proximity to the biggest fishing territory in the State. The second reason is that Elizabeth City is the nearest shipping point in North Carolina, to the big food fish markets of the North and East. Fish shipped from Elizabeth City reach the big markets several hours earlier than if shipped from any other North Carolina city. Six steamboats and over twelve motor craft operate regularly out of Elizabeth City, touching every point of the fishing territory and connecting with many smaller boats. Elizabeth City is fortunate in being a year-round fishing center. Located on fresh water, it gets plenty of carp, perch, catfish, pickerel, black bass, round robins, and many other varieties of edible fish, when salt water fish are out of season. However, the salt water fishing is the greatest part of the industry in this State. Elizabeth City's fishing territory extends about 100 miles south and at places is 30 miles wide. Her territory is approximately one-fourth of the fishing territory of the State. About 3000 people are engaged in the fishing industry in Elizabeth City's territory. In 1922 about 5,000,000 pounds of fish were shipped from the city and sold for over $500,000.00. The fish caught in these waters are: shad, herring, rock perch, jacks, trout, bluefish, spots, crackers, mackerel, black bass, carp, eel, catfish, pampano, pike, sheepshead, mullet, roundheads, hogfish, manny shad, round robins, red bass, porgies, blackfish, shrimp, oysters, clams, escallops, sea turtles and snappers. North Carolina shad is the favorite in all Northern markets.
Elizabeth City, with the surrounding country and waterways, is fast becoming a mecca for tourists. Every season any number of motor boats from Northern points may be seen in the harbors. These yachts take the route through Dismal Swamp to Florida and return, thus coming into the local harbor. This is the center of the finest wild duck and goose shooting in the United States, which makes the city the rallying point of Northern gunmen. Many tourists are now passing through Elizabeth City over the Coastal Highway, the short route from North to South.
Elizabeth City has much to offer new industries, tourists, or prospective citizens. Communicate with the Elizabeth City Chamber of Commerce.
The tourist will find the Elizabeth City section a region of historic and romantic interest; while the sportsman may have all the pleasures of the finest hunting and fishing grounds America affords.
Community Hospital
Southern Hotel
Elizabeth City Water Front
One of Elizabeth City's Churches
Fayetteville, the County Seat of Cumberland County, is located on the banks of the Cape Fear River, at the head of navigation, 115 miles from the coast. It is in the center of a large agricultural area which ranks high in the quantity and value of its products. The County has a population of 42,000 and this city is the trade and market center, not only for the county, but for people in adjoining counties.
Fayetteville is on the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line Railway half-way between New York and Florida. The Wilmington-Fayetteville-Sanford branch of the Atlantic Coast Line also passes through the city, while the Columbia-Maxton-Fayetteville branch joins the main line at Fayetteville. The Norfolk Southern enters the city from the north, while the Aberdeen and Rockfish connects the city with the Seaboard, and the Virginia and Carolina Southern gives connection with Lumberton. Thus Fayetteville has railways radiating in eight directions. Hourly service to Fort Bragg is maintained by gasoline trolley car.
State Highways radiate from the city in six directions, extending from Fayetteville to Wilmington, Whiteville, Lumberton and the South Carolina line, Laurinburg, Raleigh and Wilson.