History

From timber to preservation and tourism, this is the story of this unique Western North Carolina County.

Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, Transylvania County is proud of its beautiful natural setting. Clear waters cascade from lofty heights in a county with over 200 waterfalls. Lush and rare vegetation hosts bountiful wildlife. Established in 1861 from Henderson and Jackson Counties, Transylvania County preserves almost half of its acreage in national and state forests. Since the county's inception, tourism has been a steady source of revenue. When the railroad arrived in 1895, it paved the way for the timber business and provided the first means of outside employment to local families. Tanning and extract companies followed. Today, Transylvania County continues to be a prime destination for outdoor enthusiasts.

Discover the rich past of Highlands, North Carolina in this pictorial history told through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

Perched on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and founded in 1875 as a health and summer resort, the town of Highlands in Western North Carolina enjoys a northern climate in a southern setting. Its people originate from across the nation, giving an otherwise provincial village a cosmopolitan worldview, and its natural surroundings have attracted professionals in the arts and sciences as well as laborers, tradesmen, and craftsmen. The photographs in this volume attest to the extraordinary variety of characters that inhabited the Highlands plateau at the town's founding and during the first half-century of its growth and development.

Journey into the Ashe County of yesteryear, a time dominated by horse and buggies, dirt roads, and early farms.

The mountain region of North Carolina possesses an uncommon grace and beauty, a landscape full of breathtaking peaks, lush forests, and winding rivers and creeks. Within this picturesque scenery, pioneering spirits settled in Ashe County and established communities in an environment both enchanting and perilous. Officially formed in 1799, Ashe County stands as one of the High Country's oldest and most intriguing areas. In this volume, containing over 200 black-and-white images, readers will journey into the Ashe County of yesteryear, a time dominated by horse and buggies, dirt roads, and early farms. Starting in the 1870s and stretching into the twentieth century, this stunning visual history allows today's reader to meet the resilient and rugged families that carved towns and communities into this mountainscape, to ride the Virginia Creeper railroad as it carries lumber and other goods to waiting markets, and to stroll along the banks of the historic New River, now recognized as a national Heritage River.

Washington, North Carolina is a city marked by its rich industrial heritage the beauty of the Pamlico River, and the fertile farmlands of Beaufort County.

Washington, the county seat and original namesake of President Washington, grew during the 1800s to become one of the prominent shipping ports for lumber and a variety of agricultural produce. With the arrival of the railroads and the following economic hard times of Depression -era America, Washington's character changed dramatically, forcing many of the local mills and businesses to close. However, today, the city is experiencing a remarkable resurgence of business and opportunity and has again become a significant contributor in the economy of the state.

Washington, North Carolina, consisting of over 200 stunning black-and-white photographs and postcards, allows readers a unique opportunity to explore their hometown as never before. As if stepping back in time, readers will experience the Washington of yesteryear, when the masts of commercial ships, like slender church steeples, dominated the waterfront, when the piercing whistles of trains entering and leaving the many lumber mills punctuated the city's daily activities, and when the sounds of horse-drawn wagons and early automobiles echoed throughout Main and Market Streets.

This book also captures scenes of daily life: farmers laboring in the field and also meeting at Brooks Store to swap stories, gossip, and advice; people gathered on Main Street enjoying colorful parades; and children swimming at Whichard's Beach Campground and Marina in nearby Chocowinity.

What did Lake Norman look like before it became a major tourist attraction for Mooresville? This volume of historical postcards features buildings, businesses, and sites that are no longer around, with topics ranging from early life in the town to advertisements for early hotels, trains, World War I and World War II, churches and schools, and the importance of the lake to the community. Images for this volume come from the Mooresville Postcard Collection, part of the Local History and Archives.

Author Henry A. Poore is a lifelong Mooresville resident whose roots trace back to Mooresville and Iredell County since the 1700s. He has collected and researched postcards that were printed in Mooresville and worked to create the archives at the town's library. He has served as curator, archivist, and town historian and is the chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission for Mooresville and a founding member of the Mooresville Museum.

Edenton and Chowan County, North Carolina is a pictorial history that celebrates early 20th-century lifestyles enjoyed by citizensof the first unofficial colonial capital.

Conveniently located between three important waterways in Eastern North Carolina, Chowan County, along with its county seat of Edenton, is a remarkable community whose roots dig deeply into the 1600s when settlers arrived from Jamestown. The steadfast Perquimans River to the east, the rapidly flowing Chowan River to the west, and the serene Edenton Bay to the south have for centuries provided means of transportation, economic endeavors, and scenic views for citizens and visitors alike. By 1750, Edenton had blossomed into a distinctly rustic and bustling community, and these water canals had greatly contributed to the needs of the county's merchants, lawyers, carpenters, and plantation workers. Edenton and Chowan County, North Carolina is an engaging pictorial history that celebrates early 20th-century lifestyles enjoyed by community members of the first unofficial colonial capital. Readers will visit ancestral plantations and the ancient labor of seine net fishing, while the Norfolk and Southern railcar-steamship John W. Garrett plies once again across the Albemarle Sound. Many of the area's earlier residents are brought to life, in word and image, while they work at the Edenton Peanut Company, the Edenton Cotton Mill, and many of the old stores that lined Main Street (now Broad Street).

What is the high point of North Carolina? Why, it's High Point, North Carolina!

Established in 1859, High Point was so named because it was located at the highest point on the rail line between Charlotte and Goldsboro. The city expanded rapidly from the epicenter of the crossroads of the Plank Road and the railroad, making High Point a transportation hub within North Carolina. High Point is also the only city in North Carolina located within four counties: Davidson, Forsyth, Guilford, and Randolph. Beyond their railway history, High Point has always been a manufacturing center, nicknamed the "furniture capital of the world.'? Today, the world's largest furnishings market is held each spring and fall in High Point, drawing in over 70,000 people.High Pointshowcases the rich manufacturing and community history of this North Carolina Triad city.

A news media frenzy hurled the quiet resort community of Pinehurst into the national spotlight in 1935 when hotel magnate Ellsworth Statler's adopted daughter was discovered dead early one February morning, only weeks after her wedding day.

A politically charged coroner's inquest failed to determine a definitive cause of death, and the following civil action continued to expose sordid details of the couple's lives. More than half a century later, the story was all but forgotten when local resident Diane McLellan spied an old photograph at a yard sale and became obsessed with solving the mystery. Her enthusiastic sleuthing captured the attention of Southern Pines resident and journalist Steve Bouser, who takes readers back to those blustery winter days so long ago in the search to reveal what really happened to Elva Statler Davidson.

The Outer Banks is much more than an idyllic vacation destination. A day at a time through history, it has claimed its place as a colorful region of the Old North State.

Author and historian Sarah Downing offers a daily look at the quirky and fascinating stories from the region's four-hundred-year history. During a fierce hand-to-hand battle off Ocracoke Island on November 22, 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard killed the infamous pirate Blackbeard with five pistol shots and twenty sword cuts and slashes. On February 14, 1992, a sick seal caught a ride to safety on a Coast Guard patrol boat. Add a salty slice of history a day or a month at time with this celebration of Outer Banks heritage.

For six decades western North Carolinians have asked the question: “What are those big satellite dishes doing behind that chain-linked fence?”

In the early years of the site near Rosman, NASA gave public tours of the antennas it used to track space satellites. When the defense department took over, the tours stopped. Signs were posted that read “Unauthorized Entry Prohibited” and armed guards patrolled the site. Wild myths took root. Underground tunnels held nuclear missiles. The site was a submarine base. A city built underground held captive space aliens. Then, suddenly, DoD departed. New owners dusted off the satellite dishes and pointed them into deepest space. Public tours at the new Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute were reestablished and programs were created for a brand new mission-- science education.

Now, local author Craig Gralley tells PARI’s full story.

Through photographs of veterans and reunions, monuments, and tombstones, Hardy shows the many ways that the old Confederate soldiers are commemorated across the Old North State.

The American Civil War was scarcely over when a group of ladies met in Raleigh and began to plan commemoration for the honored Confederate dead of North Carolina. In 1867, they held their first memorial service. Two years later in Fayetteville, the first monument to the state's fallen Confederate soldiers was erected. Over the next 14 decades, countless monuments were commissioned in cemeteries and courthouse squares across the state. Following Reconstruction, the veterans themselves began to gather in their local communities, and state and national reunions were held. For many of the Confederate veterans, honor for their previous service continued long after their deaths: accounts of their sacrifice were often chiseled on their grave markers.

History Beyond Kitty Hawk

Millions of North Carolina license plates affirm the state’s claim of “First in Flight,” honoring the December 1903 accomplishment of the Wright brothers on the Outer Banks. Yet the history of aviation in North Carolina goes well beyond that first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. Numerous aviation inventors and innovators called the state home. North Carolina airports hosted legendary fliers like Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker and Amelia Earhart. During World War II, aviators trained at several military bases and flew patrols along the coast seeking enemy submarines. The state produced its own airlines, like Piedmont Airlines and Wheeler Airlines, and various sites across the state played aviation-related roles in the Cold War and the Space Race. Michael C. Hardy details the storied history of North Carolina in flight.

Filled with lullabies, folk tales, and playful rhymes, The Wee Scot Book: Scottish Poems and Stories is an open invitation to youngsters worldwide to join the Scots at playtime. These are authentic songs and tales from the Scottish childhood of author and illustrator Aileen Campbell. She combines fascinating English text with verses from the old Scots' language. She also illustrates each spread with a delightful watercolor, sometimes highlighting the landscapes of the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland.

Chimney Rock and Rutherford County honors the accomplishments of one of North Carolina's most scenic counties. More than 200 vintage images, culled from postcards, newspapers, business files, and personal collections, offer a window into the county's past. Readers will learn of the county's defining moments, from its separation from Lincoln County to its supreme sacrifice during World War II of 149 young men, as well as the county's historic places, like Pine Gables (1700s), the Lake Lure Inn, and the Bechtler's Mint (1831). Readers also have the singular chance to meet well-known Rutherford County figures, including textile magnate Raleigh Rutherford Haynes, screenwriter Earl Owensby, radio announcer Jerrell Bedford, and Sheriff Damon Huskey, who served the county for 24 years.

Knightdale showcases the rich transportation and community history of this North Carolina Piedmont town.

Bravely settled by those looking to explore and discover what North Carolina's interior had to offer, the town of Knightdale was established in 1907. To stimulate economic growth, a resident by the name of Henry Haywood Knight donated a portion of his own land holdings to the Norfolk & Southern Railroad; this generous contribution proved successful. Today, the town's economy is thriving with medical centers, shopping centers, thousands of residents, and roads to serve them. Even with its close proximity to Raleigh, Knightdale maintains a small-town ambience. It is home to an active commercial area on Knightdale Boulevard and to beautiful churches, historic homes, and businesses, such as the world-renowned Stained Glass Associates, on First Avenue. Though the train whistle is not heard as often now as in days past, it continues to blow, reminding residents of their history.

The story of firefighting in Charlotte is a tale of explosive growth and change that dates back to its humble beginnings in 1887.

The city of Charlotte credits expansion to several events, including the gold rush of the 1830s, the railroad expansion of the 1860s, and the textile boom of the 1880s. During the textile boom, the volunteer firefighters protecting Charlotte and Mecklenburg County could no longer adequately protect the growing city. Thus the Charlotte Fire Department was born. The Roaring Twenties brought in the auto age and along with it motorized fire trucks. Race tensions of the 1960s and the financial boom of the 1990s also figure in the fire department's history. Returning to her roots of growth, Charlotte is now a bustling financial and transportation hub of 650,000 residents protected by more than 1,000 firefighters living in 38 firehouses. Firefighting in Charlotte provides a photographic road map of how fire protection developed from horse-drawn engines of the 1800s to the state-of-the-art apparatus of today. Fire trucks, firehouses, and the firefighters are depicted in images obtained from personal collections, newspapers, archives, and museums.

This history of industry and energy development around Mooresville, North Carolina tells the story of the early use of harnessing hydropower for the textile industry, and resulted in the creation of Lake Norman.

The year 1957 brought change to Mooresville and southern Iredell County, and that change arrived in trucks. Big white ones flashed the logo of Burlington Industries, the new owners of the Mooresville Cotton Mills. Bright yellow ones from the Duke Power Company brought earth-moving machines to clear the Catawba River bottomland. That project, envisioned by James Buchanan Duke, Dr. Gill Wylie, and William States Lee Jr., had the end goal of harnessing the energy of the Catawba River to provide electricity for the textile industry in the Carolinas. Duke Power's plan for Cowans Ford Lake was the last piece of the network of hydroelectric stations, and the result was beautiful Lake Norman.

Take the best seat in the house for this thrilling history that's so much more than the story of a building: discover the triumphs, the tears, and the tenacity of North Carolina sports and its legends.

For more than half a century, William Neal Reynolds Coliseum was at the forefront of college basketball. When filled to capacity, 12,000 fans joined together to create the noise and heat that defined game night. Indeed, Reynolds Coliseum brought big-time basketball to the South. Most area residents know Reynolds as home to the popular Dixie Classic basketball tournament and the North Carolina State University's Wolfpack championship sports teams. Surprisingly, this building was not constructed specifically for basketball. Like the state of North Carolina, the coliseum's origins grew from agriculture, and it was significantly shaped by the impact of World War II. As home to the long-standing Friends of the College series, the coliseum helped extend cultural events to the general public by promoting ""seven shows for seven dollars."" It has hosted presidents and protesters, circuses and symphonies, tractor demonstrations and rock concerts. And yes, for one ten-year stretch, more people watched college basketball games in Reynolds Coliseum than in any other campus arena in America. This volume captures more than 50 years of North Carolina history from the best seat in the house, highlighting the people and events that shaped the building as much as any architect's pencil.

Discover the ruins of the colonial port town of Brunswick and the large earthworks of the Civil War’s Fort Anderson in this collection of historic photographs.

Established in 1952, Brunswick was once the major port in colonial North Carolina and was partially burned by British troops twice during the American Revolution. During the American Civil War, Fort Anderson was constructed atop some of the ruins of the town and served as part of the Cape Fear River defenses below Wilmington. Today, visitors to the site can see the archaeological ruins of the foundations of the colonial buildings that once stood as a port town, along with the shell of St. Philip’s Anglican Church. The site still conducts archaeological excavations each spring. Brunswick Town and Fort Anderson State Historic Site is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites in the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Jim McKee has been an interpreter at Brunswick Town and Fort Anderson Historic Site for over 10 years. His research has greatly added to the academic and archaeological knowledge of this fascinating historic site.

“A roving, shiftless fellow…”

That’s how the newspapers described Jesse C. Walker, who in 1908 was served with an arrest warrant by Brunswick County sheriff Jackson Stanland, with tragic results. Little did Walker know that he was about to set off on twenty-five years of headline-grabbing exploits. Two murders, two wives, three prison escapes, and thousands of miles of travel across eight states are only the surface of the adventures of this North Carolina desperado.

Local author Mark W. Koenig relates the untold saga of a man who rocketed to notoriety in the first years of the twentieth century and found atonement decades later.

Dreamers, Risk Takers, Innovators…

The chain of barrier islands that skirt the coast of North Carolina from the Virginia border to Cape Lookout were once remote. Today the Outer Banks is one of America’s most popular vacation destinations, welcoming millions of visitors each year. Like Walt Disney World or Las Vegas, the initial ideas around what is today a glittering vacation capital were, at one point, nothing more than a shared vision of what was possible. A series of dreamers fired the engines of the popular attraction to this scattering of sandy islands that resonates across much of the Eastern United States today.

Author and Outer Banks native Clark Twiddy chronicles the region’s journey from isolation to popularity through the stories of these innovators and risk-takers.

Join authors Vermelle Diamond Ely, Grace Hoey Drain, and Amy Rogers as they celebrate the rich history of the black community in Charlotte, North Carolina.

As in many cities in the early 20th-century South, the African-American citizens of Charlotte created their own society that mirrored the larger white community. Yet, black Charlotte was always self-sustaining, with its own schools, library, and businesses. Second Ward High School (1923-1969) was the area's first high school for blacks, and although the school and much of its surroundings have since been razed, the photo archive at the Second Ward Alumni House Museum helps keep alive the memories of the school and the entire black community.

A thrilling account of a hundred years of sensational and sinister deeds that marked and shaped one southern town.

Crimes that captivated attention in the Charlotte area over the years run the gamut from missing people to the wrongly accused. This collection of headline stories features violent motorcycle gangs, crusading mothers, a fraudster who claimed a president was poisoned by his wife, a serial killer who broke all the rules and even a man who made Bigfoot. With a mystery novelist’s ear for a good tale, Cathy Pickens presents more than a century of sensational sinister deeds that marked this diverse and dynamic city.

Kinston is a celebratory volume that preserves the storied past of Lenoir County's seat of government. Photographs document the county's fourth courthouse, built in 1938 after the first three were destroyed; the evolution of Queen Street's downtown businesses; and the fabled artesian well fountain, rumored to always bring those who drank from it back to Kinston. Readers will meet Dr. Richard Henry Lewis, namesake of Lewis School, and revisit the city's bicentennial celebration, held in 1962. Informative stories add color to these attractive vintage photographs, which together spark fond memories in the minds of older residents while offering the younger generations a glimpse of their heritage.

In this never-before-assembled collection of lost landmarks, historian Sarah Downing evokes the Outer Banks of yesteryear.

Drawn from the vast collections of the Outer Banks History Center and from locals mourning the forever changed character of the area, these vintage images reflect the hotels, stores, restaurants and bandstands that appeared in the boom time following World War II but have since been lost to progress. An honorary native, Downing has preserved the Pirate's Ball at Nags Head Casino, Doc Watson playing at the Sound Side on Kitty Hawk Bay and grits at the El Gay in this collection of hangouts and haunts of yesterday's summer.

Join author and educator Evelyn Scales Thompson, Ph.D. as she recounts the rich history of the black communities in and around Surry County, North Carolina

From slavery in the 1800s to freedom in the 1950s, Black America Series: Around Surry County traces the footsteps of African Americans through their transition from house servants and field hands to landowners, farmers, and successful small business proprietors. This detailed pictorial history celebrates and honors the strong faith, courage, and determination of the Surry County area's black community.

Mayhem on the Eno River 

Visitors to the Eno River don’t expect to encounter haunted houses, train wrecks or fun outings that turn into tragedy, but some of them have experienced just that. In 1771, a few of America’s first rebels were hanged near the river. An accident at a sawmill led to a series of hauntings. A Valentine’s Day dance became the area’s greatest murder mystery. Train-hopping teenagers had harrowing experiences, and a baby abandoned in a suitcase was found by a nearby farmer. Author and former Eno River State Park ranger Dave Cook details the scary side of a beloved tributary.

Situated on the northern end of North Carolina's picturesque Outer Banks, Elizabeth City has a strong aviation tradition.

The Wright brothers used the ""Harbor of Hospitality"" as a final way station before traveling on to Kitty Hawk. This coastal town has been the center of United States Coast Guard Aviation since the establishment of the only Coast Guard-owned airport in 1939. Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City began as an installation of six seaplanes operating off of the Pasquotank River. During World War II, the population ballooned to 8,000 assigned personnel. Post-war USCG Aviation expansion saw the addition of many maintenance functions that led to the creation of the Aviation Repair and Supply Base, the center of USCG Aviation maintenance. The base was expanded with a separate air station, the Aviation Technical Training Center, CG Aviation's schoolhouse, Support Center Elizabeth City, and Small Boat Station Elizabeth City. The mission of providing the finest aviation maintenance to Coast Guard Aviation and the highest level of service to mariners of the Virginia Capes and Outer Banks remains an integral part of the installation.

From Wilderness to Industry and Back Again   

For thousands of years, the Little Tennessee River and the foot trail alongside it were a vital route through the Southern Appalachians—used first by the Cherokee and then by early traders and drovers moving deerskins and livestock to Charleston, South Carolina, then colonial America’s richest port. This mountainous land drew only the hardiest settlers until around 1900, when railroads, timbermen, miners, and dam builders rapidly transformed it into a center of industry. In 1920, conservationists began returning much of it to wilderness as quickly as it was modernized.

In this richly researched local history, author and historian Lance Holland brings to life the people, places, and powerful changes that shaped this storied region—perfect for readers who love Appalachian history, Cherokee heritage, and forgotten American trails.

Tarheel Quakers and the Fight Against Slavery

Quakers settled the Carolina Colony in the 1650s, bringing their slaves and servants with them. Industrious coastal Quakers soon rose to prominence on the backs of their enslaved men and women, and Piedmont Quaker lives were enriched by the people they enslaved as well. Sparked by the observations of John Woolman, Carolina Quakers took up the battle against slavery in the 1700s, beginning with themselves. Legal conflicts, the Free Negro program, colonization, the North Carolina Manumission Society and the Underground Railroad were the results. Combining North Carolina slave narratives, runaway slave ads, digital archives, local histories and internet blogs, Tim Allen re-creates the inspiring story of Tarheel Quakers who fought each other and the state to abolish enslavement in antebellum North Carolina.

The Dark Side of Durham

Explore the dark side of the Bull City. If the red brick walls that once held tobacco warehouses and textile mills could talk, they would tell the tale of how the crossroads settlement of Pin Hook turned into the vibrant city of Durham in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Since its genesis, Durham has been a city where crime was woven into the very fabric of its existence. Over the years, there have been many murders, robberies and shootouts on the streets, in the alleys and on the outskirts of town. Some crimes have caught the attention of the entire nation, but most have remained just in the conscience of the locals. Local historian Rick Jackson narrates the mysteries of one of North Carolina's most important cities.

Residents of Kernersville have spent lifetimes looking after each other--and sometimes they continue after death.

Nestled between Winston-Salem, Greensboro and High Point, Kernersville transformed from a sleepy little village stop on the Great Wagon Road into a thriving community in the nineteenth century--one with its share of ghost tales. Does a young soldier haunt the Kernersville Museum, flirting with the women who work there? Learn the truth of the ghost of the old McCuiston House. Local institutions like the P&N Store and Snow's Diner also claim their share of spooky stories.

Kernersville Museum director Kelly Hargett and local theater founder Scott Icenhower tell ghost tales that are sometimes comical, sometimes heartwarming, and sometimes a little hair raising.

Over the past 150 years, Forsyth County, North Carolina, has experienced much growth and change.

With this unprecedented new photographic history, readers are invited to take a memorable jaunt through yesteryear, back to the days when farming villages dotted the county and the automobile was still a thing of the future. The over 200 vintage images collected together in this volume were drawn from the Frank Jones Collection of the Forsyth County Library, as well as from private collections. The work focuses on the smaller communities of Clemmons, Kernersville, Pfafftown, Lewisville, Rural Hall, and Tobaccoville, bringing many rare images into public view. Forsyth County includes images of citizens from all walks of life and provides glimpses into their daily activities, from sports and recreation to work, education, and religion. Enhanced by the insightful text provided by author Cindy Casey and the members of the Forsyth County Genealogical Society, the images included in this volume truly capture the spirit of the people of Forsyth County. Teaching us about the past and inspiring stories of days gone by, this book will no doubt become a treasured addition to the personal libraries of residents and visitors for years to come.

From Chowan University to Camp P.D. Hunt Club, Hertford County's storied past is detailed in this photographic history.

Situated in Eastern North Carolina, Hertford County is a picturesque locale with an extensive, storied past. Boasting portions of the Chowan and Meherrin River, the area was easily accessible to European explorers, who visited as early at 1586. Education has been an important shaping factor for Hertford residents, as the county has hosted two colleges-Chowan College, founded in 1848, and Wesleyan Female College, founded in 1853. Fishing and hunting are second to none: Camp P.D. Hunt Club is the oldest chartered hunt club in North Carolina and herring fishing was the way of life for many years. Agriculture, too, has been a mainstay for the county's economy, with peanuts and tobacco thriving as staple crops. The county also possesses a unique blend of cultural history, from the Meherrin Native Americans, who moved here from Virginia, to the strong influence of African Americans, who developed Chowan Beach as one of the premier black vacation spots during Segregation.

As the name suggests, the town of Holly Springs in southern Wake County originated at a place where freshwater trickles from deep aquifers and where 40-foot-tall holly trees have endured storms and droughts, wars and depressions, and times of peace and prosperity.

In Colonial times, a small cluster of homes and businesses formed around the original holly springs in an area that once was a Tuscarora Indian hunting ground. The tiny community included a sawmill, cotton gin, and store. In later years, a few miles to the north, Archibald Leslie purchased 180 acres at the intersection of two roads near another freshwater spring. He opened a tailoring business and store, and began construction on a 38-room manor. Today all that remains of the Leslie estate is the main house, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Leslie-Alford-Mims House. A short dirt trail winds through the woods to the springs.

Hundreds of ornately decorated rooms, gardens and greenery and more--Walk through the history of the Biltmore Estate, one of America's many displays of personal wealth and decadence.

In the spring of 1888, George Washington Vanderbilt returned to New York after spending weeks exploring the countryside near Asheville, North Carolina. Thinking it was the perfect place to build his home, Vanderbilt promptly sent his agent to begin quietly buying contiguous tracts of land until he had several thousand acres. Soon, he began constructing what would become America's largest private residence. He commissioned two of America's preeminent designers, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to collaborate with him in planning his estate, which he named Biltmore. To complement the 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau, Olmsted worked closely with Hunt to create a vast landscape of pleasure gardens and grounds with miles of scenic drives through parklands, productive farms, and the country's first scientifically managed forest. Today, Biltmore is a National Historic Landmark privately owned by Vanderbilt's descendants.

Visit the town of Elkin, from its settling in 1752 to the establishment of the grist mill in the mid 1800s that put the town on the map and was fundamental to its growth.

The town of Elkin was chartered in 1889 and is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Surry County. It was named for the Elkin River, locally known as the Big Elkin Creek, which was first identified on the North Carolina Colet map of 1770. Settlers were present as early as 1752, but it wasn't until Richard Gwyn built a grist mill on the creek in the 1840s that the community began growing. The arrival of the Northwest North Carolina Railroad in 1890 allowed the industries of textiles, shoes, locust pins and brackets, and furniture to flourish. Withstanding the Yadkin River floods of 1916 and 1940, Elkin continued to prosper alongside its largest industry, Chatham Manufacturing Company. Famous for Chatham blankets, Klondike Farm, and the Elkin & Alleghany Railway, Elkin is affectionately known as ""the best little town in North Carolina.""

A fascinating pictorial history of these North Carolina communities, documenting stories of Rocky Mount and Nash County's development through time.

The picturesque beauty and unique history of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, are surpassed only by the strength of character of the region's citizens. In this new and singular pictorial history, all of these wonderful attributes are portrayed in vibrant detail. The first historical retrospective of Nash County to appear in 20 years, Rocky Mount and Nash County encompasses many of the county's smaller towns and crossroads and chronicles the development of industry, agriculture, and business, as well as the remarkable people who call the region home, in rich visual imagery and intriguing anecdotes.