The Local Skinny! Around Old Granville: Place Names In Warren And Franklin Counties

/by

In a continuing discussion of local communities with odd names or curious origins, Bill Harris and Mark Pace Thursday again shone the spotlight on Franklin and Warren counties in the Around Old Granville segment of The Local Skinny!

Harris had been studying a 1911 map that Rand McNally had published and tested Pace’s knowledge about communities, some of which would no longer make the cut to be included in current maps of the area.

There’s Union Hill, for one, which was in the vicinity of Rocky Ford down in Franklin County. It had a post office from around 1834-38, Pace said.

Then there’s Brookston, named for the Brooks family, which originally was in Warren County but got redrawn at some point into what is now Vance County.

Jack, in Warren County near Littleton, was named for Jack Johnson, postmaster for the short-lived post office there. It’s just one of numerous areas that sported the first names of prominent or affluent people of the day, Pace said.

He mentioned others, including Margaret, Catesville and Drewry.

Have you ever heard of Lumdsen, an area between the Tar River bridge and Kittrell in Vance County? Pace said his research has turned up no family with that surname in Census records, but he said the name could have come from someone who worked for the railroad that came through the area.

In cases where there were no stations for the trains to stop, “people would literally tie a white handkerchief to a tree” to indicate that the conductor needed to stop and pick up passengers. The area known as Lumsden could have been named to honor a rail official, he added.

Shocco Springs in Warren County had a post office from the early 1830’s to 1866. This area became known as Lickskillet, an amusing name for an area that, before the Civil War, counted among its residents some of the most prominent and affluent families around.

Communities sometimes got named by wealthy landowners that lived nearby, like Odell in Warren County – named by the Alston family as an homage to the family castle in England.

But oftentimes, it was a post office in a particular area that helped communities get their names.

One spot in Warren County was Mountain View, Pace said. Situated between Macon and Vaughan, the Riggan family provided a half dozen or so of Mountain View’s postmasters between 1879 and 1929.

At one time, there were 32 post offices sprinkled throughout Warren County. This would have been before the introduction of rural free delivery, when people had to go to a central spot to pick up their mail. Often, that local spot was inside a country store, he added.

Franklinton has one the oldest, continually used post offices in the area, Pace noted.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Registration For Warren Youth Sports League Open

/by

Registration is now open for fall youth sports leagues for Warren County Parks and Recreation. Cheerleading, soccer, flag football, and tackle football are being offered, according to information from Warren County officials.

Registration can be completed online at any time, and at the Warren County Parks and Recreation office Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. The office is located at 113 Wilcox St., Warrenton.

In addition, there are special registration dates scheduled at the parks and rec office:

  • Thursday, July 21, until 7pm
  • Saturday, July 30, 9am-11:30am
  • Monday, Aug. 1, until 7pm

Youth interested in tackle football must register by Aug. 1. The fee is $15. Warren County will accept registration for ages 10-12 to compile a team to play in the Halifax-Northampton Youth Football League. This league requires a physical and the form can be obtained from the parks and recreation office at time of registration or by requesting it in advance to be emailed. Completed forms must be submitted no later than Aug. 1 to the parks and recreation office.

Register for cheerleading and flag football by Aug. 8. The fee for each of those sports is $10. Both groups are for young people ages 6-12.

Soccer is open to youth ages 5-18, and registration for Start Smart Soccer for children ages 3-5 will be Aug. 1-31.

For more information, visit the website or call the office at 252.257.2272.

Terry Garrison

Rep. Garrison Notes Funding For Local Projects In New State Budget

/by

The newly approved $27.9 billion budget that Gov. Roy Cooper signed into law this week includes funding for several local projects, according to a press statement from Rep. Terry Garrison, who represents District 32 that comprises Vance, Warren and Granville counties.

  • The City of Henderson will receive $5 million for water and wastewater infrastructure projects;
  • Vance County will receive $500,000 for local government projects;
  • Warren County will receive a $6 million grant from the Needs-Based Public School Capital Fund.

“I am glad to see this level of funding returning to the district,” Garrison said in the statement. “Water and sewer infrastructure is essential and this money will be well spent by Henderson. I am also excited that Warren County will receive a grant from the Department of Public Instruction to improve our public schools. Investments in education are one of the most important priorities I have.”

TownTalk: Place Names In Franklin And Warren Counties

/by

Did you ever wonder how some towns, communities or crossroads get their names? For the very curious, there’s always an online search to ferret out tidbits of useful information. Folks in this area, however, have Mark Pace and Bill Harris!

The two local history buffs talked Thursday about how some communities in Franklin and Warren counties came by their unique names like Pokomoke, Alert (say it AY-lert), Wise and Axtell.

Of course, many names are derived from prominent families in the area at the time, like Bunn, Wood and Youngsville.

But naming a town for a prominent athlete who lived near the turn of the 19th century?

The athlete, as it turns out, was a young stallion who shattered the record for 3-year-old trotters back in 1889. His name was Axtell, and there’s a little community in Warren County that bears his name. After he completed the 1-mile race in a blazing 2:12 time, Axtell was sold to a consortium for the “most outrageously expensive price for a horse” at the time – $105,000, Pace said.

There was a period when it was in vogue to give towns names that had a positive spin, and Axtell could have been an example. Wise, Pacific (now Youngsville) and Alert are other examples, he added.

Louisburg, the county seat of Franklin County, was named for the King of France, Louis XVI. If you remember your Revolutionary War history, France was an ally of the Colonies in its fight for independence from British rule.

Warren County is named for Joseph Warren, a physician and Patriot during the early days of the American Revolution. He was killed during the Battle of Bunker Hill. His brutal death at the hands of British soldiers “really fired up the Patriot cause,” Pace said, and, consequently, naming the county in North Carolina serves as a homage. No doubt, had Warren lived, he would have gone on to be one of the great Patriots, alongside the likes of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, Pace said.

It’s probably safe to say that there’s not another place on Earth called Norlina, Pace said. This town at the Vance/Warren border had been a water and coal stop for the Raleigh & Gaston railroad. Norlina was where that rail line came together with Seaboard and “a community quickly developed there,” Pace observed. In 1913, the town of Norlina was incorporated.

But what about the origin of Embro and Bambro?

As for Embro, Pace said he’d done some research on the subject. The Mitchell family, he said, came from Scotland  – Edinburgh, to be precise – and settled in the general area. If you put a Southern twist on the Scottish town, he said, you might just come up with Embro.

And Ridgeway? Pace said that was where the railroad track was laid for the Raleigh & Gaston line – “it was laid along the ridge way,” he said.

 

CLICK PLAY!

 

Warren County Extension To Offer Certification For Cattle Producers

/by

The Warren County Cooperative Extension is offering a Beef Quality Assurance training for cattle producers on Aug. 16, beginning at 9 a.m.

Registration is required. Interested individuals can contact Warren County ag agent Matthew Place at 252.257.3640 with questions. For members of the N.C. Cattlemen’s Association, the registration fee is $15; the cost for non-members is $40.

According to information at bqa.org,  the Beef Quality Assurance is a nationally coordinated, state implemented program that provides systematic information to U.S. beef producers and beef consumers that combines “common sense husbandry techniques with accepted scientific knowledge to raise cattle under optimum management and environmental conditions.”

BQA programs have evolved to include best practices around good record keeping and protecting herd health, which can result in more profits for producers.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bqa-certification-tickets-383613437117

 

Draft Warren County Comprehensive Development Plan Goes for Review

/by

— press release —

Warren County, NC is entering the final phase in its ten-month long comprehensive development planning process.

Warren County’s draft comprehensive development plan will be posted online at https://www.planwarrencountync.com for public review and comment. The Warren County Planning Board will review and provide recommendations for the draft plan on Tuesday, July 12th at 6PM located at the Warren County Armory, 501 US Hwy 158 Bus E, Warrenton. This meeting will be open to the public and residents are welcome to attend.

At their July 11th meeting, the Board of Commissioners will consider setting a public hearing for the Comprehensive Development Plan on at their regular meeting on August 1st at 6PM.

The comprehensive development plan will result in updates to the existing 2002 plan, which was meant to run through 2022.

A comprehensive development plan aims to address and guide growth and development for the county. Its focus is on the areas within the county’s jurisdiction and along the edges of town limits. Public participation will play a key role through the feedback, comments, and review of this draft. The comprehensive development plan will help to shape the vision and priorities for the future of Warren County.

The Warren County Comprehensive Development Plan will update the 2002 Land Development Plan and address new issues and priorities that have come forward in the years since then.

To follow along with the comprehensive plan process, visit planwarrencountync.com. For more information and to send any feedback, contact the Warren County comp plan team at compplan@warrencountync.gov.

Corn, Soybean Field Day Set For Aug. 9 At Oxford Tobacco Research Station

/by

A corn and soybean field day will be held next month at the Oxford Tobacco Research Station.

The daylong workshop is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 9 and will feature Ryan Heiniger and Drs. Ron Heiniger and Rachel Vann, according to information from the Warren County Cooperative Extension office.

A breakfast and trade show are just part of the day’s program, sponsored by partners including AgVenture, Granville Farm Bureau, Southern States, the Corn Growers Association of NC, NC Soybean Producers Association and FarmPLUS insurance services.

At least one hour N, O, D and X pesticide recertification credit is available for producers that need it.

Register at  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/corn-and-soybean-field-day-tickets-377404516067 or call 336.599.1195.

 

Find A Blood Drive And Donate In July To Help Avoid Summer Shortage

/by

There are several blood drives scheduled for the area, and the American Red Cross could use your help. June’s donations were down by 12 percent, and donations are desperately needed to prevent a blood shortage this summer, according to information from Cally Edwards, regional communications director for the American Red Cross Eastern North Carolina.

Following is a list of upcoming blood drives in the four-county area:

Vance

Thursday, July 21

  • 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.,Raleigh Road Baptist Church, 3892 Raleigh Rd., Henderson
  • 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., Kerr Lake Country Club, 600 Hedrick Rd., Henderson

Granville

Friday, July 22

  • 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Creedmoor United Methodist Church, 214 Park Ave., Creedmoor

Warren

Friday, July 22

  • 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Norlina Fire Department, 102 Center St., Norlina

Franklin

Saturday, July 23

  • 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Maple Springs Baptist Church, 1938 NC Hwy 56 E, Louisburg

 

There are several ways to register to give blood, Edwards said in a press release. Donors can download the American Red Cross Blood Donor app, visit http://RedCrossBlood.org  or call 1.800.REDCROSS (800.733.2767).

Save time at the appointment by completing the pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online. Before you arrive. Visit

https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/manage-my-donations/rapidpass.html

or use the blood donor app to complete the pre-donation checklist.

Individuals who donate blood during the month of July are entered into a chance to win a Shark Week merchandise package, thanks to a partnership with Discovery. The package includes a beach bike, smokeless portable fire pit, paddle board, kayak and a $500 gift card to put toward additional accessories.

All donors who come in between July 21-24 get a Shark Week t-shirt while supplies last, she said.

TownTalk: Sandy Smith Speaks At Local GOP Rally

/by

Sandy Smith is running for U.S. Congress in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Vance and Warren counties. Smith, a Republican, joined other GOP candidates in Henderson last week for a Vance County GOP fundraiser.

Smith spoke to the crowd of about 300 for just more than five minutes in the afternoon heat at the former Charles Boyd Chevrolet location on US Hwy 158.

It was a fitting spot for her to bring up increased gas prices and what she called “out of control inflation.”

Smith said she travels in a 40-foot bus on the campaign trail, and said she dared not tell how much it costs to fill that tank. It runs on diesel fuel.

“We need to open the pipelines and be energy independent,” she proclaimed, which drew cheers from the audience. “And after we are energy independent again, we are going to focus on being energy dominant through the world,” she continued.

She vowed to protect the Second Amendment right to bear arms. “As your representative, I’m going to fight to protect your Second Amendment with every fiber of my being. We are not going to pass any red flag bills…we are not going to take away your Second Amendment right. Our gun rights are absolute rights.”

The fundraiser was held on June 24, the same day that the Supreme Court reversed the Roe v. Wade abortion rights law. Smith used that news to illustrate the importance of Republican lawmakers and their role in government.

“Our work is just beginning,” Smith said. “We need true, Constitutional conservatives” in office.

“We also need to protect our children who are being targeted in schools and indoctrinated,” Smith said. The self-professed pro-life candidate said she believes life begins at conception, and that there are two genders “decided at conception by our Creator.” She said schools need to get back to the basics and that children need to learn how to read, write and do basic math. “They don’t need to be discussing their sexuality.”

CLICK PLAY!

Master Gardener Class Forming for Vance, Warren Counties

/by

N.C. Cooperative Extension is looking for a few good volunteers to join the Vance/Warren Master Gardenersm program. Applications are now being accepted for the 16-week training program, which will begin on Thursday, Aug.11, 2022 and will continue to meet on Thursday mornings.

During the course of the class, participants will learn about all aspects of gardening including fruits, vegetables, weeds, insects, diseases, trees, shrubs, turf and more. The class location will alternate between Henderson and Warrenton.

After training, each volunteer intern is required to provide 40 hours of service in various community outreach projects. No green thumb required, and many other skills are needed including public speaking, writing, photography, social media, event planning, graphic design, and much more. Recent volunteer projects have included demonstration gardens in both counties, newsletters, gardening workshops and seminars, youth education and more. The training fee is $125.

For more information, please visit http://go.ncsu.edu/mgvw or call 252.438.8188 (Vance County) or 252.257.3640 (Warren County).