Tag Archive for: #franklincountynews

Duke Energy

Time’s Ticking To Submit Application For Duke Energy’s ‘Powering Local Economies’ Grant

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Duke Energy’s “Powering Local Economies” grant window is open now to support local businesses.

But the deadline is fast approaching – applications must be submitted by June 30, according to information from Beth Townsend, Duke Energy East Region’s director for Government and Community Relations.

The grant is for up to $25,000 and is for entities that have a 501(c)(3) status.

Find details about the application process for this competitive grant at Powering Local Economies Grants – Duke Energy Foundation.The link provides information about eligibility criteria and ideas for how the funding could benefit your community.

To learn more, contact Anneliese Sessoms at Anneliese.Sessoms@duke-energy.com.

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Townsville

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It’s a short drive today on Highway 39 to get from Williamsboro to Townsville – about seven miles separate the two Vance County communities. But back in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, it most likely took a lot longer to get between the two areas to conduct business or to go to church.

Ironically, it was wars and the railroad that heavily influenced both towns – for good and for ill. Today, both are little more than busy crossroads.

In the early 1900’s, Townsville boasted a bank, a hotel, a funeral home, a box factory, a drug store and a post office. Local historian Mark Pace said back then, Townsville was the second largest community in Vance County.

“It had a bright future,” Pace said Thursday on TownTalk’s Around Old Granville segment. He and WIZS’s Bill Harris talked about the heyday of the township and how it came to be.

It was originally called Lyneville, for the Lyne family that came from Caroline County in Virginia in the late 1700’s.

John Penn – yes, THAT John Penn – had married Henry Lyne’s daughter, Susannah, and she wanted to move to North Carolina to be closer to her family. And that’s how John Penn came to live in the area and be one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence, Pace explained.

Fast forward to 1855 or so, and a man named Edmund Townes living in the area donated the land for the railroad right-of-way. And so the name was changed to Townesville in his honor.

(Who knows why the “e” was dropped from the town’s name.) The railroad came through in the general area between where the post office and the historic Holy Trinity Episcopal Church now stand.

Townsville was the halfway point along the railway between Clarksville and Manson, Pace said.

“That’s why they put the box factory there, that’s why they put the bank there,” Pace said – because of the railroad.

In the mid 1800’s, the railroad played a significant role for folks who lived nearby. At that time, most farmers were producing tobacco, and the railroad “brought access to the rest of the world” for tobacco farmers. They could get their crop to markets in Richmond and Petersburg. It was a game-changer.

But the rails were taken up during the Civil War, the metal used for the Confederacy’s war effort in shipbuilding.

The Marrow brothers led the effort to bring the railroad back to Townsville. In the early 1900’s, the town passed a bond referendum. “The citizens of Townsville ponied up $75,000,” Pace said, which meant that the railroad was owned by the citizens.

At that point, the railroad only went to Manson, via Drewry and across Nutbush Creek. And because there was only one track and no place to turn around, the train had to back up to make its return trip from Townsville to Manson.

In 1918, a forest fire got very close to the 90-foot wooden bridge that took the train over Nutbush Creek, Pace said.

Everybody thought the bridge was ok, and the storage, passenger and coal cars were pushed safely across. But when it was the heavy locomotive’s turn – remember, it was going backwards – the bridge collapse under the weight. The engineer and brakeman died in the accident as the locomotive plunged deep into the muddy creek bed.

“The train engine was never brought up or salvaged,” Pace said. And now it’s just part of the underwater landscape of Kerr Lake that was built in the early 1950’s.

The town bought a new engine but it was so hard to maintain it was replaced with a sturdy, locally built Corbitt truck that was fitted with wheels to move along the tracks. It closed for good when the Depression hit in the 1930’s.

Pace attributes metal drives held during World War II for the lack of metal remains today along the railway path.

But unused rails and rail spikes aren’t the only thing that Townsville contributed to the war effort. A couple of hopeful gold prospectors, Joseph and Richard Hamme, discovered tungsten in 1942 just a little ways outside Townsville.

“Within six weeks, they were producing tungsten for the U.S. Army,” Pace said. Tungsten is the hardest naturally occurring metal known and has the highest melting point. The army put a tungsten coating on artillery shells so they could better penetrate brick and other metals.

Townsville has a number of historic churches in its vicinity, including Tabernacle Methodist Church. Most likely, Bishop Francis Asbury was one of the circuit riders that visited this American outpost after it was established.

Nutbush Presbyterian Church, established in 1757, is likely the oldest Presbyterian Church in the Old Granville area. The first building was built in the mid 1700’s; a 1941 wooden addition burned and was rebuilt.

These churches still stand, as well as homes including Machpelah and the David King Glover house, which Pace said may well be the oldest home in Vance County.

Its “brick knobbing” construction – placing pieces of brick as insulation between exterior and interior walls was used in the 1750’s and 60’s.

 

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TownTalk: Around Old Granville – The Ingleside Community

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Most anyone traveling the stretch of N.C. 39 between Henderson and Louisburg probably passes through the unincorporated community of Ingleside with little fanfare, but this general area holds on to some interesting history since it was first established in the decades before the Civil War.

Leave it to local history sleuths Bill Harris and Mark Pace to come up with some tidbits worthy of mention about this northern Franklin County crossroads in the most recent segment of Around Old Granville.

Ingleside was originally known as Macon, Pace said. There was a post office there from 1830-1834, but perhaps to avoid confusion with the other Macon post office in what is now Warren County, the name was changed to Ingleside and remained open until August 1907.

That may have been the reason to change the name, but why was the name Ingleside chosen? Well, there was a home with that name in the vicinity at the time owned by the Littlejohn family from Granville County. It was located about a half mile from the present-day intersection of N.C. 39 and U.S. 401.

It had a similar fate of many other homes of that period – it burned in the 1920’s.

Another home called Monreath is located near Ingleside. This home was built in the late 1770’s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

There’s also Locust Grove, Harris said, which is a great example of Georgian-style architecture that dates possibly from the 1760’s. Although there’s some speculation that the home has been moved from its original location, not everyone’s on board with that theory. Some point to the discovery of Roman numerals notched on the home’s structural beams as evidence that the house had been disassembled – the numerals would have indicated how the house would be put back together.

“That’s a big house to move, back in the day – and a long ways,” Pace said. Regardless, the home certainly has been around since at least 1790 and was originally owned by Thomas Bell.

“It’s an absolutely gorgeous, gorgeous house,” Harris said.

The property eventually was sold to John Haywood, who served as the state’s treasurer from 1787 until he died in 1827. It was sold to Peter Foster of Gloucester County, VA., one of Harris’s ancestors.

Locust Grove provided room and board to some students of nearby Mt. Welcome Academy in the early 1800’s. According to an 1828 ad, students could stay for $36 a session.

A grandson of Peter Foster was Fenton Garland Foster, an inventor who is credited with a typesetting machine that basically is the forerunner of the typewriter.

Foster had a falling-out with his grandmother, and she kicked him out of the house for not paying rent. He moved to Connecticut and got in on the ground floor with a newish company called Sperry Rand and ended up losing the rights to all his patents.

There are a few more homes in the general area with names that end in Grove – there’s Maple Grove, Elm Grove and Oak Grove, the name of the home where Harris lives.

Oak Grove was built by a son of Peter Foster, Dr. Peter Stapleton Foster. The good doc, born in 1823, built the home in the 1850’s, Harris said. And the house has stayed in the family since its construction.

It is scheduled for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, fingers crossed, by next week, the proud owner stated.

Just down the road from Oak Grove is Traveler’s Rest, a tiny building that, as the name implied, offered respite from the road for stagecoach passengers.

“It’s one of the most iconic structures” in the area, Pace said.

Right near Ingleside is Rocky Ford, where a structure known simply as the “little stone house” or the “little rock house” stands.

They don’t know much about its history, but there are some theories floating around that it could have been a place where people would have taken refuge if they feared trouble from the Native Americans living close. Another theory has it being a mental institution.

It’s left experts and architectural survey professionals stumped, Pace said. “Nobody really knows what it was used for…it’s just an enigma.”

There’s a lot more to learn about Ingleside and the surrounding area – listen back to the complete conversation on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.

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SportsTalk: Louisburg College Softball Recaps World Series Run

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Brice Garand, Head Coach of the Louisburg College Softball Program, joins SportsTalk to speak about the Hurricanes run in the NJCAA DII Softball World Series.

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VGCC Foundation’s $5M ‘Building Futures Campaign’ Well On Its Way To Goal

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The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation’s $5 million fundraising campaign is well on its way, with more than $1 million raised since the campaign kicked off in March.

Building Futures: Empowering Students, Strengthening Communities is a 10-month campaign to raise money to address a funding deficit and ensure the successful completion of two transformational workforce training facilities, namely the Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Technology (CAMAT) and the Transportation Training & Technology Center (TTTC).

The $1,051,000 in philanthropic support demonstrates strong early momentum, donor confidence, and measurable community impact, according to school officials.

Building Futures represents a high-impact workforce development initiative, advancing economic mobility and career pathways for students across Vance, Granville, Franklin, and Warren counties.

While state funding and grants have supported both facilities, increased construction costs have created a funding shortfall. The Building Futures fundraising plan seeks to raise $5 million in transformational philanthropic investment to ensure both facilities open fully equipped with modern technology and industry-grade training equipment.

This investment directly supports student success, workforce readiness, and long-term regional economic growth, while strengthening the talent pipeline for high-demand industries.

The Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Applied Technology will serve as a state-of-the-art training center designed to prepare students for high-demand, high-wage careers in welding, mechatronics, electrical systems, and HVAC.

This facility will expand access to quality jobs, industry-recognized credentials, and upward economic mobility, while supporting employers seeking a highly skilled workforce.

The Transportation Training & Technology Center will expand and modernize instruction in CDL-A and B, heavy equipment operations, and diesel and heavy equipment mechanics.

This facility addresses critical workforce shortages while providing hands-on, career-connected learning opportunities that lead directly to employment and family-sustaining wages.

Together, these two facilities represent a transformative investment in community impact, workforce innovation, and economic development. By aligning education with industry demand, VGCC is advancing scalable workforce solutions, employer partnerships, and student-centered outcomes that strengthen communities and regional competitiveness.

The Building Futures initiative reflects a commitment to evidence-based impact, measurable outcomes, and expanding opportunity at scale—key priorities for national philanthropic leaders investing in systemic change.

Individuals, families, corporations, and philanthropic organizations are invited to participate in the Building Futures initiative through a variety of major gift and naming opportunities. Donors may choose to name classrooms, labs, and more.

For more information about supporting workforce training, transformational giving opportunities, philanthropic partnerships, or community impact investments, please contact the VGCC Foundation at foundation@vgcc.edu or 252.738.3264 or visit www.vgcc.edu/building-futures.

Franklin County Hosts 5-County Beef Tour On June 12

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Franklin County is hosting the 2026 5-County BEEF Tour on Tuesday, June 16. Participants will carpool to three innovative beef cattle farms, both large and small, that are participating in the Southeastern US Regenerative Agriculture Project, according to information from Matthew Place of the Franklin County Center of N.C. Cooperative Extension.

There will be lots of networking, but also use of new technology for the cattle producer, demonstrations (grazing forages, rainfall simulator), and expert insights designed to help your farm thrive.

Participants will hear about the latest in agricultural tech and management strategies, including:

  • Nutritional Efficiency: Learn how to maximize your herd’s performance while managing costs. Grazing efficiency using the “grazing forage stick”, one free per family.
  • Forage & Drones: See how drone technology is changing the game for pasture management, heat checks, etc. See a live demonstration using the forage rainfall simulator.
  • Virtual Fencing: Explore the future of grazing without the wire.
  • Trade Show during lunch: new Hay Equipment, Seed companies, “No Fence” company, Farm Conservation and more.
  • Lunch speaker: Regenerative Agriculture and Programs Available.

Registration is required and the $30 fee includes lunch. The deadline to register is Friday, June 12.
Register at go.ncsu.edu/2026-5-county-beef-tour

For more information, contact Franklin County Center, 919.496.3344, Agricultural Extension Agent Martha Mobley or the Sampson County Center, 910.592.7161, Agricultural Extension Agent Paul Gonzalez.

The link to the tour brochure is Brochure & Tour Map.

 

 

 

SportsTalk: William Hardin Tapped As New Louisburg College Head Baseball Coach

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With about 10 days in his new role as Louisburg College’s head baseball coach, William Hardin has hit the ground running, with recruitment in full swing, meeting current players and getting ready for the upcoming season.

But like they say, it’s not work if you love what you do.

“I do care deeply about Louisburg baseball and Louisburg College,” Hardin said on Thursday’s SportsTalk segment with WIZS’s Scout Hughes and George Hoyle.

And now, he’s coaching at the very school that gave him so much as a young junior college athlete who headed off to Elon College (before it became a university) and then settled into a coaching and teaching career at the high school and college levels.

His coach at Louisburg was the venerable Russ Frazier, and Hardin said he’s had many conversations with his former coach since he took the job.

When Coach calls, Hardin says he drops whatever he’s doing.

“It’s like two people taking who have best friends forever,” Hardin said. “All the advice he gives me, I take it.”

Another role model who helped shape Hardin as a coach is longtime AD at Greensboro’s Page High School – and fellow Elon ballplayer Rusty Lee.

Hardin said he learned the value of being proactive from Lee, so when someone calls him to share the name of a possible recruit, Hardin calls. Right then.

“My job is to get on the phone right then and there, not wait a week,” he said.

He’s hitting the recruiting pretty hard now, and he said he has until mid-August to “say yes to as many quality players as we possibly can.”

He said he’s ready to build on the success that previous head coach Blake Herring had with the Hurricanes, and elevate the program a little bit in the process and return to national relevance.

One way to do that is through hard work. Another way is by showing players you’re passionate about your school, your program and your players.

“I do have a lot of passion,” Hardin said. Recruits have remarked about seeing and feeling that passion, which tells Hardin he’s doing the right thing and doing it the right way.

“The day I met the players, I had probably five or six alumni with me who showed up,” Hardin said, which created a “buzz” among current players and in the Louisburg fanbase and alums.

There are some good players coming back for the upcoming season, and Hardin said right now, he’s looking for arms.

“The more arms we get, the more chance that we can win those weekend series,” he explained. He said he’s going to look at those weekend series as if they’re the conference tournament. “We want to win that two out of three, we want to sweep,” so the team can develop that mindset of playing baseball hard for a short period of time.

A pitcher’s speed is great, but Hardin said there’s a place in the lineup for pitchers who can provide long relief, short relief  – players he can put on the mound for specific tasks.

“We’re looking for arms that come in and get people out,” he explained. “It’s about hitting your spots and mixing your pitches…throwing off the timing and the balance of the hitter – that’s what it’s all about.”

He’s doing all the things a college head coach needs to do, at a dizzying pace – networking, recruiting, learning, planning and strategizing.

“That’s something I’ve been eager to do all my life, is to be a college coach,” Hardin said. “But there’s only one place I really wanted to be and that’s Louisburg College and that is the truth.”

To be able to coach at the school that gave him his start that included playing college baseball and a career as a coach is not something Hardin takes for granted.

“It changed my entire life, being able to go to school there,” he said.“Everything I have is attributed to Louisburg College.”

He said he’s livin’ the dream right now – a great family, a job he loves at a school that he loves.

 

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High School Baseball Playoffs

NCHSAA

4A – State Championship Series – Best of 3

Game 1

  • Bunn 3 Burns 2

Game 2

  • Bunn 7 Burns 5

Congratulations to the Bunn Wildcats on winning the 4A Baseball State Championship!

TownTalk: Franklin County Sends Letter To KLRWS For Terms To Be Met

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In a letter to the owners of the Kerr Lake Regional Water System dated May 21, Franklin County Manager Ryan Preble posed a couple of possible solutions to his county’s need for more water.

The six-page letter recounted efforts undertaken by Franklin County over the past almost 20 years to find a way to bring more water to an area experiencing explosive growth, seemingly with no end in sight.

Preble sent the letter to City Manager Paylor Spruill, Warren County Manager Crystal Smith and Oxford City Manager Brent Taylor – Henderson is a 60 percent owner of the KLRWS and Warren County and the City of Oxford each have a 20 percent share in ownership.

In March, Franklin County asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its own allocation of water from Kerr Lake – 16.7 million gallons a day. That request will be considered but no answer is expected for more than a year.

The regional water system is undergoing an expansion that will increase capacity to 20 million gallons per day, but Preble’s letter states that it would be too costly and impractical for Franklin County to pay as a customer.

In his conclusion, Preble offers the three water system owners “options” and gives the three entities 30 days to accept the terms.

Here’s an excerpt from the letter:

“Franklin has been in discussions within the region about short-term and long-term water supply for at least 19 years (since 2007). Henderson supplies Franklin with an additional 450,000 GPD but that is all Henderson is willing to do given the size of its water distribution infrastructure. Franklin respects that. Short-term, Franklin cannot pay $35 million for 2.5 MGD when there are other potential sellers at a lower cost. Franklin is open to regional discussions, but KLRWS must either agree to sell at an agreed-upon fair market value of a 51% stake in KLRWS or sell a lower percentage interest but give Franklin the right to expand at its cost to develop additional capacity that belongs to Franklin (the Basic Terms). If either of these options are amenable, we would like to discuss terms to move this forward. Any business formation issues (create an authority or a joint venture) are irrelevant unless Franklin is going to solve its supply challenge with a regional solution.

Please indicate your willingness to accept the Basic Terms within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter, by June 21, 2026. If you would like to setup (sic) a meeting after accepting the Basic Terms, please let me know.”

Find the full text of the letter here https://www.franklincountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2089/Letter-from-County-Manager-Ryan-Preble-on-Regional-Water-Discussions—May-21-2026-PDF

 

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The Local Skinny! Maria Parham Franklin Hosting ‘Stomp the Stigma’ 5K May 30

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Lace up your running – or walking – shoes for the second “Stomp the Stigma” 5k on Saturday, May 30 in Louisburg to support mental health awareness and care for mental health treatment.

Not feelin’ it for the 5k?

There’s a Family Fun Run and a Kids Dash, too, thanks to event organizers from the Maria Parham Franklin campus, where the focus is on mental health and behavioral health.

Emilee Johnson, vice president of operations at Maria Parham, said this year’s event is shaping up to be another success.

May is National Mental Health Awareness month, a time when mental health professionals emphasize the normalization of seeking help when it’s needed.

Last year’s inaugural event raised about $5,000, Johnson said. “This year we want to do a lot more,” she said on Thursday’s The Local Skinny! This year’s recipient again is First in Families of North Carolina, a local nonprofit that supports people receiving mental health care.

They’ve been able to touch many lives through last year’s donation, Johnson said and they’re very excited and very supportive of this year’s fundraiser.

The stigma that needs stomping is the stigma around mental health and people’s reluctance to talk about it, learn about it and seek treatment for it.

Morgan Barnes, MPH’s manager of Human Resources, said “I feel that mental health is not a ‘someone else’ issue.” It affects us all, she said, from family and friends to co-workers. Whether identified as stress, anxiety, burnout or something else, there are resources available to support and promote positive mental health.

Making treatment more of the norm goes a long way to stomp the stigma, Johnson said. “We’re really excited to do something that benefits the community.”

Mark Speed returns this year, bringing his DJ skills to the day’s activities. Speed is a big proponent of the hospital, Johnson said. “He brought a lot of fun and energy last year to the crowd” she added. Having 150 participants join in the fun last year was a good start. “If we could double that, that would be amazing,” Johnson said. The event provides a fun activity for the community to participate in and also helps support a great cause, she added. “It’s a win all around.”

Everyone who registers at least two weeks before the event will get a t-shirt and swag bag. Register at https://runsignup.com/. There’s also a place on the event’s link to sign up as a volunteer. Register at least two weeks before the event to get a volunteer t-shirt.

The race route takes participants from the hospital, through the town’s historic district around Louisburg College and the downtown area and then back to the hospital, located at 100 Hospital Dr. off Hwy 39.

It’s designed for fun, but for those with a competitive edge, awards will be given to the top three male finishers and top three female finishers. The first 150 to cross the finish line will get race medals.

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(This content was originally published on May 7, 2026.)

TownTalk: Around Old Granville – 250th Anniversary of the USA in Old Granville County Part 2

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With the nation’s approaching 250th birthday as a backdrop, WIZS’s Bill Harris and local historian Mark Pace continue their conversation about people, places and events from right here in the four-county area, “Old Granville County.”

Franklin County’s Regiment of Militia was officially formed in January 1779, in the middle of the Revolutionary War. This group of men, along with the Granville County militia, fought the British troops in battles across the Carolinas in the early 1780’s, including the Siege of Charleston, Camden and Charlotte before giving the Brits a fit at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Gen. Charles Cornwallis led his troops to major victories, but they met their match at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

Local historian Mark Pace said the British technically won the battle, but suffered such heavy casualties at the hands of the Patriots – led by Gen. Nathaniel Greene – that it was a hollow victory.

Just a year earlier, Cornwallis had spent 16 days in Charlotte trying to suppress the Patriots in that area, Pace said. Most likely members of the local militia were there as well and contributed to Cornwallis’s description of the then-small town as a “hornet’s nest.”

(A couple of hundred years later, the NBA team that called Charlotte home took note of the description and now the Charlotte Hornets play in an arena called The Hive.)

The Granville County militia performed well at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Pace said on Thursday’s Part 2 of Around Old Granville on TownTalk.

The Continental Line, akin to a national Army, of sorts, Pace explained, got much-needed assistance from states’ militias. North Carolina furnished about 4,000 or so men to the militia, each county calling up recruits or volunteers to join the effort.

Why did the states feel the need to call up militias in the first place?

Well, it’s probably not the only reason, but back in the mid-1750’s, the Colonists were being required to pay all kinds of taxes to the British Crown. But they didn’t have anyone in England to speak on their behalf, which was how the phrase “no taxation without representation” came about.

Two big taxes “that irritated Americans to no end,” Pace said, were the Stamp Act and the Sugar Tax. The Stamp Act taxed printed materials, from wills and deeds to newspapers and playing cards. The Sugar Act is self-explanatory, but it became a thorn in the side of Americans because of what was the most popular drink at the time – rum, which is derived from molasses. And molasses is made from sugarcane juice.

The Granville militia, in the mid-1770’s was under the leadership of Micajah Bullock, who is buried near Bullock’s Church located along U.S. Hwy 15 South near Creedmoor and Col. John Taylor of the Williamsboro vicinity.  Another prominent Granville County resident was Thomas Person, who was a general in the militia. At the time, he was the wealthiest person in the county and he opened up his estate for training purposes during the Revolution.

Pace called Person “the heart and soul of the Revolution in this area.”

During previous “Around Old Granville” segments, Pace and Harris have talked about the significance of Williamsboro, once a prospering center of commerce that today is merely a crossroads that people pass through as they travel N.C. Hwy 39.

The community was named for John Williams, Pace said, whose name can be found among a list of Founding Fathers for this nation.

Williams, along with Robert Burton, John Penn and Benjamin Hawkins, all hailed from the Williamsboro area and were elected to the Continental Congress. Penn signed the Declaration of Independence, but Williams signed the Articles of Confederation. He also became speaker of the N.C. House, and was one of the first N.C. Supreme Court judges.

Sadly, Williams’s home, Montpelier, no longer stands. But it was a hub of activity back then, Pace said.

Montpelier was where N.C. Gov. Burke went when it became  clear he needed to evacuate Hillsborough (then the capital) in advance of Cornwallis’s arrival.

Montpelier is also where Leonard Henderson, for whom Henderson is named, is buried.

In fact, Williamsboro had been considered as the state’s capital, but leaders ultimately chose the more centrally located Raleigh.

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