TownTalk: Around Old Granville – The History of Alcohol
Bill Harris and Mark Pace take a look, but not a sip, of the history of alcohol within the Old Granville County Area.
(Our WIZS written coverage will appear here soon.)
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Grants Up To $25K Available To Help Eligible Large-Animal Vets
— From the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Large animal veterinarians in North Carolina are eligible to apply for up to $25,000 in funding to help support their large animal practices.
The Large Animal Healthcare Enhancement funding opportunity is available to veterinarians who practice in one of the 70 North Carolina counties with a population of 100,000 or fewer and who spend at least 30 percent of their patient care providing large animal veterinary services.
“Large animal veterinarians are essential to North Carolina agriculture, but too many rural communities continue to face shortages of these critical professionals,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “This program helps veterinarians invest in their practices, reduce educational debt and continue serving the livestock producers who depend on them.”
Grant funds may be used for repayment of educational loans related to the recipient’s veterinary degree, the purchase of equipment or technology for use in the recipient’s large animal veterinary practice or other uses approved by the advisory committee to promote and develop large animal veterinary practice in eligible counties.
The application period opens Aug. 14 and closes Oct. 14. Applicants who received funding during both of the two most recent funding rounds are not eligible to apply this year but may reapply in a future funding cycle. Other previous recipients remain eligible to apply.
Applications are available online at ncagr.gov/grants by clicking on the Large Animal Healthcare Enhancement Fund link. More information about the grant program is available on the program’s frequently asked questions page at ncagr.gov/large-animal-health-enhancement-fund-faq/download?attachment or by emailing LargeAnimalVetGrants@ncagr.gov.
The Large Animal Health Enhancement Advisory Committee will determine grant awards based on eligible applications. The committee includes the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, the State Veterinarian of North Carolina, the chief executive officer of the N.C. Agricultural Finance Authority, one designee from the Food Animal Scholars Program at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, two practicing large animal veterinarians, two representatives of the livestock industry, one designee appointed by Troxler and one designee appointed by the state veterinarian Dr. Mike Martin.
VGCC Foundation Craft Fair Vendor Deadline Sept. 25 For Oct. 9 Event
— Information courtesy of VGCC Public Information Officer Courtney Cissel
The Vance-Granville Community College Foundation will host the 4th annual “Fill the Pantry” Craft Show on Friday, Oct. 9, from 2–7 p.m. inside the VGCC Civic Center in Henderson.
This popular community event brings together local artisans, crafters, and vendors for an afternoon of shopping, creativity, and giving back. Proceeds from the event will directly support the VGCC Food Pantry, which provides essential resources to students facing food insecurity across Vance, Granville, Franklin and Warren counties.
The Foundation is currently seeking vendors to participate in this year’s event. Booth spaces are available for $25 for each 10′ x 10′ space ($50 for a 10′ x 20′ space), plus a donated item to be used for raffles. This event offers an affordable opportunity for local businesses and creators to showcase and sell their products while supporting a meaningful cause.
“The ‘Fill the Pantry’ Craft Show continues to grow each year, thanks to the incredible support of our community,” said Angela Douglas, Food Pantry assistant. “This event not only highlights local talent but also helps ensure our students have access to basic needs so they can focus on their education and future success.”
Community members are encouraged to attend, shop, and support the cause. A wide variety of handmade goods, crafts and unique items will be available. The entry fee for shoppers is three canned goods or non-perishable items.
To register as a vendor, complete the online interest form at https://bit.ly/4vQVsyR. Please note vendors will not be considered registered unless they have paid before the deadline of Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. Vendors must offer items for sale.
For additional information or questions, please contact Angie Douglas douglasa@vgcc.edu or 252.738.3323.
(This news text above was originally published July 17, 2026.)
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NCDOT Launches ‘Projects Near Me’ To Find Road Projects Across State
— Information courtesy of N.C. Dept. of Transportation
The N.C. Department of Transportation recently launched an interactive online tool called Projects Near Me where people can explore a map featuring a wide range of state transportation project data.
The map is searchable by address, making it easy to find projects near any location, and by project identification number in the State Transportation Improvement Program. It can also display projects by county or NCDOT Highway Division.
Additional filters allow users to search the map by project type — aviation, bicycle and pedestrian, bridge and structure, ferry, highway, public transportation, rail, and other miscellaneous projects. The map can also display indicators for projects that are of high public interest, have public engagement, or are future projects.
Users can click on any map pin to display more project information, including a local map and description of the work, milestones for those that are committed for funding in the current STIP, and contact information.
The data behind the Projects Near Me map is subject to change as projects evolve. The map does not feature data on travel impacts associated with current transportation projects. Visit https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/ProjectsNearMe/default.aspx to search county-by-county projects.
People should continue to use https://www.drivenc.gov/ for real-time traffic information across North Carolina.
Nominations For State Fair 2026 ‘Farm Family Of The Day’ Program Open Through Aug. 21
— Information courtesy of the N.C. State Fair office
The N.C. State Fair will recognize 11 farm families during the fair this year through the Farm Family of the Day program, sponsored by Tractor Supply Company. Nominations and applications are being accepted now through Aug. 21. If you are a proud N.C. farmer who works hard to contribute to our state’s No. 1 industry, and loves both farming and the N.C. State Fair, your family could be one of the lucky ones selected to represent the industry at the fair.
“This is the sixth year we have honored farm families with the Farm Family of the Day program at the N.C. State Fair,” said N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Helping people make the connection between farming and the food that they enjoy is one of our top missions at the N.C. State Fair each year. Thanks to Tractor Supply Company, we can help tell the story of our farmers because they are the individuals out there every day working to grow the food, fiber and fuel that we need to survive.”
Families recognized as Farm Family of the Day will be honored across the grounds on their assigned day, as well as awarded an N.C. State Fair gift basket, including fair tickets to use on any day of their choice during the 2026 N.C. State Fair, ride passes and additional swag from both Tractor Supply Company and the N.C. State Fair.
Families will be chosen by both nomination and application forms. Applications can be found online at https://www.ncagr.gov/2026-farm-family-day-application-form/open or nomination forms can be found online at https://www.ncagr.gov/2026-farm-family-day-nomination-form/open.
The 2026 N.C. State Fair will run Oct. 15-25 at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. The fair offers an experience unique to North Carolina for all who attend, and is an unparalleled value with free entertainment, thrilling rides and games, thousands of animals, endless family activities, competitions, vendors and creative deep-fried delights.
To learn more, visit www.ncstatefair.org.
TownTalk: Around Old Granville – Nathaniel Macon
Some may say that the area known as Old Granville County can lay claim to having the original “Senator ‘No’” among its residents, more than a century before the longtime TV editorialist-turned politician Jesse Helms was known by the dubious nickname.
That man – Nathaniel Macon – was perhaps the foremost public figure from North Carolina in the early 19th century said WIZS’s Bill Harris. Bill and local historian Mark Pace recounted stories about Macon and his rise to prominence in the political arena in the 1800’s on Thursday’s Around Old Granville segment of TownTalk.
“He might have been the most important and significant North Carolinian in his time and his day,” Pace said. “He personified North Carolina.” The North Carolina of that time, anyway. Which meant that he was a staunch conservative who didn’t believe the government had any business doing much of anything that interfered with individual rights and private industry.
His ideas aligned more with those of Thomas Jefferson, who was a champion of individual liberty and states’ rights and talked up the virtues and the lifestyles of landowners.
Macon was a 24-year-old serving in the New Jersey militia during the American Revolution when he got word that he’d been elected to the State Senate. That set him on a career path that spanned close to four decades and sent him to Washington, D.C.
He was in the State Senate from 1781 to 1785, and then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1791. He served there until 1815 and was elected Speaker of the House and served for six years – from 1801 to 1807.
He was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from 1815 to 1828, including seven years President pro tem from 1825 to 1827.
Over the years, he said ‘no’ to cabinet posts, appointments and even re-entered military service in 1780 as a private instead of accepting a higher rank that could have been his for the taking.
He didn’t like making government appropriations and didn’t think government had any business in private industry.
Despite his penchant for saying ‘no,’ however, Pace said Macon’s oratory skills and ability to compromise served Macon the politician well.
“You always knew where you stood with him,” Pace said. “He was a personable guy. It was hard not to like him.”
Macon retired to his home in present-day Warren County – Buck Spring – in 1828, following his storied career in the House and the Senate.
But the home was nothing fancy, no columns across the front or sprawling staircases inside.
No, in keeping with his humble, no-frills ideas, Macon instead lived in what amounted to a one-room house that contained few possessions other than books.
Although the original Buck Spring home was partially burned about 40 years ago, Pace said some parts were salvageable and the reconstructed home currently is part of a park in the Littleton area.
The project received some federal funds to complete, an appropriation Macon himself most likely would have frowned upon.
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Time’s Ticking To Submit Application For Duke Energy’s ‘Powering Local Economies’ Grant
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
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
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
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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