snippets ~ chatham history BLOG

"Land Beneath the Waters" is a 35-minute documentary tracing the history of the New Hope River valley through the development of Jordan Lake and covers native population, early settlement, Revolutionary and Civil Wars, acquisition of properties and construction of the dam, and present-day recreational activities.

You'll note that the video is old-school. It was originally produced on video cassettes--if you remember those. But the information is still valid and covers an important part of Chatham's history.

You can view it here on our YouTube channel:

https://youtu.be/WYjaJl3_Ujw

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #NewHopeRiverValley #JordanLake

Did you know that Pittsboro's town well stood at the intersection of Hillsboro and Salisbury Streets? It was removed in 1921 and the street was graded at the same time. Main Street (Hillsboro) was still not paved at that time.

We don't have a photo of Pittsboro's well, but Annie Bynum's paintings of old Pittsboro show it.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #PittsboroNC #MainStreetPittsboro #oldwell #townwell #MainStreet

Siler City's Farmers' Alliance Store has a long and unique history. It was created in 1888 as a way to buy in bulk and provide lower costs to farmers, and, when it closed in 2018, it was the oldest business still in operation in Siler City. The Alliance published two books covering the history of the store--one for its 100th anniversary, and the other for its 115th. You can read them both on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/FarmersAllianceHistoryIntro.pdf

If you have memories or photos of the Alliance Store, please share them with us!

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #SilerCityNC #FarmersAlliance #FarmersAllianceStore

Kelly Gomez writes about the history of the Lawrence School in Corinth and the people who created and attended it in an article on our website. Family names in the article include Buchanan, Cross, Ellis, Harrington, Lawrence, Marks, Mims, Peele, Thomas, and Utley.

https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/The%20Lawrence%20School%20Corinth.pdf

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #CorinthNC #LawrenceSchool

There are lots of places shown on this 1911 Chatham County map that no longer exist--except, perhaps, in someone's memory. Please share what you know about any of these places. Are there crossroads or landmarks still present? What families were associated with these places?

Here's a list of the place names on the map:

Ascend, Bear Creek, Beaumont, Bellevoir, Bennett, Boggs, Bonlee, Bush Creek, Bryant, Carbonton, Coaldale, Corinth, Ditson, Ebenezer, Elm Grove, Elmville, Evans, Fall Creek, Farrington, Frosty, Goff, Goldston, Green, Grove, Gulf, Hackney, Harpers Crossroads, Haywood, Headwater, Iris, Jordan, Kimbolton, Lambsville, Leewood, Lindhurst, Lockville, Lutterloh, Merry Oaks, Millane, Millwood, Moncure, Mount Vernon Springs, Mudlick, Ore Hill, Palmers, Paschal, Patmos, Pedlars Hill, Peoples, Pittsboro, Riggsbee, Rives Chapel, Roscoe, Rosewood, Roundtop, Russell, Seaforth, Self, Siler City, Silk Hope, Simmon Grove, Stork, Success, Tillman, Truth, Tysor Mills, Upland, Waldo, Williams Mills.

The map shows railroads and waterways. The scale is too small to show roads.

You can view a larger image on our website: https://chathamhistory.org/1911-Chatham-Map

Saving local history is a two-way street. We at the Chatham County Historical Association can save and share what we know, but we must rely on everyone out there to share in this direction as well. Please help if you can!

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #map #ChathamNCplaces #communities #postoffice #1911map #1910s

When Lamont Norwood’s letter reached his mother in Chatham County in November of 1942, she was undoubtedly relieved to hear from him. She must have held her breath, though, after reading his first few sentences…

Dear Mother,

I sort of hesitate to tell about my recent experience, because it may start you to worrying about me, but on the other hand I have to make some explanation for the change of address, and if I made up some story you might see that it didn’t look like the truth and become really worried. I am at a hospital now….

In the following three and a half pages, Lamont details the harrowing account of the sinking of the ship he was aboard and three days at sea on a raft before being rescued. You can read the letter on our website, thanks to its donation to the Chatham County Historical Association collection by Richard Whitfield.

https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/LamontNorwoodWWIIDearMother.pdf

Lamont was raised in Chatham County in the Mt. Pleasant community. He graduated from Pittsboro High School and enlisted in the Navy prior to WWII. Her served as a pharmacist's mate during the war. He received an honorable discharge from the Navy and returned to Chatham to own and operate a dairy farm. A life-long resident of Chatham, Lamont was an avid Chatham County historian and story teller. He was an enthusiastic member of the Chatham County Historical Association and frequent volunteer in the Chatham Historical Museum.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #military #WWII #USNavy #DearMother #LamontNorwood 

Beulah Baptist Church South of Bennett, 1953.

Can anyone tell us more about this church? According to the church history page, it was founded in 1902--but there's not much more info there. Please email us at history@chathamhistory.org if you can share more!

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #BennettNC #BeulahBaptistChurch #1950s

This photos is from a cemetery near Pittsboro that was not recorded until 2020. The inscribed marker indicates that this was the family burial ground for the Peoples family--possibly dating back to the late 1700s when the family first arrived in Chatham County. Hugh Peoples settled in Chatham County on the west side of the Rocky River prior to 1780. He acquired large land holdings in Hickory Mountain Township. His home, Bellvue, overlooked the Rocky River about six miles from Pittsboro. Info from Chatham County, NC 1771-1971. The Hugh W. Peoples buried here would be the son of John Peoples and grandson of Hugh.

Photos of the site were taken by Francis DiNardo, who knew the cemetery location from a visit about twenty years ago. We are very pleased that he was able to locate the site and share the photos with us.

This site is on private property and access is restricted, but you can learn more about the Peoples cemetery, and see additional photos here: http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem261.htm

If you know of an old family cemetery that you are willing to photograph, we'll be grateful for your help. You'll be saving another little part of Chatham history!

Questions? Contact us at CemeterySurvey@chathamhistory.org

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #cemetery #PeoplesCemetery

Chatham County 9-11 Memorial

Located on the east side of 15-501 next to the Justice Center in Pittsboro.

Photo by Gary Simpson

#ChathamCountyNC #ChathamNCHistory #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #Sept11Memorial #FirstResponders

Did you know that Ore Hill in Chatham County was an important source of iron ore for munitions during the Revolutionary War?

A NC Highway Historical Marker on Old US 421 at Mt. Vernon Springs notes the site of the Wilcox iron works. Robert Hendricks and Chadburn Spivey provided  photos of the smelter. Randy Whitt, who visited the site in the 70s notes that there are still pick marks in the walls where candles were placed. Please respect that the site is on private property and not open for visitation.

Here's some history:

Only three locations in North Carolina with substantial iron ore were discovered by early European settlers. One of these was the Deep River deposits in Chatham County. However, it was almost two-hundred years after the initial discoveries that mining and refining began.

The British Parliament passed an act in 1750 that prohibited the manufacture in the colonies of any iron product except pig iron and bar iron (i.e. no iron forged into useful implements). This was part of the effort to maintain the colonies in North America as economic dependencies unable to compete with British home industries. But, as relations between the Crown and the American colonies deteriorated, the colonial legislature encouraged the development of a colonial iron industry and, in 1775, rented the furnaces and iron forges built by John Wilcox at Ore Hill near the Deep River iron ore deposits in Chatham County in order to supply iron cannons and cannonballs for the revolutionary forces. The lack of well-trained, experienced workers greatly hindered operations and the furnace proved expensive and ineffective. Congress surrendered its interest in the works to Wilcox in 1777. The structures were heavily damaged by a storm in 1780 and were abandoned.

Just prior to the Civil War, efforts were made to build up the iron industry in North Carolina. In 1861 the Sapona Iron Company built a furnace at Ore Hill (now known as Mount Vernon Springs) on the site of John Wilcox's eighteenth-century iron works. This furnace operated throughout the war.

North Carolina’s iron industry fared poorly in the face of northern competition following the end of the Civil War. Ore Hill is recognized as a Natural Heritage Natural Area by the NC Natural Heritage Program.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #OreHillNC #RevolutionaryWar #Wilcoxironworks #DeepRiver