snippets ~ chatham history BLOG

What can an old store ledger tell us about the history of Chatham County? Plenty, if we pay attention. Back in 1974, local historian Wade Hadley obtained a copy of a ledger covering part of 1851 and 1852 for the general store located at Saint Lawrence Post Office in Chatham. The day book is believed to have belonged to Henry C. Luther, who was postmaster at Saint Lawrence. The book is in the collection of the Southern Historical Collection at UNC-CH. The image of Hickory Mountain Township from the 1870 Ramsey map, shows the location.

Hadley wrote a sixteen-page paper that gives a glimpse into western Chatham in 1851-1852. Saint Lawrence was an important crossroads community before the Civil War --located approximately four miles east of what is now Siler City--between the old and present routes of highway 64. Earlier it was called McCarroll, for Dr. James McCarroll, who operated an ordinary (tavern/inn) there. McCarroll died in 1777 and was buried near his home. His widow, Elizabeth, later married Patrick St. Lawrence--for whom the area was likely renamed.

By 1851-52, settlers had been in the area for around ninety years and some farms were in the hands of second or third generation Chathamites. Hadley notes that the items they were buying at the general store "give an indication of how far they had advanced from the state of near self sufficiency characteristic of the earliest settlers in the backcountry of Chatham County."

Hadley's paper lists all of the items purchased at the store during the period covered by the ledger, along with the unit price, total amount sold, and number of sales. He notes that tallow candles were the main source of household illumination; firearms were muzzle loading; looms and spinning wheels were used in many homes. Calico, homespun, indigo, coffee, molasses, rice, sugar, and chewing tobacco were staples.

Fashions of the date "penetrated the backwoods of Chatham as evidenced by the purchase of a 'California hat' on April 10, 1851 for $2.50 by Mr. Samuel B. Perry." Artificial flowers, ribbons, lace, and neck ribbons were purchased. Luxuries such as broadcloth, silk bonnets, silk handkerchiefs, and French brandy were purchased by a few families. On rare occasions, fresh lemons and coconuts were available.

The list includes several items that we were unfamiliar with and had to look up: asafetida, coperas, saleratus. See the comments below for what we found.

The day book records the names of 159 customers. Hadley lists the thirty-five regular customers who made purchases on ten or more occasions during the period covered by the ledger. Surnames include Alston, Brooks, Caviness, Cotten, Crutchfield, Dorsett, Dowdy, Evans, Hackney, Hall, Headen, Hutton, Johnson, Kirkman, Lineberry, Marsh, Perry, Rogers, Self, Teague, Temples, and Webster.

Wade Hadley's paper is now available on the Chatham County Historical Association website: https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/GeneralStoreatSaintLawrencePostOffice.pdf

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #StLawrencePO #generalstore #ledger #WadeHadley #ChathamCountyHistoricalAssociation

From the early 1900s, Siler City was the place to be on July 4. According to newspaper clippings, thousands of people came to Siler City on the train for the celebration!

You can see more photos of Siler City 4th of July celebrations on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/July-4-Celebrations-Siler-City/

When did Siler City stop having a big bash? Share photos if you have them!

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #4thJuly #IndependenceDay #SilerCityNC #holiday

New cemetery volunteer and avid photographer Christopher Atack has recently documented the Jacob Hadley cemetery in Hadley Township. The remote site was visited back in 1989, at the very start of the Chatham County Historical Association's cemetery project, but was not photographed at that time, so Christopher's photos are the first we have to document the site. (The lack of digital photography made photographing most sites impractical in the early days of the project.)

There are four graves in the walled cemetery, which is approximately 27' square--Jacob Hadley, his wife Phebe, their son Thomas, and their grandson William Justice. Burial dates range from 1848 to 1875, and the markers are professionally carved--several by Fayetteville stonecutter George Lauder. Perhaps the most striking feature of the cemetery is the wall itself, which, at approximately 4' high is taller than most others in the county, and it is mortared, whereas most cemetery walls in our area are dry-stacked. The late Siler City surveyor Rufus Johnson surveyed the cemetery in the 1990s and commented that the wall was one of the finest he had encountered. Mr. Johnson had extensive familiarity with family cemeteries in Chatham, so his opinion of this one was duly noted. We're pleased that Christopher has now photographed it so that we can share it.

The documentation on the Hadley cemetery and the burials it holds has been added to our cemetery database on CemeteryCensus.com. You can see it at: https://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem031.htm

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #cemetery #Hadley #stonework

Pittsboro's Shady Rest Motel was built in 1955 and still stands on what was once known as Gallows Hill in Pittsboro.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #PittsboroNC #GallowsHill #shadyrestmotel #motels #1950s

In 2022, Kathy Thornton contacted us asking if there was some way she and family members might visit the John A. Mason House and Jesse Mason cemetery. She noted that some of her ancestors had been enslaved on that plantation. We were able to connect Kathy to the folks responsible for caring for the historic site, which is part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Jordan Lake Project, and she and her family visited in March. Kathy provided the photo shared here.

According to the Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, NC, the John A. Mason House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built about 1850 and is a "distinguished Greek Revival farm house." John Acree Mason obtained a 600-acre parcel "on the waters of New Hope and Morgan Creek" in 1835 from his parents, William Mason and Nancy Acree Mason. In the next two decades, John Mason expanded his holdings to 1,027 acres, built his house, and "became a member of the middle-echelon planter class." The most distinctive interior feature, according to the survey conducted in the 1980s is the stair with landing. The wave pattern along the staircase is shown in one of Kathy's photos.

The cemetery has been inventoried and is shown in our cemetery records. See: https://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem152.htm

Kathy noted with interest that one of the formerly enslaved Masons was buried within the family plot and has an inscribed marker saying "Sallie Mason, Our Black Mammy." The graves of other enslaved persons are believed to be outside of the fence enclosing the family graves.

The John A. Mason House is not open to the public, but CCHA will look into arranging possible future tours of this property.

#ChathamNCHistory #JohnAMasonHouse #ArchitecturalHeritage #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #cemeteries #enslaved #plantation

Oval Oak Manufacturing Co. became a nationally known manufacture of washboards after starting in 1909. This 1916 photograph shows the production staff. Front row L to R: Coley Fox, Lauritt? Fesmire, Ott Curtis, Joe Phillips, Ralph Blair, Paul Blair (?), Clyde Bunting, Unknown. Back row L to R: Mr. Hunt, Dr. Dowdy, J.C. Gregson, Owen Stove, Milton Smith (?), Sam Curtis, Dwight Lambe, Rudy Kirkman, Unknown, Lester Fesmire

More info about the Oval Oak Manufacturing Co. can be found on our website: https://chathamhistory.org/.../TheOvalOakWashboard.pdf

Photo from Duane Hall's Historic Siler City collection.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #OvalOakWashboard #industry #1910s

This is the Bray-Paschal house in southern Matthews Township. It was the home of Richard Bray Paschal, who was sheriff of Chatham during the Civil War. His diary of those years provides valuable and interesting information about the county and the Chatham men who were fighting elsewhere.

The house began as a simple log cabin in the 1790s, and was added to in the early 1800s and again about 1860. It "beautifully illustrates the development of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival architecture in Chatham County," according to The Architectural Heritage of Chatham County, NC. The log portion of the Bray-Paschal House is the oldest, intact documented log dwelling in Chatham County, according to the National Register of Historic Places nomination form for the property.

Paschal's diary can be viewed here: https://lib.digitalnc.org/record/235725

The family cemetery is across the road from the house. You can see photos and info here: http://cemeterycensus.com/nc/chat/cem218.htm

Photo taken in 2012.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #BrayPaschalhouse #BrayCemetery #ChathamArchitecture #MatthewsTownship

There's a lot of info in this Siler City photo taken about 1908.

The teams and wagons are posed for a farm machinery publicity photo. The building in the center foreground is at the corner of West Raleigh and Birch Avenue. It was built before 1891 and housed the town's first drugstore. The next building up Raleigh St. has a sign saying "Henry Wright - fancy groceries and restaurant." Wrenn Brothers Co. stands on the southeast corner of Raleigh St. and Chatham Ave. The small building south of the old drugstore on Birch Ave. housed a produce business. The large building shown partially on the edge of the photo on Birch Ave. was Hotel Chatham.

This photo was contributed to the CCHA collection by Duane Hall. 

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamNC #SilerCityNC #WestRaleighSt #ChathamAve #BirchAve #1900s

Siler City's Post Office Mural depicts "Building the First House at Siler's Crossroads" painted by Maxwell B. Starr in 1942. Note the rabbits on the left side. The house being built is the John Siler house (also called the Siler-Matthews house), which stood, until 1938, on the site of the present Siler City Post Office.

Henry Fike in buggy with unidentified woman and child. Pittsboro, circa1890s. Taken from south side of the courthouse. Just to the right of the courthouse corner in the photo is the Pope-Beal House on the lot that is now the parking lot for the Pittsboro Presbyterian Church. To the right of the Pope-Beal House is the Pope-Bynum House--where Annie Lutterloh Bynum lived and painted. That house was modified over time and later moved south of town. The educational wing on of the Pittsboro Presbyterian Church is now located on that lot and the church itself is on the next lot to the right.

Other details in the photo are also of interest. The lady's fancy hat suggests that this was not an everyday outing. Of course, having a photograph made was a special occasion and may be the reason for the fancy apparel.

The Fike residence was on the south side of East Street, about a block from the courthouse. The house still stands at 200 East Street.

Note the condition of the road!

Photo from the Chatham County Historical Association collection.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #HenryFike #buggy #courthouse #PittsboroNC #roads #1890s