Duplin County, North Carolina

Duplin County Courthouse

I drove down to Duplin County to explore over the winter break, and had a fun time! Duplin County is a very rural county, and a pretty one. Duplin County was formed in 1750 from New Hanover County. (Later, Sampson County was created from part of Duplin County.) The county seat is Kenansville, named after State Senator James Kenan, a brigadier general in the Revolutionary War.

After a nice drive through the town of Warsaw, I found the town of Magnolia next. I enjoyed looking around Magnolia, and even found the library (which shouldn't be a surprise to those who
know me! Speaking of libraries and books, there's a book by a Magnolia native, Clara Baker McGrath, called Magnolia Girl's Adventures. After graduating from high school, she left Magnolia for Washington, DC, to work for the FBI.

Magnolia Cemetery

I also visited the Magnolia Cemetery, where I found a geocache.

Next, I visited the unincorporated community of Chinquapin. It's a small town with a rich history. It also has a couple of notable former residents. Caleb Bradham, inventor of Pepsi, was born there. Also, American author Randall Kenan spent time on the family farm in Chinquapin as a young child.

My last stop in Duplin County was in the town of Rose Hill. I stopped at the Duplin Winery, the largest winery in North Carolina. I didn't have take time for a tour that day, but I enjoyed a late lunch at the Bistro there. After lunch, I went down the street to visit The World's Largest [Operational] Frying Pan. It was covered up the day I was there. It would be interesting to see the frying pan in action!

World's Largest Frying Pan in Rose Hill

The rest of my Duplin County photos are here.

Hoke County, North Carolina

I took my birthday (December 4) off from work to visit Hoke County. Founded in 1911 from parts of Cumberland and Robeson Counties, Hoke County was one of the last two counties formed in North Carolina. (Avery County in western North Carolina was also formed in 1911.)

Hoke County Courthouse

Raeford, a town of a little under 5,000 residents, is the county seat of Hoke County. When I visited in early December, the downtown area was already decorated for the holidays, with wreaths and red bows on lamp posts and some buildings.

The Hoke County Courthouse had a nice veterans memorial in front of it, as well as a marker for a time capsule to be opened in April 2111.

Dundarrach Community Church

My favorite Hoke County discovery outside of Raeford was the tiny community of Dundarrach,
which is home to the Dundarrach Community Church and Cemetery. I love country churches with accompanying cemeteries!

The rest of my Hoke County photos are here.

Cumberland County, North Carolina

Cumberland County Courthouse

Last Saturday, I enjoyed an afternoon trip to Cumberland County, North Carolina, just an hour and a half from home! Cumberland County is the fifth largest county (population-wise) in North Carolina, and was formed in 1754.

Oval Ballroom

The county seat of Cumberland County is Fayetteville, which is also home to Fort Bragg and Pope Army Airfield. I enjoyed driving around Fayetteville, where I stopped to take photos of both the old and newer courthouses. I stopped at Heritage Square, where I found a geocache and enjoyed taking a few more pictures. My favorite building there was the Oval Ballroom--the outside of the building is an octagon!

Local attractions I'd like to return to Fayetteville to visit include the Fayetteville Museum of Art, the Museum of the Cape Fear, and the Cape Fear Botanical Garden.

I also explored the Cumberland County town of Hope Mills. As I drove into town, I saw the remnants of Hope Mills Lake, which used to be full but was drained a few years ago, due to a sinkhole that was causing a leak in the dam. I enjoyed a stop at Big Rockfish Presbyterian Church, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

I really enjoyed my visit to Cumberland County, and look forward to going back. The rest of my Cumberland County photos are here.

Warren County, North Carolina

I thoroughly enjoyed my January 4 visit to Warren County! Since I'd never been to Warren County before, I did some quick research beforehand. The county was formed in 1779, and named for John Warren. The county seat is Warrenton. Warrenton was one of the wealthiest towns in North Carolina from 1840-1860, so there are some nice old homes and buildings there. As a result, over half of Warrenton has been designated as a National Historic District.

On my way to my first planned stop in Ridgeway, I passed through Manson, thanks to the small post office! I saw a sign about Soul City, near Manson, but didn't stop to explore.

Church of the Good Shepherd

Although I missed the Ridgeway Cateloupe Festival (maybe I'll go back in July), I did find the future home of the Ridgeway Historical Museum, as well as the Church of the Good Shepherd, a beautiful Episcopal church, built in the Gothic Revival style. The church was locked, so I couldn't see inside, but I enjoyed taking pictures outside and around the cemetery.

Next, I found Macon, birthplace of Reynolds Price, author and Duke professor, who passed away in 2011. It's a small place, but I snapped a picture of the post office and a sign.

Warren County Courthouse

I ended my trip in Warrenton, county seat. I found the Warren County Courthouse, as well as the Fairview Cemetery. I also enjoyed taking pictures inside the Warrenton post office, which has a WPA mural. I enjoyed a late lunch in the Hardware Cafe (across from the courthouse) before heading home.

The rest of my photos of Warren County are here.

Yadkin County, North Carolina

George and I enjoyed a mini-vacation to West Jefferson (and a return to Ashe County) over July 4th, and decided to take a look at Yadkin County for this blog on our way back home. Although it was a bit spur of the moment, we enjoyed our quick trip through Yadkin County, and I'd love a return trip to the area, especially to explore the wineries in the Yadkin Valley area. In fact, all of Yadkin County is included in the Yadkin Valley American Viticultural Area.

Yadkin County was formed in 1850 from Surry County, south of the Yadkin River (after which the county is named). It's considered part of the piedmont (middle) region of North Carolina, but the Brushy Mountains skirt the western part of Yadkin.

We decided to make stops in Jonesville, Boonville, and Yadkinville, the county seat, as we made our way eastward toward home.

Jonesville Public Library



Jonesville, the oldest town in Yadkin County, has a nice welcome center and town hall for such a small town. It has a cute little library too! For Atlantic Coast Conference and Wake Forest University basketball fans, Dickie Hemric hails from Jonesville.



Next, we stopped in Boonville, where the public library and a mural of the town were highlights. Apparently, the town is named after Daniel Boone, who spent some time in the area. Read all about it on the webpage, "History of Boonville, NC."



Our final stop was Yadkinville, the county seat and largest city in Yadkin County. Looking for a place to park for a shot of the Yadkin County Courthouse, we happened upon the office of The Yadkin Ripple! I thought it was a fun name for a paper, so I took the picture on the left.

I look forward to returning to Yadkin County sometime, especially to explore the wineries in the area! Meanwhile, the rest of my Yadkin County photos are here.

Cherokee County, NC

The last week of October, George and I drove to Murphy, NC, our vacationing home base for a few days. We were excited to see a new (to us) part of the state, as well as a town where most people from home replied, "Murphy, where's that?!"

We stayed in a nice Holiday Inn Express, a place George and I would both recommend to others. It had nice amenities for the price (including an indoor swimming pool and hot tub, as well as a hardy complimentary breakfast.) The staff was very helpful and courteous, to boot, and we enjoyed getting new tourist ideas from them every morning over breakfast. The weather while we were there was mostly overcast, with rain sometimes, but we still had a great time! The fall leaves at the lower elevations were about at their peak.

Murphy's the county seat of Cherokee County, and is the westernmost county seat in the state. Wikipedia tells me that Murphy is closer to the capitals of six other states than it is to our own state capital of Raleigh! (Can you guess which states?) Murphy is named for Archibald Murphey, a North Carolina politician. Murphy was incorporated as the county seat of Cherokee County in 1851, but it already had a rich history by then, especially with the Cherokee Nation. Parts of Qualla Boundary are located in Cherokee County. This area was part of the Trail of Tears.

One small claim to fame for Murphy is that Eric Rudolph, the Atlanta Olympics bomber, was arrested in Murphy after being in hiding for about five years!

Murphy and Cherokee County have many postive things going for it, though, and we have an amazing time in the area! George and I visited six North Carolina counties during our stay in Murphy, and I'll be writing about all of them soon. I'm starting with our host county of Cherokee.

Hiwassee Dam



One of the first places we visited in Cherokee County was Hiwassee Dam, a dam that's part of the Tennessee Valley Authority or TVA. I thought it was very cool to see, as well as to drive over (on North Carolina State Highway 1314). Construction on Hiwassee Dam began in 1936, and it opened in 1940.

Lenderman Cemetery, Cherokee  County

Speaking of driving over Hiwassee Dam, George talked me into driving beyond Hiwassee Dam on the two-lane road, and with his eagle eyes spotted this cemetery sign while I was watching the curvy mountain road. Now, George wasn't looking for this cemetery, and neither was I, but he encouraged me to turn around and check it out. Turns out I'm related to the Lendermans in this Lenderman Cemetery!

Fields of the Wood

On the way back from Hiwassee Dam, we stopped at Fields of the Wood. In the photo on the left, you see the Ten Commandments on the side of the mountain. There are several other religious momuments in this "Bible park" near Murphy. Admission is free, and it is definitely something to see if you're in the area. When we were there, it seemed pretty run down and sad looking, physically. There were signs around, telling about the park's history and development, which made it more interesting. Otherwise, it looked kind of gaudy in a simple way (big religious monuments, but no neon lights). All of this really made me think about religion and "spreading the Word." Fields of the Wood has been a question/answer on "Jeopardy" because of the big Ten Commandments on the hillside.

Cherokee County Courthouse

Here's the top of the Cherokee County Courthouse. Renovation and expansion of the Cherokee County Courthouse started a couple of weeks before we arrived. It was constructed of marble quarried from the community of Marble, right there in Cherokee County. Murphy also made "Jeopardy" because it's one of only three towns to have an all-marble courthouse (but the only one where the marble came from the same county!).




Cherokee County Historical Museum

 George and I also enjoyed touring the nearby Cherokee County Historical Museum. I enjoyed talking with the docent, a Cherokee County native. The museum included a lot about the Cherokee Nation and a model of the inside of an old log cabin.



Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery, Murphy

Being the taphophile that I am, I couldn't leave Murphy without stopping by the Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery. It's been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1984.

Joseph C. Campbell Folk School

In the eastern part of Cherokee County, we visited the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown. We didn't explore the campus much, but we did enjoy browsing around in the Craft Shop, where we were verrry tempted by some of the crafts!

I took many more pictures of Cherokee County, which I've posted to my Flickr account here. Enjoy!

Cherokee County is a gem in North Carolina, with a rich history, beautiful scenery, and interesting things to do! We're already talking about going back!

Northampton County, North Carolina

I drove through Northampton County, a county in northeastern North Carolina, on July 1, and stopped in Jackson first. Jackson seems to be a quaint rural southern town, a quiet place with some jewels to be found. (As of the 2000 census, there were 695 people in Jackson.) I didn't have an agenda in mind when I stopped in Jackson, only to see what I could find. The picture here seems to be a city office.


Since it was the week of July 4th, there were a lot of American flags out.







Jackson's the county seat of Northampton County (formed in 1741 from Bertie County), thanks to its central location in the county, and this picture is of the Northampton County Courthouse. The area was orginally known as Northampton Courthouse; Jackson was incorporated in 1823 and named for Andrew Jackson.




This historic marker stands in front of the county courthouse.







I enjoyed visiting the library there in Jackson. Check out the library's hours at the bottom of the sign! I scanned the genealogy collection (several shelves) for possible treasures, but nothing stood out that might have some of my family history. (It's always worth a look!)


Near the library is the Northampton County Museum, and the scene on the left is painted on the side of the museum. (The museum was closed, so this scene was part of my history lesson on the Northampton County.






In between the museum and the library was this small building, which was closed. The sign on the corder of the building reads Country Doctor's Office. (The library is the red brick building behind the red car on the right.)




Looking through the windows of the country doctor's office, you can see the horse painted on the outside of the county museum.


I enjoyed discovering the Church of the Savior, a local Episcopal church. I could tell from a distance that the church was old, and this sign points out that it's on the National Register of Historic Places. Right up my alley!

Here is a front view of the sanctuary.










One of the pretty stained glass windows from the outside of the Church of the Saviour. (I did try getting inside, but the doors were locked.)








I took lots of pictures at the adjoining cemetery. (I love walking through old cemeteries!) This was one of my favorite shots of this very pretty cemetery.



Driving through the town of Conway (pop. 734 in 2000), I got stopped by a train. From where I stopped on the road, I could see this service station on my left. It intrigued me to see the old style gas pumps, with full service on one side and self service on the other.





On Highway 158, I saw a little cemetery under a big mimosa tree, next to a crop field.



The flowers on the mimosa tree seemed especially wispy and pretty, so I snapped a closer shot.








After I returned home, I found the Northampton Chamber of Commerce's website, which has a nice picture of the courthouse on the front. I enjoyed exploring the CofC's website; a lot of good information about the area can be found on the county profile, as well as the links on that webpage. I enjoyed learning about the county's industry, which includes three peanut-related companies and a casket factory.