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ELON: THE TOWN
Elon College, N.C.ori
ginated with the building
of a railroad running from
Goldsboro to the city of
Charlotte. The time;
1851. A freight depot was
constructed in 1887 at
Ossipee and Altamahaw
for textile facilities and
the area became known
as Mill Point.
On what is now Trol-
linger Ave. was the home-
site of James N. Will
iamson, founder of the
Ossipee Mill, now part of
Burlington Industries.
The home is now the old
est dwelling in Elon Col
lege,
Graham Institute was
established in 1852, and
can be considered as the
forerunner of Elon Col
lege.
In 1889 a four-year ed
ucational college was
founded by the Christian
denomination. The pre
vious year the citizens
of Mill Point had donated
40-50 acres of land to
the newly established col
lege, 25 acres of which
was to be used for the
campus proper. W. H.
Trollinger of Haw River
donated an additional 23
acres to the college and
resident and other indi
viduals donated $4,000.
The name “Elon” is
Hebrew for oak, and since
oak trees were prevalent
in the area, the name
“Elon” was selected to
be the new title of the
college. Elon's construc
tion began in 1889 and
when finished in 1890,one
brick building represent
ed the entire Elon cam-
By Kathy Davis
pus. Classes opened in
1890 with 108 students.
In 1891 East Dormitory
was built.
In 1905, Elon College
had the services of elec
tricity and water. The
college was later to sup
ply the town with both
electricity and water. In
1893, the town of Elon
College formally adopt
ed its name.
Several businesses
came to the town includ
ing: a blacksmith shop,
a livery stable, (now part
of the public school
grounds, a grist mill, a
sawmill and woodworking
shop, a brickyard, a bank
which functioned for about
25 years, and a publishing
house which published and
distributed the “Chris
tian Sun”, the Christian
churches periodical. The
(Continued on page 4)
In this issue of the Maroon and Gold the staff has
attempted to examine the problems facing the town of
Elon College and its relationship to the college.
What are the problems of a small town such as
Elon College? What goals and proposals does the town
have? What can the town offer to the students of the
college? What do the students want the town to offer
them? And what do the students contribute to the
town?
We have attemped to answer questions such as these
concerning the development of the town in this study.
Maroon & Gold
Non-Profit Organization
U. S. POSTAGE
PAID
Elon College, N. C.
PERMIT No. 1
Return Requested
VOLUME 50
Elon College, N. C.
Thursday, November 20, 1969
NUMBER 9
WffT'
.f
Students, Merchants Give Views On Elon
by Richard Youraans
Have you ever s opped
and thought about «vhere
the merchants of Elon
College would be if it
were not for the patron
age of Elon College stu
dents?
This is perhaps a
crude statement to make,
but let us consider it for
a moment. The town of
Elon College is not very
large, as we are all a-
ware, and if there were
no college, where would
this leave the merchants
of the town?
As stated by Mr. Bill
Cole, proprietor of Swift
Cleaners Inc., “this bus
iness is both dependent
on Elon College students
and citizens of the town,
but the majority of the
Income is derived from
the college students.”
Cole stated that he has
“been in business here
for the past seven years,
and I have no immediate
plans for improvements
or expansion, since we
have just finished remo
deling due to the fire last
spring. I enjoy conduct
ing my business here in
Elon College and the
courteous Elon students
are very friendly.”
Many businesses in
Elon College would suf
fer if no college existed,
but several would feel no
change at all. The stores
which would be affected
very little would be the
food stores, such as Tiny-
Tote and Gentry’s Gro
cery Store. Mr. Gentry,
proprietor of Gentry’s
Grocery Store has been
in business in Elon Col
lege for the past 22 years.
Gentry has no immed
iate or future plans for
improvements or expan
sion, as he said, “I have
a good little store here
and there is no reason
for improvements or ex
pansion, either at the
present time or in the
near future.” Asked how
he feels about operating
a business in a college
town. Gentry stated, “ 1
would not have been in
business this long if I
did not like it. Most of
my customers are good
hand - picked customers,
whom I have had for a
long tim e and a very small
percentage of the store’s
income comes from Elon
student patronage. The
students whom 1 am in
contact with are friendly
and I have no complaints
about their manners or
courtesy.”
More Services
By Cathy Albair
The Charter of Elon
College states “the ob
jects of the corporation
are to provide equipment
and facilities necessary
to the well-being and
success of a college of
fering Christian training
and instruction in the lib
eral arts, sciences and/
or any specific field of
higher education and
learning that may appeal
expedient or useful.,”
The purpose of Elon
College is clearly defin
ed. What the college has
to offer its students is
set down in black and
white. But what does the
town of Elon College have
to offer and accommo
date the some 1800 stu
dents who reside within
the town limits?
The town, or business
section of Elon College,
N. C. consists of three
grocery stores, two gas
stations, a post office,
two grills, a laundromat,
one furniture store, two
barber shops, one dry
cleaners, the town hall
and the College Ku Klub,
a pool hall.
What do students think
about the town of Elon
College? What would stu
dents like to see done to
the town to answer their
needs? These are the
questions posed to seve
ral students this past
week.
Generally masculine
reactions were the same.
Indifference was the main
response, although a
(Continued on page 2)