Newspapers / The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.) / Aug. 15, 1939, edition 1 / Page 15
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\S< TOBACCO MARKET EDITION THE ENTERPRISE TOBACCO MARKET EDITION VOLUME XLII?NUMBER 65 n illiumtion, Martin County, \orth Carolina, TThWmv, tiiftimi d. I't.Vt. ESTABLISHED 1899 Offers Interesting Sketch of Forgotten Town in the County Mrs. Josephine Nolan Copeland Writes Interestingly Of Once Thriving Town Of Dymond City DYMONI) CITY P1UNKKRS Pictured above are the late Mr. and Mrs. Ilenry Nolan as tliev looked when they first came to this county to figure prominent ly in the pionee.r development of Dymond City, the lost' town that once was a community center in < ? riff ins Township. Mr Nolan and his wife, Maria, were the parents of Mrs It F. Copeland. w ho now resides in Ouilford College, N. ( and who prepared the in teresting sketch on this pa?;c First Development By London Company! Known Vs "Waring (traml fat lin of Mr*, (lope land \\a* Manager For Number of Year* By MRS. JOSEPHINE NOLAN C'OPELAND It seems that one must start a sketch of this type by summing up the origins of Dymond City's leading families. Of course, this whole story will deal mostly with my own fam lv hut first I xh.-dl tell :i hit about I the other families. Mrs. Mat tie Taylor, a widow, ran the hotel from tin time 1 can first remember. They soon, moved to J antes villi ? and then Captain and Mrs Bissell moved into the hotel Captain Bissell was conductor for the "Jamesville and Washington ...Railroad and Lumber Company." He was an Englishman, like several other men who came to Dymond j City, married, and settled there. He | and Mrs BisK If had two children. Matt and Birdie, who were childhood playmates of mine and are still good friends of our family. They live near the site of Dymond City now and are Widely known in that vicinity, Birdie having married Mr. Dave Daniel. There was a carpenter, by the name of Lordley, who lived with his family about half a mile from us. * One of his sons, Andrew, married Mrs. Bissell's sister, Emma, and they -lived in a hnusr i n the v illage til a t a Mr. Ryan had previously occupied. Many English and Irish adventur ers came through Dymond City, upon hearing of my grandfather's and father's being there Some worked in the sawmill from time to time, and I remember one Mr. Gates, w ho was killed at work in an accident. Besides work in the saw mill, .which was the mam industry of the settlement, there were several workmen con stantly employed at the railroad re pair shop, which was large enough to house one locomotive and two or three earth ?????? Now I shall go back Und tell .the origin of the name of the settlement. It was called "Waring" at first, be cause the president of the company was named Richard Waring. It was during his presidency in the James ville and Washington Railroad and Lumber Company that a,, friend of grandfather's, Francis Lightfoot, sur veyor for the company persuaded him (A Fisher) to buy a farm near one of the two mills which had burn ed down. However, I think by this time the name of the village had been changed to "Dyrnond City" in memory of a bondholder, Mr Dy rnond, un the aouuwasi side.of the railroad was the colored settlement known as Jacktown. It comprised a larger part of the population, which was in all only a few score. It might be interesting to take a look at the spiritual opportunities of the town. I recall accompanying my old nursemaid to a service at the colored church, and being only a j small child I held tightly to her dress j because the bespirited "Amens"; frightened me. The only semblance of a place for ! worship among the white people was | a large room made from the third floor of the company store, our home being on the second fl'oor. This large room was called the Sunday school room, but we never attended serv- ? ices there. We went to grandfather's ! home. ' Megessa". and attended j friend's meeting in one of the little I outhouses of suitable size. Before I go too deeply into the' memories of my childhood, perhaps 1 I had better get my family to Am erica and settled in Dyrnond City. Grandfather Abram Fisher first moved with his family to Alexandra I colony in the Argentine Republic, and stayed? there for three years, | My father, then a young bachelor, I was manager of thai colony. He, as! his name, Henry P. Nolan, indicates, was Irish, too Farming proved too uncertain in South America on ac count of the enormous amount of pests, including locusts and strange ly enough, paroquets that ate the eom to a large extent. Then too, mos quitoes, snakes, all kinds of wild animals, such as jaquers, foxes, etc., became too numerous for comfort. Indian raids caused several deaths and lots of excitement. Finally, alter three years of it, grandfather sold his farm to the .English company that ran the col ony and came to Dyrnond City with his nine children. Henry Nolan aoon followed by way of England and (Continued on Page Two, This Section.; Traces History Of Bi^ Development Vl "Dvnioiid* City ln;Ji-li ( oiii|)an\ I micrlakc! Ilum* I ilsk Soon \fler Ti.rcivii vnrr Lying idle from time immemorial, tin forty thousand acres of land em bracing what was later to become known as tin Dymond'City area firs] attracted the attention ?>l an Eng lish Stock Company Just how a company that far away could learn about a swamp area of land is a mat ter of speculation Possibly North i rn soldit is ncogni/od the vast tim ber resources available there, for about four years after the war the old Jamesville and Washington Kail road and Land Company was char tered by the State of North Carolina The company came into posses sion of the John Ciray Blount Patent, a grant made to him years before by the State. In 1872, a supplement al charter was issued the company, and it is believed that work on de veloping the project got underway along about that time lb cords~shovv that the company experienced many difficulties 111 tin1 early y.at>. of .1 ..puiatamx, and it was not until the late Abram Fish er, a native of Ireland, took charge, completed the construction of a pas senger and freight railroad from Jamesville to Washington and ap parently turned failure into defeat. With the timber supply partially is not wholly exhausted, the original company sold its vast holdings to parties in Philadelphia. Shortly thereafter there were numerous heirs to the property, and ownership was | vested in persons living possibly in several states No one knew exactly who did or did not own the thous- | ands of acres. The Roanoke Railroad and Lum Oer company came in possession of the land some years later, and in 1921 it sold out to the old Jamesville and Washington Land Company. During the meantime, various j timber companies logged the vast' wooded area, and ten years later, it' was sold at a commissioner's sale to] satisfy past-due tax claims. As com-: missioner, John C. Rodman, Jr., sold 1 the Holdings to H. A Vogel on June 27, 1931 A month later Vogel sold that portion of the property?about jO.QOQ acres lying in Martin Coun-1 ty to Ethel Barnes, of Beuna Vista County, Jowr Two years later she j sold the approximately 10,000 acres to 1. A Thompson, of Waukesha I Wisconsin, and he is now in posses sion of the approximately 10.000 j acres of land. Thompson first considered devel oping the property into a ranch and while he has not abandoned that J idea in its entirety nothing has yet been done in that direction. And so the old J and W. land just merely remains idle, yielding a plen-1 tiful supply of valuable timber about j every quarter of a,century. Several | logging firms are now completing a savage attack on the timber there Ownership of the lands lying in Beaufort County has changed many j times during the past half century At the present time, local interests control the property. I VIM.I Mil I One of the largest lumber mills ever operated in the coun tv was located in the old Dy mond City area of tiriffins Township more than half a een tury ago by the Jamesville and Washing ton Railroad and I.urn her Company. According to unofficial infor mation, the plant was slightly larger than the old Dennis Sim mons Lumber Company plant that operated in more recent \ ears, neai Jamesv file. The output of the Dymond City plant was shipped priori pally to Jamesville and loaded on steamers for distribution in far removed centers. Only one accident, costing ?a life, was reported at the mill. Richard Oates, a while man. was fatally injured and died there. IDymoiid City Once Mad Largest Hotel In Entire Section riiirt\-two Koom Slriieliirt* in t onnly lluriieil a Kcu Venr* Itfo That tin1 bid Jamesville and Wash I mgtun Railroad and Land Company operated on a large scale when it came into this county and started the | ! huge. development centered around; [the how extinct town of Dvmond | j City .> .evidenced in tlie old records ( Ivvliu'.. re\eal that a 32-room hotel ! wa bnili to rive the traveling I pul lie and a few families ihreetly ; j onuveled with the company The hotel, used in later years as a , ' i esidence by the Bisscll family, was J burned about eight or ten years ago. according to unofficial records. Af iter tin- town was deserted, forests I moved in to reclaim a hold on the ! little spot where a thriving little ; community once stood. Forest fires, ! possibly started by a careloss hunt nr. or by sparks from a train, fob 1 lowed in duo coiirso and the few re ! inaming landmarks were razed To care fob its employees aiul ! j mu sts, the company built a termi j nal in Washington, ami the building I with its dormer windows still stands I there just oft Mam Street, mar the] Taylor hospital. Reports state that the building in Washington, now used as a private I home, was used as a I unci and hous I ''il the offices-of the company as 1 long as-iT maintained operations in [and around iJymoiyd City. The buildings in Ttymoinl City j were well constructed, and while 1 they weir wiiliout repairs for a long i number of years they wa re in a fair I '> good state of preservation when J toia-st fires swepL-over the territory i and TTurneiT'hem The ?.Id hotel was 11 it* largest evei built in the rounty, .Hid while it dor. i not compare w ith tlu- present day .structure, it wa built along modern i lines -for lU day. Early HMrtntd Slariat llmnlrtl l)oini In ( imnt\ j Many interesting stories center aiound tin old railroad that eon "iter ted Wa shrug fun nod JamcsviHc m ya .ti gone by. First ami arontl c la.-'-s passt igt i s rode in file satire ? ar, according to the old tales tb.it have been handed down Tlu- billy difference Tn fare w as noted when ! the train started slowing down, the sceoiid class | a riigei wrlr ask. i d to g< t out -and help imtlicr file u nod lor tin t limn * ?i in i< i: ck.mkk in m\s com: m Housing tlu* community store and postolfice on the first floor, tlie f:iiniI> ot the late llenr> IV Nolan on the second and the set tlement's unday School on the third, the huildinu ahove v as one of the centers of culture in the e >unty for a number ol years dm ins the development of the J. a at \\ . C ompany , which was pro moted l>v an English-stock com\ any. I'ioiitrr Inlluoiuv 1 las Kllool Toda\ Although niatel utI changes have hit hard I s a single h.tiv~T?i; lire old? .lati 1 \tlli ,111(1 VV i hniL'ji'ii Kailroad and Lumber ("i?in|.?any development m Uk-. I>vni"?nl City area of (iiilltiis . Township, tlna counts the influence, id lluisc pn-iuriv is III! evident in that ecm'wj unity hulas A kindly old grid Ionian. and a ti in Christian, Abram Fisher. did nvtioli In promote a basic religion j along with the ni'atci inl development ! ( I thai tei i'ltnry Most of the older Mesident's ill thai cohimnnit s i tall lie s in ions id the d?A'inii ii.;i?:. and letei to fhein as ha VI trft' prr >rssed "TirU Hiding" lllf: I Tin I ('? that h."< c"irn?dev. n s\ilh,llie .vein's -?The Suriely?nt Fra n ?:~?rirr?do rmjivin.itn?m In whieb Mr Fnhrr and JVVnst nt liie othc? sett lei belonged, Ili'A el i ? an d .( hxdili'ld III till Cntlll !>. bid tin t.'h 11st lan idea I: advani* 'I'd by th''si'?pt*<>)>le tilerhied . .with tlmse o! other denominations to ' promote' religion in general | VN'lu n tin s\ nt k ot tl" i '" ipany v, as | in i hed, and the little settle Hie lit stinted breaking lip. some of 11 in little group \va dravvn.by i? dig runs tie- lo^oi tliaiiipton ('punly and ,others migrated to Perms vKama for j pO: slhly the ?||W' I ' ' ?Oll . m v\ v<.11; Al?i ihi Fisher, an uprighteous and (iod tearing Irishman, serv etf the old .laniesville -ami Wash i *,;lnn Kailroad and I umber < cmpaiiy as manager for a nuin her of years, and completed the construction ot the first railroad mi tin* counts. In addition to Ins company do tics, Mr. I islicr devoted much tunc to religious work hi the edmiTiiinity I'milier Depleted. I)ld (iountv Town linalk Disappears I .1-1 of IK 111 ? >1 It I i ,il\ \ ir.ilf I'lacc in thr I all- IK?M\ -Kl -if) 'piy ' >! t umbo r -depleted on M n t oj ;11>|jrt>ximatoly 4Q,0f)O ?* ' ' t et t lei's in the old i in'.1 . tl u'mI Wasfuhgtn.il Raiilroad a 1 I.imih< i (\>nvpan\ devfdopnient ? "inn! Dyniond Cats in Griffin. '? i us.: gr itiiig to. oth ? 1 pai ? .it Hit' ?-.Minn . in the layo's. ' **?1?i-??l?i|n.? y hi? ??;iv\.:i? ;i!i<5 A few ot'-ttu- dita f i hi . iM-ndanls ? ?.I, t:'li?'?' ? - i iy. | ion . i > ;i ill maintain . i i . i. tin. i ill' Griffins Town hyp hut tiK'i?? i tv.1 a stngle mark t> :..-v when the oaco thriving Mil 11>\vi ? mm! Ml Mat Bisse 11 .11 id In i t? i, Mr- I >aye 1 iantel, con t mfe fo live in tin If ins Township t" maintain the closest historical - .vncctiou to- tlii development. Recoguiz- <1 a nni.' of.-Ahe large.-t nu' li- dev. li ipnient ? oyer undertak ' ii in i!h c??un.t>, tin? railroad and in.fi ecrnpany discontinued opera 11.? n in th niVuties. and when the in .;i ?1.1???i aetivitus were completed tl t \\ a. left, hare with the ex re.pti"t. ..f two <>i three buildings what < i- burned in more recent veai In Ave.-ping forest fires. Two r.c . th t Mose Hill, a faith l"l- and .'hi' hlaok-unith. and his wil e are .'all 11 discernible in tile old i w 11 pi'i'(r hi out lying territory tti'a i ale grave ? of a feW.Of the more premitV<11it ?. pi<?'npers. Some of theirr lia\ t? UK-ndcd with the landscape during the years that h4Ve pass I arid 11 11. likely that the. last trace ?of the "tie time little City will be lost ..t.''.moe'ei it . ... .. Quit. ,i tew of the early settlers .or . 1111yuig in-' various parts of li rotjtMi-y Numbered ahiong those Mi John Nolan and Miss Belinda N Ian of Malvern, Pa , Mrs. Joseph it \ t .ipelaiid .an t Mi Prances N While, hi Guilford College, N. C . Ai-i?W.iltoi NuI.e. ? a t'1 u .t. r Springs, >'?' Mi?hioI Mi ?: Atulmw - latrdiey-,? <?1 t\\ cigludes Pla Mr and Mrs 1 hmy II Fisher, Mr and Mrs Chas. Gnmshuis, and Mr llenrv W Fisher, .ill ol Malwi ri, Pa Several of tlio foritti r residents of tlio eouiity correspond with friends i.ii the county, but' few of them have Visited' here in recdlVt'-.years. Mi Josephine Nolan Copeland, uthor "i the Il| ief sketch on this p i is ii.oi\ leeovertng from a re 1 hi Con ?. .aid opcratuim at her i"tm m Cjlliifoi d .Colleee o o . . . they bring a lot of to more men and women every day Smokers everywhere are finding out that Chesterfield's happy combination of mild ripe American and Turkish tobac cos gives them just what they want . REFRESHING MILDNESS ? BETTER TASTE MORE PLEASING AROMA When you try them you 11 know why smokers all say, "They're Milder They Taste Jietter " r FOPGET If SOMETHING , ABERCROMBIE? y Birthday?^ annivfrsari S^haircot p /] ' AHA... IVE GOT IT/ BOX O BOV THS.V SAT'SfV r*
The Enterprise (Williamston, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Aug. 15, 1939, edition 1
15
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