OLD FORT NEWS
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OLUME III OLD FORT, N. C., THURSDAY, JULY 24, 1930 NUMBER 43
i
THE OLD FORT NEWS
The Old Fort News is pub
lished each week in connection
with the Marion Progress.
MISS GERTRUDE DULA,
Editor and Business Manager.
THE OLD FORT
The following article by Judge
Haywood Parker in the Asheville
Citizen will be of much interest to
the people of the community at this
time. The unveiling o fthe monu
ment to commemorate this old fort
will be held July 27th at 2:30 p. m.
I see our enterprising neighbor,
Old Fort, is soon to celebrate its
birthday. I suspect its age is greater
than generally supposed. It is gener
ally accepted that the Fort which
gave the town its name was built as
a protection to the pioneer settlers
against the hostile Indians. It is pos
sible the Fort was originally built
for another purpose and long before
there were permanent settlements
anywhere near it.
The Colonial Legislature in 1775,
during the administration of Gover
nor Dobbs authorized the erection of
a fort on the "Western Frontiers"
as a protection to the pioneer settl
ers. This fort was built in 1756 un
der the direction of Capt. Hugh
Waddell, and was located between
the third and fourth forks of thte
Yadkin, near the present city of
Salisbury, and was called Fort Dobbs
in honor of the Governor. A descrip
tion of this fort is given in a report
made to the Colonial Legislature by
Francis Brown and Richard Caswell,
who had been appointed commission
ers, "to view the western settle
ments" and select sites for other
forts. They reported among other
things as follows:
And that they had likewise view
ed the State of Fort Dobbs, and
found it to be a good and Substan
tial Building of thte Dimensions fol
lowing (that is to say) The Oblong
Square fifty-three feet by forty, the
opposite Angles Twenty-four feet
and Twenty-Two. In height Twenty
four and a half feet as by the plan
annexed appears. The Thickness of
the Walls which are made of Oak
Logs regularly diminished from six
teen inches to Six, it contains three
floors, and there may be discharged
from each floor at one and the same
time about one hundred Musketts
thte same is beautifully situated in
the fork of Fourth Creek a Branch
of the Yadkin River." This report
was dated Dec. 21, 1756.
Col. Alfred M. Waddell, in "A Co
lonial Officer and His Times," a
sketch of his ancestor, Capt. Hugh
Waddell, quotes Williamson's Histo
ry as saying that "Hugh Waddell,
an officer of great firmness and in
tegrity was commissioned to treat
with the Catawba and Cherokee In
dians." Col. Waddell then says:—
"The treaty referred to by William
son was made by Captain Waddell
in 1756 . . . It was a treaty offensive
and defensive, and was executed on
behalf of the Catawbas by Oraloswa,
King Highlar and others, and on the
part of the Cherokees by the distin
guished Chief and Orator, Atla—
Kulla-Kulla, . . . these Indians de
manded as a part of the treaty that
a fort should be built in the territo
ry of each tribe by the English, as
a place of refuge and protection for
their women and children in the
event that their warriors should
have to march against the French,
Virginia and South Carolina built
the Cherokee fort and North Caroli
na undertook to build for the Ca
tawbas, but the next year, while the
workmen were engaged in building
the fort under Captain Waddell's di
rections, he was surprised at receiv
ing an order from Governor Dobbs
to discharge them, for the reason
that he, Dobbs, had received a mes
sage from Governor Lyttleton say
ing that the Indians desired that no
fort should be built except by South
Carolina. Dobbs instructed Captain
Waddell at the same time to inquire
into and ascertain the meaning of
such conduct. Where this Catawba
Indian fort, intended for their pro
tection, was built is not known; it is
supposed to have been the same as
Old Fort in McDowell county."
This unfinished, unnamea, aoan
doned fort was of course well known
to the hunters and traders, and as
the years went by it doubtless be
came generally known as "The Old
, Fort." Later, as the pioneers pushed
[ ► their settlements to the foot of the
mountains, and realizing the need of
protection against the Indians, they
took advantage of the work done by
Capt. Waddell and his men, and
completed the structure, and contin
ued to call it as had the hunters and
traders, "The Old Fort."
LOCAL AND PERSONAL
ITEMS OF INTEREST
Mr. and Mrs. G. P. Bistline have
as their house guests this week,
Misses Grace and Sara Mayer, of
Newport, Pa., J. C. Bistline and Ed
mund D. Bistline, both of Newark,
New Jersey.
Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Tate, who have
been spending the past two weeks
with their parents, returned to At
lanta, Ga., Saturday. They were ac
companied by Miss Edna Tate, who
will spend a few weeks in that city.
Mr. and Mi's. Boynton have as
their' house guests, Frank Boynton,
of Lodi, Calif., and daughters, Miss
es Gladys and Amy Boynton, and
son, Laurence Boynton.
Cletus Tate returned to Hartford,
Conn., Saturday after spending his
vacation in Old Fort with his par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Tate.
A series of meetings will be held
at the Methodist Church beginning
on the first Sunday in Auguset.
Dr. and Mrs. D. M. Mcintosh have
as their house guest Mrs. Annie Mc
intosh, of Richmond, Va., mother of
Dr. Mcintosh.
Bernard Tate has returned to
Johnstown, Pa., after spending sev
eral weeks in Old Fort visiting home
folks.
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Crawford have
returned to Old Fort after spending
a week in Spartanburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Bryant Hudgins of
Black Mountain were visitors in Old
Fort Sunday.
Don Grant of Blue Ridge, Ga., is
spending several days here with his
family.
Mr. and Mrs. Tell Moffitt of Ashe
ville were visitors in Old Fort Sun
j day.
George Watkins of Cranberry was
in Old Fort Sunday.
Misses Edith and Bertha McNeill
of Burnsville motored to Old Fort
Sunday.
Mrs. L. Crawford of Arden has
bepn visiting relatives in Old Fort.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Rockett of Nar
rows Va., are spending several days
with relatives here.
William Stroud of Black Moun
tain was in Old Fort Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. R. M. Reeder of
! Paducah, Ky., spent several days
| last week with Mrs. Etta Kelly.
Mrs. Garland Bryson and three
j afmall children visited relatives in
i Ridgecrest last week.
| Mr. and Mrs. Edward Long spent
j Thursday in Nebo.
; Mrs. Carl Kelly has returned to
I her home here after a week's visit
to relatives in Statesville.
Mrs. M. L. Grant was a visitors in
Nebo Thursday.
Mrs. D. Haynes spent Sunday in
| Marion with her mother, Mrs. Wat
j kins.
i C. F. Noblitt and family spent
Wednesday afternoon in Asheville.
I Douglas Marr of West Asheville
spent Monday in Old Fort.
Miss Annabelle Noblitt spent the
week-end in Asheville as the guest
of Miss Geneva Early.
Misses Janie and Dysart Burgin
of Goldsboro are visiting relatives
and friends in Old Fort.
W. L. White is visiting his daugh
ter, Mi-s. Case, at Dana, N.
Mrs. W. M. Treverton of Marion
visited friends in Old Fort Wednes
day afternoon.
Capt. and Mrs. J. S. Land and
their son, Stewart, of Columbia, S.
C., were guests of Rev. and Mrs. D.
! A. Lewis for several days during
the week.
Misses Natalie Epley, Marion
Nelly and Edna Rowe of Asheville
visited friends in Old Fort last Sun
I day.
liarnet wmte, wtio iias been em
' ployed in Kansas City, is visiting his
■ parents, Mr. and Mrs. John White.
j Earl Nesbitt, student at State
j College, who has been attending the
J student training camp in Alabama,
I has returned to Old Fort to spend
I his vacation.
! Mr. and Mrs. George Thomasson,
I
of Akron, Ohio, are visiting rela
tives in Old Fort.
Mrs. Myrtle Glass and family of
■ Gastonia are occupying the Obie
j Laughridge house on Catawba St.
Misses Edith and Bertha McNeil
of Burnsville motored to Old Fort
Sunday.
Miss Bula Calloway is visiting rel
atives in Sylva this week.
Mrs. H. Burgin spent Tuesday af
ternoon in Asheville.
A. L. Sherrill made a business
trip to Asheville Thursday.
Miss Bertha Early of Rutherford
ton is a visitor in Old Fort this week.
The fishermen of the Columbia
river, Canada, export 415,000 cases
of tinned salmon every year.
OLD FORT WILL UNVEIL HUGE |
ARROWHEAD MONUMENT
Rev. Ciarence Stuart Mc
Clellan to Make Dedica
tory Address—Indians to
Help at Ceremonies.
Many traditions of the trials and
hardships of the early settlers are
recalled by the older citizens of Old
Fort which are of particular interest
at, this time on account of the unveil
ing of the Indian arowhead monu
ment on. July 27th at 2:30 p. m. to
commemorate the building of the old
Indian fort at this place, from which
the town received its name.
Many battles and skirmishes were
fought and many pioneer settlers
met terrible deaths at the hands of
the Indian scalpers when caught
away from the fort: Will Sandlin,
of Andrews, whose grandparents
were among the early settlers in
this vicinity, tells of the death of a
Mrs. Burgin who lived just west of
Old Fort. She and a young boy "were
out in the orchard gathering peach
es. Seeing the Indians coming, the
boy ran back to the house. The wom
an climbed up into the tree, but was
pulled down and scalped by the Indi
ans. This occurred near the present
home of Col. D. W. Adams. " One of
these Indians was killed on the hill
near the Mill Creek dam just above
town, one on thte Lee Crawford
farm, and one on Moffitt's Hill.
Gen. Rutherford, who was in com
mand of the guard protecting the
western frontier, camped in this
fort when patrolling the border. In
his report to the committee of safe
ty at Salisbury, he tells of a man by
the name of Middleton, who was
killed on Crooked Creek, about four
miles from Old Fort.
Little Miss Martha Nesbitt, who
will unveil the marker, is a great
great granddaughter of Mrs. Martha
Burgin who was born about 1791
and whose father was John Burgin,
one of Old Fort's first pioneer settl
ers.
The old Burgin homestead on Ca
tawba river, built by John Burgin
and known to the people in this
community as the Joe Burgin place,
was one of the first buildings erected
It was destroyed by fire during 1929
Invitations to many prominent
people to attend these ceremonies
have been extended by Dr. D. M.
Mcintosh, chairman of the Old Fort
Indian Memorial Association. Among
those who have accepted are the
Rev. Clarence Stuart McClellan, Jr.,
of Fletcher, N. C., who will speak on
the "Importance of Marking." J.
Hampton Rich, managing director
of the Boone Trail Highway Memo
rial Association, will talk about Pio
neer History of the Appalachian
Mountains, and Congressman Zeb
Weaver, will talk on the "Pioneers
and their Descendants." And Horace
Kephart, cf Bryson City, is expected
John Tahquitte, chief of the Cher
okee tribe, and Sam T. Blue, chief
of the Catawbas, with members of
their respective tribes, will attend,
also Chief Carl Standing Deer, who
will be dressed in full Indian rega
lia for the occasion. Chief Carl
Standing Deer, who is a Carlysle
graduate, is also a Cherokee Indian.
D. T. Roughton, president of the
Old Fort Indian Memorial Associa
tion, will be present and preside at
the ceremonies. Music will be furn
ished by a fifty piece band.
Special invitations are extended
to the people of the adjoining coun
ties.
GREENWICH VILLAGE LIFE
PICTURED IN 'HALF MARRIAGE'
j The atmosphere of the Greenwich
Village studios and life on a Long
Island country estate, two phases of
New York life often maligned and
distorted in films, is truly and care
fully portrayed in "Half Marriage,"
at Everybody's Theatre, July £5-26.
The director, William J. Cowen,
and all of the players, have, at one
time or another, lived in the metrop
olis and are familiar with the locales
in the piece.
Olive Borden and Morgan Farlev
are the featured players in "Half
Marriage." Farley lived in New
York during his seasons on the stage
with the Theatre Guild and in Dreis
er's "An American Tragedy."—Adv.
In 12,000 bottling works in 1929,
120,000 employees made 120,000,
000 bottles of soft drinks which
were sold to United States citizens
for $650,000,000.
MRS. MARY ALLISON
CELEBRATES 91st BIRTHDAY
A birthday dinner in honor of
Mrs. Mary Allison was celebrated
at her home in Old Fort on Sunday.
Mrs. Allison has spent all of her j
life in this county with the exception 1
of eight months, and for many years j
Mr. Robert Goodson, of Morganton, |
who is M^s. Allison's son by her first j
husband, has given elaborate din- j
ners in honor of his mother's birth-!
day. Mrs. Allison presided at the ta-!
ble spread in her honor. The . large!
three-tiered birthday cake, decked j
with 91 white candles, occupied the;
center of the table, which was over
fifty feet in length and placed on
the lawn. Many lovely flowers dec
orated the table, heavily laden with
delicious food, which was prepared
and bi'ought by truck from Morgan
ton. Punch and lemonade were ser
ved under an apple tree on the lawn,
ice cream and cake concluding the
most delightful dinner. The guests
numbered over 250 people, the larg
est number driving from Morganton
for the occasion. Miss Susan Allison
and Mrs. Ben Tisdell assisted their
mother in entertaining the guests.
After dinner Mrs. Allison occupied a
rocking chair on thte front porch of
her home and chatted with her many
friends, who wished her many more
h^ppy years and birthdays.
Mr. Goodson, with his friendly
smile and hearty handclasp, greeted
his many friends, who enjoyed the
wonderful hospitality and the pleas
ant associations of the day. Among
the Morganton guests present were
Mr. and Mrs. Noah Pitts, Mr. and
Mrs. Hamp Giles and family, Mr.
and Mrs. Richard Mescher, Mr. and
Mrs. John Wilson and family, Mr.
and Mrs. Galloway, Mr. and Mrs. J.
J. Halliburton, Mr. and Mrs. Will
Kirksey, Herman Kirksey, Mr. and
Mrs. Ed Kirksey, Mr. and Mrs. Will
Erwin, Dr. and Mrs. McCampbell,
Mr. and Mrs. L. E. ^Vebb, Mr. and
Mrs. Clarence Crouch, Dr. Jeter, C.
A. Spencer, Mr. and Mrs. R. V.
Micheaux, Mrs. Horace Halliburton,
and Miss Flossie Epley, Ruby Halli
burton, and Glenn Spencer, and Tex
Spencer, of Los Angeles, California.
HOUSE PARTY
Quite a large number of young
people from Old Fort enjoyed a two
days house party at Camp Allison
last week. Mr. and Mrs. Johnny
Rockett were chaperones, and the
following were present: Misses Em
ma Allison, Edith R. Grady, Nancy
Miller, Eunice Wilkinson, Carolyn
Mcintosh, Betty Crawford, Elizabeth
and Jean Hansell and Janie Mc
Swain. Messrs. Merrill Kanipe, Chas.
Fisher, Bud Hennessee, L. Whisn
ant, Bebe Nanney, Harrison Hansel,
Woodrow and Austin Harris. Other
than these a large number of visitors
aided in making this quite an event
ful trip.
DUNCAN SISTERS SING AND
DANCE IN "IT'S A GREAT LIFE"
"It's a Great Life," the Metro
Goldwyn-Mayer picture starring the
Duncan Sisters, at Everybody's
Theatre Monday and Tuesday, July
28 and 29, is an all-talking, singing
and danting film directed by Sam
Wood and filmed with technicolor
sequences. The story might well be
a biography of the dancers dealing
with a sister act in vaudeville which
finds itself in difficulties when a
quarrel separates the pair who find
themselves "flops" as singles.
EVERYBODY'S
THEATRE
OLD FORT, N. C.
"Half Marriage"
A story of modern young lovers,
in cast
OLIVE BORDEN with
MORGAN FARLEY
July 25th-26th
FRIDAY and SATURDAY
"It's a Great Life"
The Duncan Sisters dance their way
through gay comedy
July 28th-29th
MONDAY and TUESDAY
We Bid You a Most Cordial
Welcome
To Old Fort's Celebration
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and Unveiling Ceremony
July 27th, 1930
Make Our Store Your
Meeting Place.
Old Fort Drug Co.
Spacious, Cool, Comfortable
Do Not Fail to Come to
Old Fort»" Sunday
and help us celcbrate the
Unveiling of the Indian
Arrowhead Monument
Good Speakers - Good Music
The Bradley Drug Co.
is conveniently located
Drop in to see us.
Cold Drinks - Ice Cream - Sandwiches
YOU WILL FIND DELICIOUS HOME
COOKED MEALS AT THE
B. AND J. CAFE
For Sunday chicko^'dinner 50c
Visitors attending the Unveiling Ceremonies
will receive special attention.
OLD FORT, N. C.
Next to Post Office
Keep Your Money
in the Bank
Are you troubled by having your money "burn a
hole" in your pocket? That is a common fault of mon
ey. If you have your money in the bank, whether it be
much or little, it will not burn any holes and it will be
» <
there when you need it.
Money carried on the person is a temptation to
spending. Money in the bank does not offer this temp
tation. You may hesitate before writing a check where
you would not hesitate to spend it if you had the mon
ey with you.
We offer you the advantage of our banking facili
ties and invite you to open a checking account with us.
THE BANK OF OLD FORT
OLD FORT, N. C.
J. S. BRADLEY, Pre.. F. M. BRADLEY, Cashier
P. H. MASHBURN, Vice-Prea.