3 ■ The Morrisvitie & Preston Progress. January 1999
Civil War buff wants historical marker for Battle of Morrisville
Continued from page 1
“The committee feels that most of
the major Civil War events have
already been marked. Many recent
applications have failed because
they are not as important as sites
already marked,” Hill said.
The committee has recently turned
down several skirmishes similar to
the one fought in Morrisville, Hill
said.
Of the 1,418 existing markers,
more than 250 are Civil War relat
ed, far more than any other eatego-
ry. Most were erected during the
Civil War Centennial in early I960.
There are 72 markers in Wake
County.
To approve a marker, the commit
tee must believe that the event had
statewide importance. Dollar
believes he can back up that claim.
His research has shown that the
first note from Gen. Joe Johnston
suggesting surrender was delivered
to Union Gen. Judson Kirkpatrick in
Morrisville, and later forwarded to
vSherman in Raleigh. Confederate
Gen. Wade Hampton sent Capt.
Rawlins Lowndes with a white flag
across the battle line in Morrisville
to deliver the note to Kilpatrick’s
headquarters at midnight on April
13. Lowndes waited most of the
night and returned with Sherman’s
agreement for an armistice, which
was then forwarded to Johnston’s
headquarters.
“This note, received at Morrisville,
would be the brightest ray of light
for peace in four years and set the
stage for the largest surrender of the
Civil War 12 days later at Durham
Station,” Dollar said on his website.
Despite the fact that Confederate
General Robert E. Lee had surren
dered to Ulysses S. Grant days
before at Appomattox, Virginia, the
war was not over, Dollar said.
“Most history books say the war
stopped at Appomattox,” he said.
“Nobody’s heard of Bennett Place.
This history has been overlooked for
so long. That’s one reason why
Morrisville had no attention until
now.”
Dollar grew up in Parkwood sub
division in southern Durham. He
went to college at UNC-Greensboro,
‘After researching, I saw Morrisville as
a good opportunity to increase aware
ness of the Civil War in this area. ’
—Ernest Dollar,
Civil War buff
majoring in design and history, and
took a year of a master’s program in
history at the College of Charleston
in Charleston, S.C.
On a visit home during those col
lege years, his friend John Short
took him to some of the sites in the
Triangle area.
“He showed me the ropes,” Dollar
said. “I was fascinated to see stuff
actually dug out of the ground.”
Short has found an old gun barrel
that was used as a comer rod to
mark a property line, and several
metal buttons from uniforms. One
rare find is a Texas naval button. He
also has Confederate buttons from
several different states.
So far, all Dollar has unearthed
have been minie balls, calvary type
bullets.
“I haven’t been that lucky yet,” he
laments.
But as he looked at the sites and
the artifacts, the college student in
him came to the fore. “This needs to
be documented,” he said to himself.
He started research in 1992.
“I started looking for the battle at
New Hope Creek, which was anoth-
rnysterious battle,” Dollar said.
“But I had to get the whole picture,
so 1 backtracked. After researching,
1 saw Morrisville as a good opportu
nity to increase awareness of the
Civil War in this area.”
He shares his research on his web
site.
On the morning of April 13, Union
Gen. Judson Kilpatrick took
Raleigh. Confederate Cavalry Gen.
Joseph Wheeler and Confederate
Gen. Wade Hampton had fled the
city and Kilpatrick remained in
Raleigh about 30 minutes before set
ting out in pursuit of Wheeler and
Hampton. The first battle occurred
at Ashbury Station in West Raleigh,
about where Ole N.C. Barbecue is
now located.
The confederates began retreating,
ending up on a ridge overlooking
Morrisville about 2 p.m. A train was
preparing to take wounded soldiers
and supplies to Hillsborough.
Kilpatrick’s men tried to stop the
train, and it left without the two cars
of supplies, which Kilpatrick confis
cated. Kilpatrick also took the vil
lage of Morrisville.
Hampton’s confederates dug in at
the site of the rifle pits, near what is
now Morrisville Town Hall. Late
that night, the famous note was
delivered at Morrisville. Wheeler's
cavalry headed on west, battling
with union soldiers on Petty Farm
Road in the Carpenter Community.
The last skirmish before surrender,
and arguably the last battle in the
entire war, was held at New Hope
Creek outside Chapel Hill.
Dollar is also trying to organize a
re-enactment, to coincide with the
committee’s meeting, and al.so the
anniversary of the battle, April 13
and 14, 1865. Several re-enactors
have expressed interest in partici
pating, but he has not decided on a
site.
“I’d like to have it someplace kind
of visible, where people can come
out, take a look, and be surprised.
We’d like to hand out brochures
about the battle and the historic
marker.”
If sheer determination counts for
anything, we can expect to see that
marker by late spring or early sum
mer.
Morrisville Town Board starts DOT road project fund
Continued from page 1
would never get done. If you had to
take everything you had to get that
road through, I would say the money
needs to be on it.”
Once the town gets federal
approval for the plans, rights of way
will have to be obtained.
Commissioner Leavy Barbee
asked why the town couldn’t start
getting those rights of way now,
while the plan is sitting for six to
nine months in the federal offices.
Carolyn Grant, DOT board member
for the Morrisville area has told
Town Manager David Hodgkins that
DOT would use small urban monies
to build the connector, and that those
funds are available now.
The board also has the option to
assess property owners for the road
widening in front of their property,
although that has never been done.
Because of the expense involved in
this road—a cost of potentially $2
million—board members said they
would strongly consider making
assessments.
"It will improve their property,”
Moore said. “In the long run, he will
benefit, like running a sewer line.”
The board also discussed water
and sewer capacity for the town,
noting that the town has reached
about 78 percent of its available
wastewater capacity on paper
(including plans approved but not
yet built). But the state figures used
to estimate future projects are high
er than what those projects will actu
ally use, Hodgkins said.
Average daily flow for 1998 was
447,000 gallons a day with the peak
usage of 634,000 gallons a day occur
ring in March. The town has contract
ed to receive up to 2 million gallons
of treatment per day from Cary.
Assistant to the town manager
Mike Koisovo is working on a study
to prove to the state that actual num
bers are lower. Cary recently
reduced its estimate for a three-bed
room house from 316 gallons per
day to 250 gallons per day, a signif
icant reduction. A study of 56
homes on Fairwoods Drive came
back higher than the town had
hoped, and another study is planned.
Meanwhile, Morrisville is negoti
ating with Durham for wastewater
treatment at Durham’s plant on N.C.
55. Under a proposed agreement,
Morrisville would partner with
Durham to upgrade the plant.
The water situation is somewhat
better than the wastewater situation,
after a recent agreement with Cary
for additional water. But Hodgkins
suggested that residents should still
limit sprinkler use.
In the future, the town may consid
er doing away with irrigation
meters, which allow the user to only
pay for water use, instead of water
and sewer use; and requiring rain
sensors on all sprinkler systems.
The board also discussed stormwa
ter runoff, annexation procedures,
standard operating procedures for
the police department, an incentive
program for volunteer firefighters,
an updated capital improvements
program and the use of the commu
nity center.
The town engineer will make rec
ommendations on how to handle
stormwater runoff in response to
complaints from several homeown
ers about runoff from development
above them.
The board also discussed requiring
developers to annex their property
before their plans are approved,
instead of before the building permit
is granted.
The board agreed that the police
department should limit chases for
minor offenses like shoplifting
because of potential,damage to the
police cars.
Hodgkins will approach the cham
ber of commerce about providing
some incentives for volunteer fire
fighters, such as reduced movie
rates and restaurant meals.
Commissioner Bill Case, who was a
volunteer firefighter in Florida, said
a similar incentive program there
worked well in attracting and retain
ing volunteers.
Hodgkins said he will work on an
updated Capital Improvements Plan,
to include water and sewer, streets
and public buildings, and identify
the needs, the time frame and rough
cost estimates. The current Capital
Improvements Program was devel
oped in 1990, and most of the pro
jects are already completed.
Increased hours at the community
center in the early morning may
increase use of the exercise equip
ment. Commissioner Jan Faulkner
was concerned that the community
center is not always available to res
idents.
More business coming
Continued from page 1
Penske Truck Leasing, which
does maintenance on trucks for
other fleets, will be located on 6.9
acres in Lot 10 of Airpark subdivi
sion. The 15,155 s5uarc foot build
ing will be used as a garage and to
wash the trucks. No more than
about 30 or 40 trucks would be at
the site at one time, but the compa
ny will maintain about 175 trucks
in the area. Watts Davis, district
manager, said.
Commissioners expressed con
cerns about having trucking in this
area of town. Davis said that the
greatest amount of “ins and outs”
would be after 5 p.m. and on week
ends.
The plan was approved unani
mously with the condiuon that no
irrigation meters be granted.
The office building at Concourse
Lakeside II will be located on 6.7
acres on the west side of Slater
Road, north of Sorrell’s Grove
Church Road. The 78,416-square-
foot building will be a mirror image
of the existing building in Phase 1
of the project.
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The Morrisville Chamber of
Commerce membership has grown
from 100 to about 600 this year to
become the third largest chamber in
Wake County.
The chamber has four goals for
1999, Chairman Jim Huggins said at
the kickoff meeting for 1999, report
ing on the results of the day-long
retreat held in November.
The goals are economic develop
ment, membership development,
activities enhancement and facility
improvement.
The chamber also hopes to
improve relations with the town—it
has already made strides in that
direction, this year creating a shared
website and marketing brochure for
the town. Don Dixon, a member of
the chamber board, will be responsi
ble this year for creating an econom
ic development marketing plan..
Until now Chamber Executive
Director Ray Lech has single-hand
edly managed the chamber’s phe
nomenal growth, but this year a
committee headed by Cleve Folger
and Kenie Wrenn will help with
membership development.
The activities committee, led by
Gerry Fiks, will try to get more par
ticipation at Issues and Eggs break
fasts, Business After Hours activi
ties, the annual barbecue and golf
outings, and perhaps come up with
more activities.
Mark Bolebruch is leading the
committee to find a new, more pro
fessional building with meeting
facilities that members can use.
Dave Lindner and Lou Walters are
helping him. The chamber is consid
ering a site near the Morrisville
Town Hall, but is still negotiating a
contract with the landowner.
The committees, which were set
up at a daylong retreat held Nov. 14,
at the Courtyard by Marriott, will
help enhance the chamber members’
ability to do business in Morrisville,
Huggins said.
“This will require increased
paraticipation from all chamber
members,” he noted, “The more you
participate, the more you will get
out of it.” He hopes to “make
Morrisville a better place to do busi
ness for all of us,” he said.
The next Issues and Eggs breakfast
will be held Feb. 18 at a new loca
tion, the Golden Corral restaurant on
N.C, 54. John Douglas, supervisor
with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service will speak.
Breakfast costs $8.
On Feb. 8, Business After Hours
will be held at the Ground Finale in
Maynard Crossings, at the corner of
Maynard and High House Roads in
Cary from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
First, second, and third-place win
ners in the Governor’s Club Classic
golf event held Nov. 2 were Danny’s
Barbecue, Rudino’s Pizza and
Grinders, and Beauty Lawn.
Individual winners included Smith
Byham—closest to the pin on the
third hc^e; iDaniel Lang—^closest to
the pin on the fourth hole; John
Powell—longest drive on the sev
enth hole; Jim Flink—^longest drive
on the 13th hole; Herman Hocutt—
closest to the pin on the 14th hole;
and Johnny Evans—longest drive
on the 17th hole. hole.
New members for the month of
January are Allstate Insurance, Tom
Fisquette; Gelm and Associates;
John Burke Photography; Smith
Helms Mulliss and Moore, attor
neys.
New members for the month of
December include Allstates Air
Cargo, Inc.; Bell & Howell; Block
& Associates Realty; Brentwood
Homes, Inc.; Brinks Home Security
Service; Capi’s, Inc.; Carolina
Mudeats; Checkwrite Payroll
Systems. Inc.; Chick-Fil-A;
Coppola Foods; Crescent State
Bank; Edie Raepher; Farsight
Design, Inc.; Grand Stand Grille &
Tavern; Hall-Kinion;
Health Systems International;
Herald-Sun; Horizon Homes, Inc.;
IBM Consultation; Ideal
Landscaping and Grading Co.;
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InterLan Technologies; J.O.B.
Strategies. Inc.; Jani-King of
Raleigh-Durham; Jerry’s Caterers;
John H. Frischkorn, Jr., Inc.; The
Lundy Group; Matrix Resources,
Inc.;, Net by Design; Precision
Sprinkler Co.,,Inc.; Primrose School
of Cary; Primrose School of West
Cary; Residence Inn by Marriott;
Riggs Harrod Builders; Ruth’s Chris
Steak House; Shor Szechuan
Chinese Restaurant; Spectrum
Medical Center; Stephens Catering;
Sterling Green; Telephone Systems
Plus; Threadscapes; Tony’s
Pizzeria; Tony Smith; Trans
America Business Services; and
Waterworks.
New members for the month of
November include Aqua Cool Pure
Bottled Water; Bunkey’s Car Wash;
Carolina Hurricanes; Crosstimbers;
Dunn Physical Therapy; Edward D.
Jones & Co.; Glory Road; Golden
Corral; Headway Corporate Staffing
Services; Health Systems
International;
Intec USA, LLC; J. M. Thompson
Co.; N.C.D. Architects
International; Nature Revisited;
Pizzagalli Properties; Ramp
Solutions; RPS, Inc.; Sirtage, Inc.;
Spectrum Medical Center; Twenty
First Designs, Inc.; United Arts
Council of Raleigh; and Whitcom
International Corporation.
Better Morrisville
meeting on Feb. 1
The Better Morrisville
Association will meet Monday, Feb.
1, at the Morrisville Community
Center from 7:30 to 9 p.m. to dis
cuss the Triangle Transit
Authority’s regional rail service and
its Morrisville station.
TTA officials will be on hand to
answer questions and outline the
long-range plan for the transit sys
tem.
All citizens and interested persons
are invited to attend.
Sunday School
Worship Service
Youth Forum
"Jesus Is Alive"
Come Celebrate With Us
Good Hope Baptist Church
10:00 AM
11:00 AM
6:00 PM
Wed. Meal and Bible Study 6-8:00 PM
Children's Programs 7-8:00 PM
Good Hope Church Rd.
Carpenter Community
Morrisvile, NC
467-8526