m W WA y off
TIRO DUCT ION
ggN offering this volume to those friends and acquaintances of the commercial world and to those
1 1
who feel an interest in the affairs of our city, a few preparatory words appear desirable, if not to
introduce the subject matter, yet to outline the publishers' -intention. Too frequently editions
of newspapers are issued as a mere pretext for self-laudation, land the most extravagant terms
ployed to set forth the virtues of their localities, with scant 'regard for the intelligence of the
atin rtiiirr1r teyrrorxro lt fiWir-ir r 4-r 4-1 -e,.zl. .5 .J
em
mm
reading public, who quickly perceive the fallacy; they appear to the conservative mind an attemot to over
draw the truth, which in fact does not even deceive, and thus they not only fail in good results, but bring
discredit upon their promoters, a $t jt & m j: m a a: a m m a a m u m at h k x x h
In the descriptions and illustrations that follow it has been the writers' highest aspiration to treat of the various
subjects of industrial import in a manner that will convey a cdmprehensive idea of their present status ; to tell a true story
of the city of Greensboro and Guilford county, with its various towns and hamlets,! and the possibilities here awaiting the
judicious investment of capital and labor: to deal with the facts in a manner commensurate with 'th
ajrcciration. There is i nothing whether in statement or implication--that has been more earnesU i I I I
nnd of enterprise and development in its march toward the sea has found in the foothills of the Blue Ridge a resting-place prolific; in the endowment ofVnatural ad van t-
me converging 01 me nignways 01 iramc ana transportation nave iouna a common centre.
mm
t re
ine iiiuu&wiuus tuners nave set aDout to Duna a city not a great metropolitan emporium 01 literature ana art out a city ot manufacture and trade, where thev havo
;ifril hOniesind stately edifices a good place to live, and a good place to make a living. I! ' v V
a bity is Greensboro of the present day. Just as in Nature, the slowest processes are those which culminate in greatest energy, so in the domain of Trade the soliditv
juires time in which to eventuate. Greensboro has not at a single bound leaped into its present commercial prominence, but its builders have wisely taken the surer w-v
oner tribute to the general sagacity, courage arid integrity of its business men and their commercial achievements, this publication has been conceived whorem tlm
the artist should supplement description of those institutions that constitute and create wealth in our community. . ; I !
xt is more than a citation of bare facts. It is a portraiture of the living process' in the building of a great and prosperous commercial centre, with contributed editorials
men in tne various lines ot trade, t .. - i
112
j
he cordial wish that the reader may participate, in i some degree, in the pleasure experienced by the several writers of this volume, that we solicit for the following paces'
RD COUNTY.
.1 '!
ninety-seven, political
Jj's iU North Carolina, stretching
'v,J
Anioiu' i
on tin
it'
PAST. BOUNTIFUL
NT, LIMITLESS 1
. t i t
RESOURCES.
fy(U
tlie briny 'shores
of the
,j tl,. Utirnmit of the Blue Kidge
u 1 there ;is none more rich
natural resources than
injur
ti-r K
iunar
i- wfrLr.rU events which were
rifenl in l ;qinp the destinies of the
klaiL.j the 8iib$?queht foundiDg
rrr, ;it Kenubli- of the West.
U tli conflicts at arms from
of Guilford. Within its
. j
In d
UxinlfoiA 4 Yorktowti, the sons of
faroli in IstfkMi shoukier to; snouiaer
w th t h
i,ni
v. (1
k.'iid en ' llu
-ir fallow patriots of other col-
aid Avlien the, Britons under
rnw;illis intaded the soil of
iua; most nobly- did her
;lc for the liberty of man-
field at Ouilford Court
B st'4 :f st it i ft"?? the exarnple of self sac-
Cari)
,b:it
t nulla
Kit
1 bv
1.
mint
votion which has been
their posterity.
)X OF THE COtJNTY.
... ! ..." 1 . ' ; I
k- of Guilford was erected
; lTTn.i iir taken from a part of
i i i i -
i; I I ;l. ; -
n .1
in 1
.'''ill
iti:i!tit
His Hi
Mart
in 1
I It
lies
ra'iisp
.1, ' 1 ' 1
) ranee counties, and war-
nor of 'Lord North, ' who
( riiilford. j J .
county -jstit was removed
iiisville to Greensboro
, i
onor of General Greene)
Mtheast of Sthe site! of the
j j . I'
ll, where 0n March 15th,
red one' of the most im-
yenientsiot tne uevoiu-
j f : - . i : . ?
i
tionary war, and where a monument
now stands commemorative . of the
culminating-victory.
THE TOWNSHIPS.
'Guilford .Is divided into eighteen
townships, sixteen of which are pene
trated by -its 111 miles of railroads,
radiating out from jthe center, Greens
boro, which has a population of about
13,000. A glance at the map reveals in
Guilford county characteristics rarely
if ever seen elsewhere in the United
States. It is laid out almost perfectly
square and in the construction of the
townships the same uniformity is ob
served, giving it the appearance of a
veritable) political chess board.
INDUSTRIES. i
Guilford county has four nurseries,
producing hundreds of thousands of
fruit trees and vines which are sold in
dozens of states; terra-cotta works,
which supply sewer pipe for neighbor
ing states, cities and railroads, drain
pipes, chimney "flues, etc., on a large
scale; two spoke and handle factories,
twelve furniture factories using our
native woods, and shipping North,
East and South into more than twenty
states, several -foundries, machine
shops, implement factory, etc., besides
the great cotton and tobacco growing
and manufacturing interests and
other diversified manufacturing indus
tries for which , the county is noted.
POPULATION.
The population of the county is
about thirty-five 1 thousand, of which
about one-fourth is colored. The lat
ter as a rule are good citizens, sober,
frugal and industrious, and far above
the average in-many other communi
ties, readily embracingtne opportuni
ties afforded them for moral and in
tellectual training by such institutiona
as the Agricultural and Mechanical
College,; supported by the State and
nation, the Bennett College for the
Colored. Race, supported by, philan
throphy, and the High, Point Normal
and Industrial School, supported by
thie New York Yearly Meeting of
Friends, as well as numerous j public
primary and graded schools through
out the county. " I
' r !
ISo racial trouble or embroilment
has ever taken place in Guilford
county , the negroes are good and
faithful servants, glad to find employ
ment at-reasonable wages, and have
never permitted their political ! affilia
tions to disturb their accustomed
quiet. i I
I
AGRICULTURE. ! j
i i I
.The usual crops per acre are;Oneto
five tons of clover hay, twenty-five jtc
one hundred bushels of corn, five to
thirty-five bushels of wheat, and ten
to sixty bushels of oats, according to
the energy and judgment of the
farmer. - i
t !
Agricultural lands sell from five to
twenty-five dollars per acre, according
to fertility and proximity io tha
market. Guilford county has 400,760
- i i
acres of land valued at $2,285,700, and
2,264 town lots valued at $2,033,952.
Of domestic animals there are: Horses,
4,021; mules, 1,703; cattle, 10,707;
hogs, 12,842; sheep, 4,862. No organ
ized effort has yet been made to in
duce the immigration of farmers, and
there are large tracts of valuable
farming lands capable of raising to
bacco cotton, , or any of the cereals or
fruits grown out of tropics, that can
be had at exceedingly low prices, and
the farmer who comes to Guilford
will find himself surrounded by hos
pitable neighbors, a congenial climate,
and a fertile soil. t
TOPOGRAPHY.
The area of Guilford county covers
24 by 28 square, miles. . It lies near
the middle of the Piedmont plateau
region, with its higher part on the
watershed between the Cape Fear and
Dan rivers, which crosses its territory
nearly midway ;in a west , and east
direction,at an elevation of eight hun
dred to one thousand, feet above the
tide. - .. . . : :rl 'f
Its forests consist mainly of oaks ol
various species and hickory, with a
subordinate growth of pines, scat
tered quite" uniformly trver its area.
Along its river and creek bottoms,
which are in many parts of the county
extensive, and in the southeastern
section of the county, even on the up
lands, are heavy forests of oak, inter
mingled with hickory, walnut, poplar,
maple, etc. These lands are generally
a reddish clay loam soil. '
The soil of the higher and -broad
backed ridges and swells is quite uni
formly a yellowish sandy and gravelly
loam, underlaid by a yellowish and
red clay subsoil.
The cotton zone touches the south
ern border, the chief crops of the
county consisting of grain, grasses,
fruits and tobacco. Cherries, except
in 1893, have not failed in the past
fifty years. Gold, copper and iron are
found in many places, and have been
mined on a considerable scale.
CLIMATE.
The climate of Guilford county . is
equable, the mean temperature being
about 50 degrees. The thermometer
rarely climbs above 90 degrees, and
then only for a short period of one or
two days at a time. Ice seldom forms
to a greater depth than one inch, per
haps once in two or three years it may
be slightly thicker. Roses bloom out
of doors for nine months in the year,
while magnolias and other trees and
shrubs of this character are abundant.
The expression I often used here, "A
climate of perpetual spring, is -not
overdrawn.;. .'..: . . -j ; j :
; ... EDUCATION, j
, Guilford county is the educational
center , of .North Carolina, and . em
braces in this capacity a large portion
of South Carolina, Virginia and Ten
nessee. ,"- " ' A ' '
Two graded school systems are sup
ported nine months in the year j in
Guilford, by. 'public tax. I No , other
county in the State, enjoys this dis
tinction. Among .the -other institu
tions are the State Normal and Indus
trial College for Girls, at which 500 lire
now in attendance; the Greensboro
Female College a large 'institution
under the control of the Methodists of
the State, the Agricultural and Me
chanical college for the Colored Race,
l - 4 ,
also Bennett Seminary, a high-grade
institution xf learning for the same
race. Besides these there are four
other colleges of high grade in the
county. Guilford College, six miles
west of Greensboro; Oak Ridge Insti
tute, Oak Ridge; Whitsett Institute,
Whitsett; and the High Point Insti
tute ( colored. Hiirh Point. Allnf
schools are well managed and prosper
ous, they are under the direction of edu
cators of the highest type, while the
tuition and other charges are usually
1 a 1 i i r. : .
wncr man eisewnere. oeverai acade
mies throughout the county add ma
terially to the educational facilities
enjoyed by our people.
. '
This brief sketch of Guilford county
is intended only as one broad sweep
ing" glance over the natural resources
and advantages, the development of
which have already made it one of the
wealthiest in the Old North. 'State, and
as prefatory to the descriptions and
illustrations that follow. ' Details as
to the possibilities here awaiting the
merchant, the manufacturer, and the
farmer are discussed on other pages
in numerous scientific and technical
articles contributed by men of recog
nized authority on these subjects.
Suffice it to say that nowhere in the
broad realm of nature are inducements
more enticing, a people more hospit
able, and a climate more delightful,
than here in Guilford county.
i i
IT. CTTMETt,
SluM-liT.
-lu'riiT o
unty.liav
"A
' Guilford, is t
I
ng firt "seen
'' October 15, 1848. In
i' mled ' the 44 old field
n schools), but was
uvo schcfol at an early
workl as the war
0 the plantations. He
' tninjr, rhaniif acturingL
1 servcil as. justice of
JelTersbn township
bam dvilig while in of
r' was 'eiecf ed by the
i ners to fill tlie unex
the expiration of this
was elected to: the of
r in bv the people and
in 1SS8 ie waa' elected
ner and served until
1 State! legislature in
- . legislative. session of
a jriieniberj of the
.';ylums, Salaries and
''V, and1 was second
' a nee Commjittee, of
' bod v he often-served
" i ii g" to the absence of
st;tt. ;
i.
'iM-as1.,...
-mbency of the legis
as elected aj member
nl of Agriculture for
He served until the
tructed and the mem-!-nt
of office. In 189S
;; for trie tbird time
elected to the office of sheriff. In ad
dition to discharging the duties of his
office Mr. Gilmer is treasurer of the
Globe Plow Manufacturing Company,
a concern engaged in the manufacture
of a cultivator of superior construc
tion and device which is fast winning
popularity among the farmers.,
r. a. Mccracken,
FAMILY GROCERIES.
' COUNTRY PRODUCE, ETC.
Corner SpRi??a St . . VT
and Walker Avenue, urccnauuru, v.
FINK FLOUR-our specialty.
Now is- the time to buy GARDEN SEEDS.
Crossxian's Seeds are always fresh, and sure to
grow. We ell them.
We deliver goods promptly.
Our Motto : Good Goods; Low Prices?
Call and see us. or send in your orders and
we will guara-ntee satisfaction.
J. Turner Ra-kim. R. Eugene JHodgim.
We carr' a full nd up to date line of
DRY GOODS, NOTIONS,
GENTS FURNISHINGS,
HATS, UMBRELLAS,
and make a-specialty of all kind of the very
best makes of SHOES.
-- Call and see us when in the city and we wilt
try to interest you-both in goods and prices.
RANKIN & HODGIN,
516 SOUTH ELM ST. SOUTH OF OtPOT.
J. N. INGRAM
Wants to see all the citizens of
tireensboro at his Grocery, . ...
530 South Elm St.
.' He has no Trashy Goods, dear at
any price, but has a fine line of
Groceries and Promsions at prices
that will astonish you. He wanis
your trade, and jvhen you deal V
with him once you will want to
become a customer, and he will
thank you, and you will never be I
sorry, for you can sai'e money, .
PIEDMONT FLOUR.
GROCERIES AND PROVISIONS.
A leading house Sealing- in groceries
and provisions is that of J. N. Ingram,
530 South Elm street. While the bus
iness has only been' established since
January, 1S9S, the house has by ad
hering to the motto " best goods at
lowest prices' built up a large pat
ronage among an appreciative public.
Mr. Ingram was formerly engaged
in the lumber business at High Point
and is one of those progressive men
who-have been attracted to Greens
boro by her possibilities and advan
tages. He is assisted by his son, H. O.
Ingram.
3
.Dr. J. Pinkney Turner,
Coroner of Guilford County.
. Dr.1" Turner was born , in Cool
Spring, Iredell county, Xorth Caro
lina, December 18, 1871. He received
his early education at the Oak Insti
tute, Mooresvilie, N. C, after which
he attended Trinity College. In 1893
he entered the University of I Mary
land at Baltimore and in 1896 "gradu
ated from that famous medical
school. During his Senior year and
the first year subsequent to his gradu
ating he was resident physician at the
Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.
In 1897 he began the practice of his
profession in Greensboro. ?
The duties devolving on a coroner
are of such a nature as to render it
particularly desirable that a physi
cian should fill the office. This fact
has been recognized and where! mem
bers of the medical profession have
administered the duties of the . posi
tion there has been a notable improve
ment in the management and a cor
responding elevation of the officel
Dr.! Turner was elected coroner jof
the county: of Guilford-in 189S,' and
during 'his- incumbency of the "office
the truth' of the-foregoing' has -been
demonstrated. V
He is a member of the Marla ad
Medical Society of Baltimore, Md.,
and the Manuf acturers and i Mer
chants Association of Greensboro.
? . ,
''Ii," ( V ! i
' - . . ' 1
r, 1
1
' ..1
I-
M
O W. CARR.
iwmm
Combined Assets $400,000,000
ACCIDENT:
Travelers of Hartford.
BOND: Fidelity and Deposit,
Baltimore, Lid.
EMPLOYEES LIABILITY:
Travelers, Hartford.
FIRE : Thirty Companies.
LIFE:
j Ilutual Life, New York.
PLATE GLASS :
Lloyds, New York.
RENT : Home, New York.
STEAU BOILER:
Hartford S. B. I. & Ins. Co.
. - -p i"
0.111. CARR & CO.,
Twenty-eight years exper
ience in insurance Business
and no policy written at this
agency has ever yet been con
tested.
COUNTRY BUSINESS
WRITTEN FREELY.
i V -I
Those wanting insurance of
any kind are respectfully so
licited to call at our office;
Front Corner Room, I
Second Floor,
, Greensboro National Bank
Building, 1
Corner South Elm and East Washington
Streets, j
GREENSBORO, N.G.
Tl Some rrry dcirab!e Iind
nlir S3 IP at,ut i milrn from Court
X. Ul UlilUf House, known e the Iiarne
I'lace. Mtuatetl on the road
leading to the CufTalo Uairy: lo from 5 to 15
acres or will nell anyauiownt wanted. It will
pay any one wishing to buy farm land to ee me
before buying. Also several very desirable tracts
within 2J4 miles of town.
CARL H. WEAJHERLY,
P. O. Box 214. OKKKNSBORO, N. C
it---
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CJIURCIT.