Page FOURTEEN
PHE PILOT—Southern Pines. North Carolina
THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1960
200-Year-Old Thagard^s Mill Site Now Center of Lively New Development
A Moore County mill pondfact that electricity, which sus-
whose waters ground corn for
Revolutionary troops and later
powered one of the earliest hy
droelectric generators in the
state, has become the center of a
whole new Sandhills develop
ment.
The old Thagard’s Mill site
(more commonly spelled with two
G’s) is astir with activity remin
iscent of the commerce centered
there in Colonial days.
-For the first time its 285-acre
expanse of water is exposed to
view along the length of its shore
line. Paved roads traverse its
banks; electric power lines gird
the developrrient and new homes
with lake front vistas are budding
like spring flowers
Paradox
A paradox Of this change is the
tamed the project long after its
importance as a grist mill declin
ed, is playing a vital role in its
re-birth. (Many of the homes
springing up around the lake will
be “all-electric.”) The mill was
equipped with a hydroelectric
generator in 1902 by I. F. Chand
ler, who introduced electricity to
Southern Pines, Aberdeen and
Carthage. Electricity from the
Thagard plant fed Southern
Pines. Now the process is revers
ed. Power feeds the Thagard de
velopment from Carolina Power
& Light facilities at Southern
Pines.
In 1920, Chandler sold this and
other Little River sites to the
Electric Light & Power Company,
MARKER TO PIONEERS — This marker identifies the rest
ing place of William Calvin Thagard, who gave his name to the
development. Thagard operated a grist mill here during the Civil
War period. It was a mill site as early as 1769. Nicholas Smith
received the property through a king’s grant when Moore Coun
ty was part of Cumberland. Later it passed to John Ray, Scot
pioneer, who is also buried here. This grave plot is being msdn-
tained as a memorial to the pioneers. At right is Dick Byrd of
Carolina Power & Light Company’s publicity department.
' 1*®
s?
WHERE GENERATOR OPERATED — In the foreground is the
turbine pedestal in the old Thagard Mill. A hydroelectric genera
tor installed here in 1902 by I. F. Chandler of Southern Pines
made this one of the earliest hydroelectric sites in the state. The
pedestal now houses a gate which controls the flow of water
through the penstock below. Shown are A. B. Hardee, left, pres
ent developer of the Thagard site, and Ward Hill, right. Southern
Pines manager for Carolina Power & Light Company.
11
rr
OPEN HOUSE
Two New
MEDALLION HOMES
AT
WHISPERING PINES
THAGARD'S LAKE
FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY
APRIL 22 - 23 - 24
Note The Beautiful Walls
PAINT
FROM
Conder Bros. Paint Store
Tramway, N. C.
and in 1924 the properties were
acquired by Carolina Power &
Light Company. Three years later
CP&L retired the Thagard plant
in favor of its larger Blewett
Falls and Tillery plants on the
Pee Dee. For the past 33 years
the Thagard plant has been aban
doned, visited only by fishermen
who still find good catches in its
tailrace and lake.
The Thagard site was first de
veloped by Nicholas Smith as a
grist mill in the early 1700’s.
Smith had received the land
through king’s grant. The prop
erty passed from Smith to John
Ray, a Scot who settled there and
continued to operate the mill dur
ing the American Revolution. It
later passed to William C. Thag
ard, who gave it the present name
and operated the grist mill during
the Civil War. Thagard in turn
sold the property to M. C. Mc
Donald and Chandler purchased
the site from him.
CP&L sold the mill site to John
Warren Watson, a Pennsylvanian
who rebuilt the dam. Last year a
corporation name Sandhills Prop
erties purchased the mill and
1,100 acres of adjoining wood
land.
New Life
In the face of expressed mis
givings from natives who looked
upon the site as a poor financial
gamble, the company’s stockhold
ers—Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Hardee
and children and Attorney Frank
Holton of Lexington—began to
bring new life to the Little River
site.
Hardee lowered the lake level
six feet and is removing stumps
and logs as a concession to boat
ers.
“We’re pulling out stumps that
were cut by axe, probably 200
years ago,” he remarks. Exposed
too is a deep pool near the mill
house where rocks for its founda
tion and the dam were quarried.
Hardee stocked the lake with
bass and will add 19,000 “hard
head shell crackers,” a species of
warm-water trout. He will build
a second lake of 175 acres farther
west at a site used as a pond by
John Ray many years ago. This
body of water will be entirely
spring fed and will be stocked
with mountain trout.
Picnic areas, boat landings and
natural sandy beaches are fea
tures of the development. Long
range plans call for an 18-hole
golf course. Fourteen homes are
already under construction
around the lake. Several, inclu
ding Hardee’s own home, will be
all-electric, bringing full cycle a
story of electrification which be
gan with Chandler’s hydro gen
erator in 1902.
Hardee has even considered in
stalling a small turbine-generator
in the mill, as an historic novel
ty, to light the picnic grounds.
The development is served with
electricity by CP&L.
,The residential area has been
named “'Whispering Pines,” well
describing the 100-foot slash pines
which stand along the border of
the lake.
Public Showing
Hardee will open the develop
ment for public showing the
weekend of April 22. He describes
it as a perfect haven for retiring
people, within easy driving dis
tance of resort centers at South
ern Pines and Pinehurst and mil
itary facilities at Fort Bragg. Sev
eral homeowners are military
personnel.
On the northeast bank of the
lake is a graveyard in which rest
the remains of Ray, Thagard and
their kin. This plot is being main
tained as a memorial to these
pioneers who first recognized the
site’s commercial appeal. Within
earshot of this point construction
goes on at a pace quickened by
spring. Old Thagard’s Lake is
coming to life again!
TWO OPEN HOUSES
VISIT THE TOTAL-ELECTRIC
MEDALLION HOMES
in Whispering Pines
at Thagard*s Lake
This Medallion home by Conder Bros. Construction Co.j
features Electric Baseboard Heating.
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The Hardee home features the Electric Heat Pump.
A new hallmark of excellence in modern living open to the public
Fri. & SaL, April 22-23:2 to 8 P.M. - - - Sunday, April 24:2 to 6 P.M.
LOOK FOR THESE HEDAILION FEATURES:
Electric Heating & Cooling—
i HEATING =
= AND =
COOLING
Be sure to visit both of these homes. One features the
Electric Heat Pump which cools in summer and
warms in winter. The other home features Electric
Baseboard Heating with individual heat control for
each room—so safe, so clean, so quiet.
m HOUSEPOWER—
.Here is insurance that your electrical way of life
gets all the power it needs through up-to-date, com
plete home wiring.
%'ii’
Modern Electric Appliances—
Take time to browse around the all-electric kitchens
and see the host of other electric servants designed to
save you time, steps and effort.
Ocndiffoniiig-
Y m’ll delight in the light for living schemes made
p sible by planned and placed lighting combinations
.. a perfect blending of decorative beauty and visual
comfort.
CCAROLINA POWER & LIGHT COMPANFr)