IT REACHES I THE PEOPLE
G. A. Rouse Editor and Publisher
FAKMVUiLB.
VOL VIII
'THE MAKINGS OF FARM
VILLE."
(By W. G. Sheppard. Secretary7
Chamber of Commerce)
Few towns in the South have
had the phenominal growth that
Farmville has had. Frdm a
county cross roads twenty-five
or thirty pears ago, with only
a few wooden stores and a post
office at that time, the town has
grown to a large commercial
eenfcer with a business and
wealth envied by that of other
towns much older and larger ir
size in this section of the State.
I \A ? n | II I
I- L A]MOUlUUn' IMWVV
incss life wa3 engendered intc
the town. Even seven years age
in 1D10, the population was oil;
S16 and in 1916 it had increased
to the staggering figures of 2,
000. The increase in capital in
vested has been even more as
tounding than has the popula
tion, and the taxable property,
both real estate and personal,
amounts to something over |1,
000,000.
There are many things which
have contributed to the growth
and development of Farmville.
Not the least of these, however,
were the two railroads which
have come into the town. The
first railroad to make its way
into Farmville was the East
Carolina Railway, from Tarboro.
This brought new life and new
business into the town. Then
followed the Norfolk Southern
Railway whic connected the
[; town with both the eastern and
western parts of the state giving
a direct route to Washington,
Elizabeth City and Norfolk on
the east, and Wilson, Raleigh
and Charlotte on the west and
south. These railroads therefore
give the town excellent transpor
tation aijfr freight facilities to
north
various
rect and
f country. But the new enterprise
paid and the market has steadily
increased until today there are
three large warehouses Here and
the market sells more than 7,
400,060 pounds of tobacco a year.
In addition to this there is a
large re-drying plant here be
longing to A. C. Monk and Com
pany andonJj^ recently a con
tract has been let to replace
this plant b? a new and more ex
a&o
-tjui / :_iw7
BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF FARMVJLLE. LOOKING WEST.
it was. fortunate enougit t& have
as its head Mr, Davis, who at;
that time was President of the
Greenville Bank and Trust Com
pany. This bank aided and fos
tered such things as the Tobacco
Market in its incipiency, the
Farmville Oil and Fertilizer
Company and other such things.
But as the town grew and the
tobacco market broadened out
the tax upon the capacity of the
Bank of Farmville was so great
that another banking institution
was needed- Consequently the
Citizens Bank was organized in
1910, with R. L. Joyrier as pres
ident and T. C. Turaage, Cash
ier. It at onee came to the aid
of the tobacco market and busi
ness enterprises and has filled a
place in the business life of
Farmville and this community
which cannot be over estimated
The custodian of the success of
this bank was its Cashier, T. C.
Turnage, whose business )skiB
we their origin ami success to
the agricultural -surroundings in
which they are situated. The
land lying around Farmville has
long been recognized as the mo$t
fertile and productive of any
land n the United States. The
soil is rich and will produce al- j
most any kind of crop. It is a !
common thing, for one acre of
ccrtton to produce two bales, and
for one acre of tobacco to bring
pom $206,00 to $400.00. T he
principal crops grown here are
corn, cotton, tobacco, peas,
beans, oats, etc., but the soil
will grow almost^ any kiruTj^of
Drofitabfi| industry that a. num
ber of our best and most pros
lie pronjptly put the school upon
a systematic. footing and lias
broadened the: scope ? of the
school here until it has attained
its present position. No child in
Farmville or community should
be without an education for lack
of facilities.
Xte religious environment of
Fari%ille has a large plaee in
the growth of the town, for'as
a town or city grows materially
it must also progress spiritually,
Farmville's churches have there
fore kept pace with the town,
When Farmville was a village
there was at that itfine only
one Church here, this being the
Christian. Since" that, time there
has been established here* the
Methodist. Episcopalian, Primi
tive Baptist, Missionary Baptist
and Presbyterian Churches. ? A
number of these, have new build
lings and the Episcopalians, Pres
byterians and Methodists are
| planning now to co^stiyct new
is members such an as
can work wonders as
proven in the case of
towns that for years
and are now oil the
i of progress. It was
object of spreading in
i about the advantages
iville and Cortimuni
te Farmville Cohimuni
er of Commerce was or
out with -the purpose
n the community and
/elopment of the town
intire section of Pitt
Tie necessity for co
among the business
iers into
fther and
more than one hun
citizens of the town
as members, divid
t separate commit
I. Morgan a leading
>erator as its Pres
. Tuimage, Banker;
tid general <Jevek>p
resident; Jno. T.
italist and Planter,
,nd Walter G. Shep
iK&t yoting Attor
^eneral Secretary.
? of this having had
experience in twen
of the
G. SHEPPARD
At-Law? A Young At
Whose Future Is
J n_. 1^. ?
not immutable. It
ion of the supreme
>ry nation of its
ber of Commerce and general
^publicity4,' work can ' truthfully
state that he has never been in
a community, large or small,
where there exists a more har
monious and public-spirited co
operation, than among the citi
zens of Farmville and communi
ty. In fact, it is a community
where any .merits proposition
rear the public good will thrive
? because. the whole people a*e
?united, and where such a unity
spirit prevades, the people are
hroad-guagec^pblic-spirited and
The Farmivlle Community
Chamber of Commerce while vir
the various agricultural, live
stock, ami industrial exhibits.
It was a' big day for the mer
chants of Farmville, and the peo
ple as a whole, and Farmville
derived an excellent piece of pub
licity from the endeavor.: The
General Secretary informed the
writer that they, contemplate a
similar $ffair this Fall, but on
a. much larger - ah$- elaborate
"scale,. which they hope- to make
pg (By J. ;Loyd Hortcn) .
p Those who know Farmvjlle M
know the value of its tobacco .
market. gjf ' V" ?
Those of us who knew and J
dwelled in Farmville before it
could boast of .such an industry- 5|
realizes th^t one of the great
est factors in the making and
building -of a better and great
er Farmville has been its tobacco
market: ' ?- ? ??
Being sitijate in a thickly pop
ulated country' with a fertile soil,
especially adapted to the culti
vation of tob&cco, Vith each farm *
growing a large acreage of the
weed, and each year bragging an
ncrease in t]ie cultivation of the
golden product, it- soon became a :
burden on the growers to have
to haul their tobacco fifteen or
twenty-five miles to a market,
?nd each year, more and mg&.
the necessity of a local marKfet
presented itself. Accordingly
of the progressive men of Farm- . ',
ville and its community began to
perfect plans whereby the little
village might become worthy of
?its name.
A committee composed of
Messrs. R. L. Davis, M. T. Hor
ton, B. M. Lewis, W. M. Lang,
?J- W. Parker, and others went in
person to make arrangements ]
with the large northern manu
facturers and buyers to place V
their representatives on the mcr
ket. They met with but little en
couragement, but realizing the
necessity of a market , and also
knowing the demand for our par ?
anchor i
i greatei
r ine real imanciai motive pow- *<1
er that supported and backed the
building of the market
"Paddy Bob", R. L. Davis, who
is generally the ways and means
as well -as the financial commit
tee of most every civic and com
munity improvement. Mr. Davis, ? i
together with the Bank of Farm- '
ville kept the movement on its
feet and carried it over the years -
of its childhood. ^The first two
years were very trying. Our com- t\
petitors could overcome us in
argument, but it soon developed
that they codd not do so in price,
and with the financial backing
mentioned, the moral support of
the entire community and the
untiring efforts of our ware
? ? ^ ?- ? ? ? ^ ^ w m m ? ^ ^
market second to none in price.
The third year of the . exis
tence of the market, J. Y. Honk,