Category: History

Amos Hinshaw Barn Details

History

I continue today with some interior and detail views of the Amos Hinshaw barn in southern Randolph County, North Carolina. Built sometime around 1880, the design is of a type not normally seen locally with it’s massive two story design and brick ramp leading into the second story.

Latch detail.

A pile of horse “single trees” along with plows and implements on the ground floor where livestock was housed and equipment stored.

Notice the strips of wood on the floor of the barn ramp to provide traction for the horses/mules bringing hay into the loft.

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Amos Hinshaw Barn Exterior

History

Across the road from the Evergreen Academy is still another gem of Randolph County, North Carolina historical architecture, the Amos Hinshaw barn. Built sometime around 1880 by Quaker farmer Amos Hinshaw, it is like no other barn in the county with it’s massive construction and a brick ramp leading to the second floor loft to enable wagons to drive in with hay. The plan is based on Swiss style barns seen in Indiana by Amos’s father Thomas during the Civil War. The story of why Thomas was in Indiana is a fascinating one and can be read in the following genealogy link. http://www.rawbw.com/~hinshaw/cgi-bin/id?326

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Evergreen Academy

History

Located in southern Randolph County, North Carolina, Evergreen Academy is a one room school house built by the Quakers shortly after the Civil War. It remained in use until sometime around the 1920’s. I say one room, although there is a folding door system that will convert the main area into two spaces. While all the desks and other artifacts have been removed (except for the lone chair above and a few boards and tools), the school building has been basically untouched since it was last used. As one with a background in archeology, stepping through the door is about as close to a King Tut moment as I will ever have. I walked in and immediately saw the chalk letters on the boards that are one hundred years old and remain unchanged since the moment they were written. It was like opening a time capsule. The writing is on blackboards. I use the plural, because there is no slate, but rather the wall boards are painted black. Standing in front of the boards, you can almost hear the children that once studied here.

(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Photographs of History

History
(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)
Before I went to photography school, I received a degree in Anthropology and Archeology. As I wander around looking for opportunities for photographs, the historian in me sometimes comes out. Last week I happened upon a couple of fascinating historical locations in southern Randolph County, North Carolina. I had the chance to look inside the Evergreen Academy, an original Quaker schoolhouse built just after the Civil War and an adjacent property, the Amos Hinshaw barn, built sometime around 1880. I will be sharing images over the next few days.

Mast General Store

General Store, History


I was on a trip to Grandfather Mountain recently to shoot a job and I dropped by the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. This particular location is the original store location for what is now a small chain of several stores in western North Carolina and Tennessee, most in historical buildings that sells vintage-type products and clothing. The original store opened in 1882 and was run by the Mast family from 1913-1973 as a general mercantile store and post office serving the area in and around Valle Crucis. Like most general stores, Mast carried almost every type of goods needed by the local community, from dry goods to feed, hardware, and even caskets. It was also the local Post Office and of course, a social gathering place.

Mast has always been special to me. As a young Boy Scout, my Assistant Scoutmaster, Melvin Ward took us yearly on a camping trip to what is now Beech Mountain to camp on his relative’s farm before Beech became a developed ski area. We always stopped by Mast on the way up the mountain to purchase our food for the trip, canned beans, sardines, and the like. I saw the store as it was originally, and I will always remember looking at all the merchandise they carried and the big pot-bellied stove. I was fortunate to spend a few moments talking with long time store employee Becky (and I believe Mast family member) on my latest trip and she gave me the quick tour which included showing me the chicken hole in the floor where chickens were dropped into a basement coop as trade for groceries. The store has managed to maintain a lot of it’s original character and offers the visiter a glimpse into the way Valle Crucis used to be.








(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Fire in Franklinville

History, Mill


I visited another mill yesterday in Randolph County, but this time the circumstances were more unfortunate than usual. The Franklinsville Manufacturing Company, also known as the Franklinville Mill built in 1838 and the oldest water powered cotton mill left in North Carolina was heavily damaged by a fire, probably caused by arson. I met Mac Whatley of the Randolph Heritage Conservancy who owns the mill and had hoped to preserve and restore the most historic parts into a museum. Mac showed me around and the damage was pretty extensive. A very old 3 story part of the structure was destroyed. Fortunately, a portion of the mill housing a large number of historic textile artifacts was saved and they are being moved to safer storage. Old buildings like this probably don’t seem important to most people, but the cotton textile industry was at one time the backbone of the local Randolph County economy and Deep River was lined with similar facilities. The most historic of those mills deserve to be preserved and the loss of this one in Franklinville is particularly painful. For more information on the history of the mill, go to http://www.cottonmillmuseum.org.









(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Truman’s Limo

Automobile, History


Sunday my son and I stopped by the North Carolina Aviation Museum in Asheboro, North Carolina to take a look at their newest artifact, a 1948 Lincoln limousine used by President Harry Truman. At 6500 pounds, with bullet proof doors and a Sherman tank transmission, it’s quite a vehicle and will soon be undergoing restoration. Above, local attorney Alan Pugh sits in the seat that the President occupied many times. Alan considers Harry Truman his favorite modern President.




(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Guilford Courthouse Reenactment

Greensboro, History


This past weekend I went by the annual reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. On March 15, 1781, American forces under General Nathaniel Greene met a British force under Lord Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, near Greensboro, North Carolina. The culmination of the Southern campaign of the American Revolution, the battle was technically won by the British, but Cornwallis’s army was so weakened, he had to retreat to Yorktown, Virginia and the final American victory. On Saturday and Sunday, historical reenactment groups from all over the country provided displays of Revolutionary War camp life and a daily battle reenactment.




Cousin Taylor Rollins spent the weekend as a camp follower with the 1st New Jersey Light Infantry.


(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

At the Woolworth Counter

Civil Rights, Greensboro, History

(Photograph copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

As I covered the opening of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina on Monday, I witnessed several memorable moments. The image that struck me the most was seeing the original Greensboro Four (three of the original group and the son of the fourth) at the original counter where they started their sit-in fifty years ago. From left to right: Joseph McNeil, David “Chip” Richmond Jr. (son of the late David Richmond), Frankin McCain and Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair Jr.) Truly an amazing sight.