Category: History

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.

Battle of Guilford Courthouse

Greensboro, History

(photograph copyright 2009 by Dan Routh)

This past weekend was the anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. On March 15, 1781 American forces under Nathaniel Greene met a British army under Lord Cornwallis and after fierce fighting forced the British to move their forces to Yorktown, Virginia and final defeat in the American Revolution. The battlefield is on the north side of Greensboro. Annually, reenactment groups from around the country come together to reenact the battle. This year, unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and the event was rained out. This photograph is from a past year’s event.

Wright Brothers Redone

Airplane, History

(image copyright 2009 by Dan Routh)

On December 17, 1903 the Wright Brothers made the first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We produced the image above at Jockey’s Ridge, a huge sand dune not far from the original flight site, for an outdoor apparel poster. We tried to produce it in the same vein as the famous photograph of that historic day. Like the Wright Brothers, we had our share of problems. After a couple of flights trying to fly into the wind the wrong way in order to get our angle, we crashed the hang glider and ended our day.

First Flight, December 17, 1903 (National Park Service Photograph)

Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America

History

(image copyright 2009 by Dan Routh)

Today in North Carolina it is snowing so I have decided to stay close to home and watch history happen. By the looks of the television news shows, Washington DC is inundated with people braving the cold to watch history first hand. I would love to be there, but I couldn’t make it work out so I will sit in front of the fire and watch everything on TV. Though I am excited by the new day in American politics, I feel sorry for President Obama. The hopes of a whole nation and much of the world will rest on his shoulders at 12 noon, and that is a mighty weight to bear. God bless America and God bless President Barack Obama.