snippets ~ chatham history BLOG

Construction of Carbonton dam, 1921.

The dam stood 17’ high and 270’ long, and spanned the Deep River. The current facility at Carbonton was built in 1921 as the first electrical power plant in the Sandhills. Earlier structures date back to the Evans Lock and Dam in the mid-19th century when attempts were made to move coal on barges down the river, hence the origin of the name Carbonton. The original power plant was a cornerstone of the Sandhills Power Company and ultimately became CP&L, now Progress Energy.

See more photos of the dam construction here:

Construction of Carbonton Dam 1921

The dam was removed in 2005. The removal project was the largest in North Carolina at the time. You can read more about the dam removal here:

https://web.archive.org/.../case_studies/carbonton-dam/

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #CarbontonNC #Carbontondam #DeepRiver #ElectricPower

How did Chatham County's Chicken Bridge get its name? You old-timers will know, and several Chatham families are connected to the event that named the bridge.

If you haven't heard the story, see Barbara Pugh's article on the Chatham County Historical Association website to find out. Everyone is likely to learn something here about the history of the bridge.

https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/TheDayChickenBridgeGotItsName.pdf

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #ChickenBridge #chickens #bridges #1950s

Photo: Fearrington House before porch and columns were added. 

Fearrington Village has been a prominent fixture of Chatham County since the 1970s, and many people know that the property was previously the farm of the Fearrington family. That farm was called Eureka Farm, and it was owned by Bill Sharpe’s great grandparents. Bill has recorded some history of the family and the farm in four short articles. The articles document what farming was like in Chatham County in the 1930s to 1960s, providing details that would likely be lost if Bill had not taken the time to add to his own memories by interviewing his cousin Jesse Fearrington, his father, and others, and to record them. Bill also includes photographs that add so much to the stories. We are grateful that he has shared these stories with us so that we can make them available to everyone and preserve them for future generations.

You can link to the articles individually from this page.

Additional photos of Eureka Farm have been donated to CCHA by Jess Fearrington. You can see a photo gallery of those photos on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/Fearrington-Family-Eureka-Farm

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #Fearrington #EurekaFarm #farming #1930s #1940s #1950s #1960s

Luttrell’s Barracks ~ A Chatham County Revolutionary War Landmark

Don’t miss this fascinating new paper on our website! While researching the Revolutionary War record of his 6th great grandfather, Thomas Mattocks came across a reference to a Revolutionary War barracks in Chatham County. His curiosity led him to look for more information and to eventually document the precise location of the landmark, as well as numerous other references to it in the pension records of veterans of the North Carolina State Militia. His research sheds light on little-known local events occurring during what would become known as the Tory War in Central North Carolina. From 1780 until his death in 1781 in the Battle of Lindley's Mill, Luttrell commanded a regiment of mounted rangers from Chatham and neighboring counties to help suppress the Loyalists who began organizing under a charismatic former Patriot named David Fanning.

The paper lists more than 50 Chatham men who served in the State Militia who applied for pensions. Maybe you'll find an ancestor among them!

Here’s the link:

https://chathamhistory.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/ResearchArticles/Luttrells%20Barracks%20Rev%20War%20Landmark.pdf

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #RevolutionaryWar #Luttrell #1780s

View at Mt. Vernon Springs, NC circa 1908.

"View at Mt. Vernon Springs, N.C." in Durwood Barbour Collection of North Carolina Postcards (P077), North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, Wilson Library, UNC-Chapel Hill

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #MtVernonSprings #postcard #1900s

Gulf Depot 1966

Photo from the North Carolina Railroad Station Photograph Collection, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #railroads #railwaystations #GulfNC #depot #1960s

December 7 -- On this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. Among the hundreds of casualties was William Teasdale Durham of Chatham County. Born 25 Apr 1919 to Edward Watson and Jennie Florence Herndon Durham, he enlisted in the US Navy on 5 Mar 1940 and reported aboard the USS Arizona on 30 Sep 1940. His remains were identified from his Pittsboro High School ring.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #WWII #PearlHarbor #USSArizona #USNavy

Thank you, Chatham County Veterans!

More than 225 Chatham County Veterans are honored in the Chatham Historical Museum's Tribute to Valor Exhibit. You can see a list of included veterans on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/.../ChathamCountyVeteransHonor...

If your family's Chatham County veterans are not yet included, here's the information you need:

Who is eligible? Veterans of any armed forces service branch (Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard) who have a strong connection to Chatham County. The connection may include being born in Chatham, living here for most of one’s life, enlisting or serving while a Chatham resident.

What to submit: Digital photos of the veteran in uniform and without others in the photo are preferred, if possible. Photos should be scanned at high resolution and saved in jpg format. Please include the following information with the photo: veteran’s name, service branch, rank, your name, email address. By submitting the photo, you agree that CCHA has your permission to use the photograph in its exhibits and for other educational purposes.

How to submit: If your email program will not reduce the size of the digital photograph, you may email it as an attachment to history@chathamhistory.org. Receipt of the photo will be acknowledged. If you have any difficulty submitting the photo by email, contact us at history@chathamhistory.org for instructions on how to get the digital file to us.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #veterans #TributetoValor #ChathamHistoricalMuseum

We posted this photo of the Jourdan Store, Moncure previously, and asked for any information about it. Thanks to Wincie Jane Hinnant, we now know a lot more!

Wincie Jane notes that some of her ancestors are in the photo. Her grandmother, Wincie Ann Bridges Johnson, had a sister named Camilla Bridges (1867-1922), who married Edmond Jourdan (1862-1942). Edmond and his family were from Combourg, France. They came to America by ship in the 1860's.

Here's the rest of Wincie Jane's account:

"Camilla and Edmond had children and the family lived in the southern part of Chatham County. One of their daughters was Mary Jourdan Cotten (1895-1973). She and my father were first cousins. Mary lived in the Deep River Community out of Moncure. I remember visiting her as a child."

"Now, the Jourdans were good at starting businesses. One of Edmond's brothers, Stanislaus Jourdan moved to Durham, NC. He owned S Jourdan Transfer Company. 'Stan' received the granite for the Chatham County Confederate statue from Mt. Airy by train. He transported the granite by horse and wagons to Pittsboro from Durham. It took several days."

"Some of the brothers had businesses in Durham and did well. Over the years, I lost contact. Most of the family no longer live in this area. I believe some even changed their last name from Jourdan to Jordan."

"I don't know which Jourdan owned the store in Moncure -- only that they were kin to my father. My father didn't leave me all the history on the Jourdans....only Edmond and his aunt Camilla."

Thanks, Wincie Jane, for filling in the history of this interesting photo! If you learn more, we hope you'll share it with us!

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #ChathamHistory #ChathamNC #MoncureNC #JourdanStore #stores #early1900s

Harvey Newlin (1888-1970) was a Quaker, renowned barn builder, and restorer of mills. His granddaughter, Katherine Newlin Hadley, has written about her grandfather in a paper shared on the Chatham County Historical Association website. The stories Katherine shares provide a rich history of an aspect of Chatham's (and surrounding counties') past that is not covered elsewhere.

You can read it on our website:

https://chathamhistory.org/.../Resear.../Harvey%20Newlin.pdf

For more--We've previously posted David Hobson's article about Harvey and his barns:

https://chathamhistory.org/.../HarveyNewlinsBarnsDavidHob...

Click on the images to enlarge. Barn photos by Gary Simpson.

#ChathamNCHistory #ChathamCountyNC #HarveyNewlin #barns #mills #Quaker