USA > North Carolina > Edgecombe County > History of Edgecombe County, North Carolina > Part 30
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Edgecombe County comprises about 515 square miles, 306,756 acres, valued in 1896 at $1,464,396, but worth ten times as much in 1919. It has a population of nearly 40,000, seventy per cent of whom depend on agriculture. It has a climate similar to that of Southern France; topographically it is mostly level, with occasional slight elevations, and a healthy and well developed people. The temperature averages fifty-eight degrees in the spring, seventy-seven in summer, sixty-two in autumn, forty-five in winter, and has an average of sixty-one degrees. The soil is greatly diversified, ranging from the piney woods land to the rich and black swamp land bordering the creeks and rivers, being of the type of Norfolk sandy loam. Tar River is the largest stream, and rises in the western part of Granville County.
From an account written as early as 1811, it was stated that the best river land produced Indian corn, peas, wheat, oats, rye, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cotton, and flax in abundance. The best light land also produced the same varieties of crops, but in less quantity. The valuation of lands today varies similar to that in the very earliest period.
The early settlers cultivated the virgin lands with much credit, and produced a variety of commodities that supplied the needs of the people. In fact, the early records show that production was so bountiful that a surplus was left, which was exported. The principal products that were exported to foreign markets were naval stores. England placed a bounty on this product and en- couraged the colonists to make extensive preparation for the pro- duction of these commodities. The piney woods and the long leaf pine in particular were the source of a staple product. In spite of the fact that the pine afforded one of the most striking marks
826
HALIFAX CO.
Whitakers
Battlebord
NASH CO.
O Lawrence
Leggett
Wrendule o
Speed
Coakley O
1Rocky Mount Medora
Kings boro
OURBORO
Waldo
Henriette
PDuvistown
Coneto
Pinetops
Old Sportu
CHAT
WILSON CO.
1
&Macclesfield
PITT CO.
GEOGRAPHICAL BOUNDS OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY IN 1900
MURTIN CO.
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:
1
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AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 327
of a sterile soil, it received great consideration at the hands of the pioneer settlers; especially was this true when they were located near the Tar River, a navigable steam.
A writer from the county in 1810 declared that the pine yielded to the settlers more profit than the best lands would do by farm- ing. Experienced men who had worked the trees before, made from 100 to 120 barrels of turpentine in a year, including the making of the barrels to hold the product. Moreover, the expense of transportation was extremely small, since the English vessels usually came up Tar River. Old trees, which had been lying on the ground long enough to lose their sap, yielded a supply of tar. This industry met with great success, and, as the account goes, "emigrants from Virginia and the northeastern counties of the State settled on the barren lands and converted the pine into meat, bread, and money."
It seems also that the land of Edgecombe in the early days yielded good crops of wheat-one of the primary essentials of life, and is capable of growing good crops at this time. The annual exports by farmers prior to 1800 averaged 150 bushels of wheat, 1,375 barrels of naval stores, 418,900 pounds of live pork, 15,600 of beef, 190 head of sheep, 20,000 pounds of bacon, and 177 bar- rels of corn. In addition Tarboro was continuously supplied from the county with meats of all kinds, poultry, eggs, honey, fruits, melons, roots, and dairy products. Many of the house- keepers owned their own farms near town, and grew their own supplies. The abundance of vegetables and a good increase from surplus products constituted a source of income. It was quite appropriate for one of the early ministers to say: "The people have more trade than religion, more wealth than grace." Even the merchants who had emigrated to Tarboro as paupers soon grew prosperous.
The fact that a source of wealth existed in the production of naval stores, kept the farming industry from progressing as rapidly as it would have under ordinary circumstances. In 1810 agriculture was still very crude, lands were cheap and plenty. Farmers were, therefore, enticed from one place to another in- stead of locating permanently and giving close attention to the development of their land. Incidents have been given in which settlers sold their plantation and moved nearer to the frontier to
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
reach virgin lands. In spite of this fact, the yield produced was evidence that the people were not indifferent to nor ignorant of farming. The usual method employed was the cultivation of large areas; until the exhaustion of the soil, and to then seek fresh lands. No lands were ever reclaimed, nor a diversity of crops resorted to in order to put back into the land its lost strength. Manuring, therefore, was never used. The earliest writer of this period-1800-states that a man and a horse could easily cultivate 60,000 corn hills and plow 6,000 a day. The best land, when not continuously cultivated, produced from ten to twelve and one-half bushels per 1,000 corn hills, in addition to peas and fodder. The success, however, depended on judicious plowing. The farmer's best judgment was necessary to enable him to deter- mine how far to abandon this loose mode of culture for the pur- pose of manuring, as it was not well understood. The fear of more or less failure prevented many from undertaking it. There were, however, some small attempts.
Cattle raising in the pre-Revolutionary days was a natural outgrowth of conditions in the county. Very little attention was given to it, as the cattle thrived and multiplied by sustenance from natural grasses in the village common and swamp lands. An abundance of grain was produced, and much pork was fed and sold to foreign markets, being carried principally to Suffolk and Norfolk, Virginia. Much loss was caused by neglect to prop- erly feed the cattle; shucks and corn tops being insufficient to maintain them during the winter months. During the winter they were allowed to eat from the fields and to clear the land of the stalks and vegetation, which should have gone back to the soil as a means to restore fertility. In the spring they were again turned loose in the woods and swamps, and by early fall became good beeves. Before being placed on the market or carried to the cities, they were turned in the field with peas and grass to put them in better shape.
The people, therefore, had no improved and scientific method of farming or cattle raising. While there were only a few in the county who attempted to raise clover, it was given a trial. Those who attempted this culture did not succeed well in feeding it, as they did not understand its tendency to salivate. Foreign grass also met with failure, due to the fact that native grasses were
A
SHEEP RANCH AND A TYPICAL COUNTRY HOME
HOG RANCH IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
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AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 329
more luxuriant and choked out the foreign grass before it could seed. Moreover, the swamps were so flat that draining was im- practicable and heavy rains after planting were liable to drown the crops.
While the raising of cattle was neglected, the matter of horse breeding received careful attention, as horses were used for sport. As early as 1805 some of the best and fastest racing horses on the continent were bred in this county. H. Cotton, an energetic and social sporting leader of the county at this time, was zealous of improving the breed and imported several of the best horses obtainable. The fact, however, that oxen and mules answered the purpose of the farmers better and were more easily maintained, offered scant encouragement for high bred animals, and this project was soon abandoned. Mules were used in adjacent coun- ties to pull wagons, but strange to say Edgecombe was without wagons. The principal means of conveyance was the long shaft cart, similar to the carrylog cart of today and the forerunner of the dump cart, which until recently was used extensively in the county.
The raising of hogs was perhaps the most profitable and most widely known of any phase of farming. Pork was a more certain money product and naturally led to closer attention and greater production. Efforts were made later to improve swine so that their meat would command a good price. The farmers, however, depended upon the natural grass and wood range for the hog in summer. This generally succeeded in giving good growth. The woods abounded in oak, pine, and beech trees, the chinquapin, ground whortleberry, and moss from trees. This method, how- ever, made little improvement for the settler in the early eighteenth century. It was less expense and less trouble, while all that was produced was that much made. The fact that pork commanded immediate cash when carried to a Virginia market, and was more easily transported by those in remote sections of the county, stimulated its greatest production. The farmers liv- ing in the vicinity of Tosniot and Contentnea depended upon pork and cattle for their entire money crop.
Tobacco which was one of the earliest crops produced in the county, is of vital interest even when compared with the recent
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
boom it has received. The stimulus for its production had its origin in 1750. And not unlike today the profit in its cultiva- tion was its chief stimulus. The old story of Sir Walter Raleigh's introduction of tobacco in the European courts needs no rehearsal. The appreciation of tobacco in England created a demand which at that time fell upon the southern colonies to supply. One of the first things the early settlers did, therefore, was to realize big money from planting tobacco. In 1760, the same year Tarboro was laid out, the town commissioners met and ordered a site be- tween Tar River and Hendrick's Creek laid off for the building of a warehouse for tobacco storage.
In 1764 the production had increased to such an extent that it became necessary to provide some means of storage until the Eng- lish ships could come up Tar River from Bath. The laws of the province were shaped to make storage compulsory and a sys- tematic procedure was soon devised. A warehouse was built on Mr. Howell's land, convenient to Tarboro. The Assembly of the Province also designated by law certain individuals to inspect the tobacco in order to prevent inferior grades being sold as prime products. The inspectors were paid by the Government, and in a sense became agents for the merchants of the mother country.
In 1766 still another warehouse was erected at Tarboro, both for storage purposes and as a convenient place for inspection and ship landing. A law providing for the storage and inspec- tion of tobacco expired that year, having been passed tentatively. Its efficiency was established and its usefulness conclusively proved. A new law was immediately enacted to continue the in- spection and to give more time for this purpose. The time of inspection at Tarboro was increased and the salaries of inspectors was placed at forty pounds.
The matter of receiving tobacco, grading the same and ship- ping from the county proved a successful and profitable business. Farmers made money, men with capital made money by buying up quantities for storage, until in 1784, a landing place was con- structed on Tar River consisting of a structure in the nature of a wharf. The American Government during the Revolutionary War received tons of tobacco for sale, while the product acted in many instances as deferred money. Tickets were issued on tobacco
AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 331
stored in warehouses, and these tickets were used as a means of exchange in the place of actual specie.
Agents were appointed during the period from 1784 and 1789 to conduct sales of tobacco stored in the various warehouses in the southern counties. J. Haywood writes from Edgecombe County in 1787 that he was preparing to hold a sale of tobacco, since Robert Stewart, the general purchasing agent, had arrived at Washington. After the sale delivery was made at Washington, the tobacco being sent down Tar River in flat boats, where it was placed in coastwise and foreign ships for transportation.
Immediately after the Revolution the culture of tobacco de- clined, due to the withdrawal of the English bounty and the loss of England as a market. Cotton then became the principal money crop and has had a continual and improved growth. It was due to the price of cotton, although raised in limited quantities, be- cause of the slow and crude methods of growing and preparation for market, that land increased greatly in value after the Revolu- tion. In 1815 Edgecombe land was valued at $1,926,572.00, and slaves were valued at $1,435,450.00, making an average of $43.00 per acre for land and $229.68 for each slave. Three years later, however, land for some cause had a rapid decline.
From 1820 to 1860 Edgecombe made great progress, while the statistics showed the county as the banner county of the State. Formerly nothing good was expected of the land, since the swamps were regarded as too flat to be drained and the forests as pine barrens. The county had capable men, but they were not classed as farmers.
There were two factors which produced the remarkable growth and activity in agriculture agricultural organizations, and com- posting and marling. While organization did much good, the ad- vance and success were due to the development and adoption of the system of thorough tillage, supplemented by compost. The word compost means a mixture, the practice of composting being of ancient origin. Evidently rediscovered in Edgecombe, for doubtlessly the farmers were not advertent to its use in England, as the early settlers never used it, but well knowing its strength and virtue, heed the advice of the wisest of poets:
"And what is to come;
And do not spread the compost on the weeds, To make them ranker."
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
The compost was the one thing that while assuring the growth of good crops, year by year, steadily increased the fertility of the soil. The compost was made of soil, preferably that well filled with decaying vegetation, stable manure, cotton seed and marl, spread in thin layers, and built up to a height of two to four feet, of a conical or oblong shape.
This practice laid the basis of the remarkable advance in farm- ing, and when Peruvian guano was introduced and a liberal ap- plication of it made per acre, in addition to composting, wonderful progress was made and such fine results obtained, that in 1861 Edgecombe was the banner agricultural county in the State. During this time, by general repute, foremost in this great work were two brothers, Robert R. and John L. Bridgers, lawyers by profession, farmers by nature. The largest yield of cotton on a considerable area, 500 acres, was a crop grown about 1858 by Robert R. Bridgers on his Straban plantation, the yield being 512 bales. H. L. Staton, in the fifties, by the intelligent use of com- post and marl (he had the most advanced form or apparatus for lifting the marl), the marl lying unusually deep, developed, what when he purchased it, was a most unpromising tract of land, into a farm of fine productivity, and the impress that he put upon it remains today, a striking example of the fine capacity of the Edge- combe farmers between 1850 and 1861. Sometime early in the nineteenth century an agricultural society was organized for the purpose of stimulating an interest in agriculture. The organiza- tion had an effective and useful existence for about ten years, during which time subjects pertaining to farming were discussed and modern methods of industry were introduced.
In 1850 the society was reorganized and highly commended by the Norfolk Daily News. The Agricultural Society celebrated its first anniversary in 1851 by the delivery of an address by John L. Bridgers, who by his industry, perseverance, and talents was among the foremost in this work. Edmond Ruffin, of Virginia, also took an active part in this work for several years.
Under the guidance of this society, composed of the best farmers of the county, great good resulted in this section of the State. In a few years Edgecombe and Tarboro began a bright career and enjoyed prosperity and contentment. James Philips, an able chemist, was the first to introduce scientific methods of farming
AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 333
in the county. In 1852 he delivered an address before the Agri- cultural Society, which was later published in the Farmers Jour- nal. In his address Dr. Philips gave an exposition of analytical chemistry as applied to farming. His ideas were later adopted with much profit.
Edgecombe also profited by the assistance of Professor Emmons, State Geologist, who made frequent addresses before the Agri- cultural Society. In cooperation with the late Governors H. T. Clark and Elias Carr, and R. R. Bridgers, and John L. Bridgers, the use of marl was made known. These men began the use of marl about the year 1845. Commercial fertilizers were then practically unknown.
In 1852 Professor Emmons made a chemical analysis of marl in Edgecombe on Beaver Dam Creek, White Acre, Shilo Marl beds, the yellow marl at Bells Bridge and at the farm of D. W. Bullock. From the examination the various ingredients were de- termined and recommendations for use were made. For ten years following the first examination no class of material was more frequently analyzed in the chemist's laboratory. It soon be- came apparent that no practice was found of greater value to agriculture than the use of marl in growing crops, especially cotton.
The use of marl became common in the county and production became greater in 1858 by the invention of a digger by Thomas F. Christman, of Salem, N. C.1 Mr. Christman was at that time a resident of Wilson, N. C. He had realized the necessity of some machinery to produce greater quantities. The implement was constructed, accordingly, for the purpose of raising marl from its bed or stratum, and resembled the derrick now used for heavy lifting. The machine worked well and did all that Christman claimed. The machine was successfully operated in Wilson County by Robert Bynum. The machine had a capacity of 1,500 bushels of marl an hour with eight laborers. A trial of the marl digger was also made on Swift Creek in the neighborhood of
" The practical use of such a machine was first pointed out by Dr. John R. Mercer, of Edgecombe County. The idea was suggested to Mr. Christman, who per- fected the plan.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
Messrs. Gorham, Whitehead, Powell, Braswell, and Cherry. More than eighty farmers were present from various sections of the county.
Under the auspices of the Agricultural Society, marling was urged with good results. In 1845 the amount of cotton produced in the county was 1,500 bales, while in 1850 by the use of marling the county produced 6,000 bales, an astonishing increase in five years. All the crops improved in the same ratio. The farmers also resorted to every available means of improving their lands. They gave attention to liming, to land plaster, and to composts of every description. This method of agricultural interest was so noticeable that a traveler through Edgecombe in 1850 wrote that pile after pile of manure had been carted in the fields, and cov- ered with dirt to check evaporation until the proper time to plant the spring crops. A great change had come over this industry by the use of books-agricultural books-while Edward Ruffin, H. T. Clark, Elias Carr, R. R. and John L. Bridgers, Jesse Mercer, and others have the honor of producing a remarkable successful era in the history of agriculture in the county.
The effective use of marl and the growth of agriculture at- tracted much attention in the State. In 1853 a delegation of farmers, consisting of Messrs. Whitehead, Bryan, and Briggs, came from Southampton, Virginia, to inspect the new methods of farming. These gentlemen were shown over Panola,1 the ex- perimental farm, belonging to Messrs. Norfleet and Dancy. They also saw the experiments made at the farm of Baker Staton. Visits were made in the Town Creek region, stopping at the vari- ous large farms.
Edgecombe prided itself on its agricultural display, and visitors came, saw, and profited. Some comparative figures are necessary to show the increased production. In 1850 the county produced 2,445,000 pounds of cotton, 715,665 bushels of corn, 27,280 bushels of oats, and 14,295 bushels of wheat. Land formerly quite poor, but under the use of marl produced in 1852, 1,200 pounds of seed cotton to the acre, and one farmer in Town Creek section aver-
1 Panola is an Indian name meaning cotton. The farm was purchased from Mr. John S. Dancy by Theophilus Parker for $14,000.00 for an experimental farm.
COTTON SCREW, 1860
IN THE COTTON FIELD, 1860
AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRIES AND INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS 335
aged over a bale of 400 pounds to the acre. This was due to compost and use of marl.
The advancement made showed conclusively that it was profit- able to read and study conditions. Below is a comparative state- ment of D. W. Bullock's improvement in three years, using the same number of hands and the same acreage. In 1849 Mr. Bul- lock produced 50 bales of cotton, employing 18 to 20 hands, mostly women and children. In 1850 he raised 61 bales of cotton, while in 1851 he produced 98 bales, almost doubling his production in three years. This instance is typical of almost every farmer who began the study and use of modern methods. Experiments were begun about 1853 with Peruvian guano and subsoiling, which proved very effective.
During the course of the war between the states agriculture de- clined, due to attention being given to military affairs. The farmers, however, upon returning to their homes, began to repair waste places. They met with serious setbacks, due to low prices of every commodity and with a fluctuation of currency. Pork sold for six cents a pound, and other commodities at similar prices. Men were badly in debt; radical rule was oppressive, and the farmers were unable to raise money to finance crops or to pay mortgages upon their lands.1 Many farmers lost their farms on a mere $300.00 mortgage. Some of these farms have recently sold for $40,000.00.
In addition the labor problem became alarming, due to the fact that the negro had received his freedom and appeared disin- clined to work for his former master. Moreover, many were leav- ing the county in a state of unrest and apparent dicontent. The action of the Federal Government in freeing the negro made labor very unsettled, deadened industry, and caused agriculture for a time to decline. Negroes refused to work for $15.00 per month and rations under a manager. They expressed desire, however, to farm on shares when they could do so without an over- seer. On the other hand, they preferred to work for wages with- out a manager, than on shares with one. Up to January 1, 1867, only two farmers in the county had secured help for the
1 The passage of the lien law in 1866 changed Edgecombe from an exporter to an importer.
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HISTORY OF EDGECOMBE COUNTY
year. The general idea prevailed among the negroes that some- thing would soon happen in their behalf.
Moreover, negro labor became unsatisfactory because of the lack of dependence to be placed in it. It was not unusual to make a contract and then break it, or else have it revised by the Freed- man's Bureau. Negroes would invariably break labor contracts and liked better to "work around," as they termed it, than to work steady.
The labor condition, however, proved useful in that it caused many white people to begin working their own lands. It made the white farmer work, read, and think. There had never been greater activity on the part of the land owner than that which followed the war. The Agricultural Society had almost ceased to exist and did not have a reawakening until about 1869.
In spite of these difficulties Edgecombe, in 1869, produced 18,000 bales of cotton, and a good crop of corn and wheat. The system of underground drainage by tiles for the flat land was adopted to some extent about this time, instead of ditching. Thoroughness of culture and neatness around the farmhouses and outbuildings showed growing interest.
The county possessed men of faith and ability to restore agri- culture again on a sound basis. Many of these men-R. R. Bridgers, John L. Bridgers, Jesse Mercer, A. J. Cotten, Elisha Cromwell, and others owned many acres, and were men of capacity. Elisha Cromwell was the first successful planter of cotton in the county. He began with a few acres. He was born in 1823 at the home of his father, Elisha Cromwell, who then lived in Edgecombe, having been one of the early settlers in the county. He farmed on a large scale, owning a hospital for the care of his many slaves. He sent Dink Hammond's 1 father, Wiley, to Richmond to learn the blacksmith's trade and established his own blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, tin shop on his planta- tion. Mr. Cromwell was consulted by many of the farmers as to the method of cotton culture. He also began the two-crop-a-year system by which one piece of land would be planted in cotton or corn in the spring and harvested in time to be planted in oats, peas, or some soil building crop. In this manner a diversified crop was commenced, allowing the land to regain its fertility.
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