Granville County

By Lewis Bowling

North Carolina's historic county of Granville, nestled in the rolling hills of the Piedmont along the North Carolina-Virginia border, was named for Lord John Carteret, Earl of Granville, in the mid-18th century. The home to Declaration of Independence signer John Penn, Granville was once recognized for its educational centers and tobacco-based economy. Although the county has become more industrial than agricultural in recent years, Granvillians hold fast to their rural heritage, honoring and remembering the hardships early settlers triumphantly faced to mold a better life for both themselves and future generations.

Images of America: Granville County is a pictorial retrospective illustrating many of the county's achievements, both large and small. Vintage photographs, highlighted by informative captions, relay the arrival of the railroad and the towns of Creedmoor, Stem, and Stovall, which grew up along the tracks; the development of Oxford, the county seat; the construction and usage of Camp Butner; and various other events from the late 19th and 20th centuries. Images also feature past residents, offering longtime families the chance to see loved ones and newcomers the opportunity to connect faces with local names.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Release date: Aug 13, 2002
• ISBN: 9781439612286

Lewis Bowling

Lewis Bowling is the author of Wallace Wade: Championship Years at Alabama and Duke. His work has appeared in Bama Magazine, Alabama Alumni Magazine, and Alabama Encyclopedia Online.

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INTRODUCTION

Before there was a United States of America, there was Granville County. Granville County was formed in 1746, having attained a population sufficiently large enough to merit becoming an independent county. Since the land was then owned by Lord John Carteret, by title known as the Earl of Granville, the county was named Granville. By 1749, Granville County had a population of about 2,000 people.

Even before our home became recognized as a county, Native Americans lived in Granville County in abundance, mainly the Tuscarora and the Sapona tribes. Settlers began coming to Granville in the early to mid-1700s, attracted by the amount of game. Beavers, deer, wild boars, bear, and buffalo were in ample supply. William Byrd, surveying Granville County in 1728, noticed a man who lived there named Epaphrodites Bainton. Byrd wrote, He spends most of his time in hunting and ranging the woods, killing generally more than 100 deer in a year. Young enough at 60 Year of Age to keep a concubine and walk 25 miles a day.

In 1761, Samuel Benton purchased 1,000 acres of land and built a plantation home known as Oxford. Three years later, the State Assembly ordered that this area be known as the county seat. The town of Oxford became incorporated in 1816. Another prominent Granvillian was John Penn, who lived near Stovall. Penn was elected in 1775 to serve as a member of the Continental Congress and was one of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence.

By 1815, the average land owned of a taxable person in Granville County was 571.4 acres, largely worked by 7,565 slaves. By the start of the War Between the States, there were over 10,000 slaves in Granville County. Granville County played a major role in the Civil War, with over 1,500 men participating in battles. Among the units called into action, the most famous was the Granville Grays, captained by George Wortham. Other units were the Granville Ploughboys, the Granville Stars, and the Granville Rifles. A camp was built along Providence Road for soldiers to train before going off to war.

After the Civil War, the plantation prosperity the county had enjoyed was swept away. Loss of wealth and the onset of depression due to the war set in around the county. Oxford lost some of its prestige as one resident commented that, Churches dotted every corner, barrooms and brothels outnumbered them 3 to 1. Seedy old Confederate colonels, wearing antebellum finery, sauntered down Main Street. Spurring Granville County’s economy next was the discovery of flue-curing of tobacco. By being among the pioneers in the cultivation of flue-cured tobacco, farmers in the area prospered. The first warehouse was built in 1866 by Dr. Leonidas Taylor, and many more followed. In 1881, Granville County saw its first train as the line from Henderson to Durham passed through. The railroad was the main reason for the building of other warehouses and factories. The railroads not only brought new industry and prosperity to Oxford, but the new towns of Stem, Creedmoor, and Stovall were created largely based on these new rail lines that were built in various places in Granville County. By 1890, acreage devoted to tobacco was 11,083, and by 1956, that number had reached 16,306. Tobacco was the top employer at one time in the county—50 percent of those employed were on farms of some sort.

Education has been and remains one reason that Granville County is such a great place to live and work. Oxford itself was known as the Athens of the South, boasting many schools and universities. Other parts of Granville County also had many fine schools. Granville Hall Academy, chartered in 1779, was one of the first classical schools in North Carolina. The Oxford Female Seminary, later known as Oxford Female College, was established in 1850 and operated until 1925. Horner Military School started in 1851 and flourished for six decades. In 1890, a school for black students called Mary Potter was opened by Dr. G.C. Shaw. This school has a rich tradition of graduating leaders in education, government, and business, among other professions. Two great orphanages operate in Granville County today. The Oxford Orphan Asylum, now known as the Masonic Home for Children, opened in 1873 and has been a shining beacon of pride in Granville County since. The Masonic Home for Children has the distinction of being the first orphanage in the state. Henry Cheatham, the only black to serve in the 52nd Congress from 1889 to 1893, opened the Central Children’s Home

Reviews for Granville County

[dukefan86 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed the pictures of people and buildings, with accompanying captions, in this book, especially since I've been to Granville County for my blog. I was intrigued to learn about the 1936 Stem High basketball team, which won the county championship. Their coach promised them a trip to UNC for a basketball game if they won the county tournament. The team went to Chapel Hill for the UNC-Wake Forest game, but Wake Forest couldn't make it due to snow, so UNC agreed to play the Stem boys, already present, and loaned them uniforms. Stem High won the game. Cute story, would never happen today, but cute story!