North Carolina Ghost Signs

By W. E. King

This volume contains photographs of ghost signs in the following North Carolina towns:

Albemarle (2), Asheboro, Asheville (2), Badin, Belmont (3), Black Jack, Black Mountain, Browns Crossroads (2)

Burlington, Castle Hayne, Catsburg, Charlotte (2), Cheraw, S.C., Cherryville, China Grove, Clayton, Clear Run, Concord (3), Cooks Crossroads, Croft, Derita, Durham, Ellerbe, Enfield, Erwin, Estil, S.C., Everetts, Farmville, Franklinton, Fremont, Garner, Gastonia (2), Graham (2), Granite Falls, Greensboro (5), Greenville, Grizzard, Va., Goldsboro, Happy Hollow, Hardin, Jackson, Kelford, Lexington (2), Lincolnton (2), Marion, Mooresville (6), Mount Gilead (2), Mount Holly, Oakboro, Old Highway 70' Pink Hill, Raleigh (3), Ramseur, Randleman, Reidsville, Rich Square, Rutherfordton (2), Salisbury (5), Sanford (3), Seagrove, Semora, Shelby, Siler City (2), Spruce Pine, Stanfield, Statesville, Troutman, Troy (2), Wallace, Warrenton, Washington (3), Waynesville, Weldon's Mill, West Philadelphia, Williamston, Wilson (2), and Youngsvile.

-- W. E. King

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887318516

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Volume 1

Preface

Credits

About the Author

cover.jpg

North Carolina Ghost Signs

W. E. King

Copyright © 2023 W. E. King

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2023

ISBN 979-8-88731-850-9 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88731-851-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

North Carolina Ghost Signs

And other old signs painted on the sides of buildings

Volume 1

A collection of 113 ghost signs found on the sides of building across the great Tar Heel State of North Carolina

W. E. King, a.k.a. Makatoka King, and with photos by various North Carolina travelers and Michael Hutchinson

Edited by Karen Kirkman

To Frank Jason King

He enjoyed life to its fullest and accomplished so much. He was a world traveler, an artist, a cheesecake baker, a father, a buyer of old cars, and the number one in sales of pre-owned BMWs in the United States.

Preface

Those of us who are just a bit older in life will well recall when traveling from one place to the other before the interstate highway system was even built and you had to go through small towns, there was one thing that stood out, calling to you as you passed through. It was the advertising that was painted on the sides of buildings, which offered a great palate for the artwork such as Pepsi-Cola, Royal Crown Cola, Coca-Cola, chewing gum, beer, bread, and even undertakers, lumberyards, and automobile advertising.

Many times, the old ads were painted on barns and promoted such things as chewing tobacco and the opportunity to visit tourist attractions such as Rock City over in Tennessee. Many of these historic signs are still found on the sides of small and large buildings across North Carolina and many have now been restored to their former glory. Cities and towns such as Sanford, Concord, Salisbury, Lincolnton, and Mooresville, to name a few, have spent thousands of dollars to repaint and restore the old signs. Many remain just as they were decades ago and are still unique works of art.

The signs are all over the United States, and in my constant travels across North Carolina, I thought I would find around 350, but at last count, I have found up to 1,200 advertising and related signs. Almost all of them were hand-painted by true artists and several people have become famous for their ability to restore the signs.

This is my first book in bringing well-deserved notice to 113 of the signs that were either found across North Carolina or are still out there, and I continue to travel the state searching them out. Many times, friends on my Facebook page, North Carolina Towns, have featured some of the signs in their travels, and some of those are featured in this book.

Michael Hutch Hutchinson and Jim Reece were searching for ghost signs in downtown Greensboro in June of 2022. The old sign in the background has at least two local signs painted over the original ones, but the very first one was probably for Pepsi-Cola in the early 1900s and that was later covered with a Wine of Cardui sign around 1907 with the local signs being painted over that one years later.

Photo by Geo Daszner in Nevers, France

Ghost signs or wall art is not just related to the United States as the signs are found all over the world. This photo was posted on a site called Ghost Signs by a gentleman in Nevers, France, and shows the popular Dubonnet signs painted on old buildings. Many US servicemen walked past many ghost signs like this and other products during World War II. Dubonnet was founded in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, and it is still bottled in France and in the United States in Bardstown, Kentucky, as a sweet wine aperitif.

Ghost sign. A ghost sign is a hand-painted advertisement usually found on the side of a brick, wood, or tin building that is historic in its promotion and one that has faded over time, giving a ghostly appearance.

Fading ads. This is another name for old ads on buildings. Most of the surviving signs from the nineteenth and early twentieth century were painted with lead paint that allowed them to stick to the surface they were painted on and last longer.

Wall dogs. This is a name for the people who painted or restored the signs.

Wall signs. This is yet another name for the signs although they are very seldom called this.

Brick ads. This is yet another name for the old advertising that was painted on brick walls.

Palimpsest. A piece of writing material on which the original has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain. This is true when a new piece of wall art is placed over an old piece.

List of signs in this book (presented in alphabetical order)

Coca-Cola (29)

Local businesses (29)

Pepsi-Cola (10)

Dr Pepper (5)

Wrigley's gum (3)

Royal Crown Cola (3)

Champion Spark Plugs (3)

Tires (3)

Grist Mills (3)

Bull Durham (3)

Wine of Cardui (2)

Cheerwine (2)

Beer or brewery (2)

Automobiles (2)

Mules (2)

Tobacco (2)

Kress department stores (2)

United Coupons (2)

Snowdrift shortening (1)

Sloan's Liniment (1)

Orange Crush (1)

Bevo (1)

Sun Drop Cola (1)

Purina Chows (1)

Sprite (1)

OshKosh (1)

Flour sack (1)

Red Rock Cola (1)