I remember as a kid I was always curious to know where the names of streets came from. Recently, I was perusing a book, given to me by my neighbor in Richmond, “Company Shops” published in 1981. The author, Durward Stokes, was the father of my neighbor’s husband, William Stokes (now in Queens NY). Durward Stokes was a historian and professor at Elon College who published a number books, many concerning the history of the Christian Church in the SE US. Probably many long-time residents of Burlington know the origin of the city as a work depot for the North Carolina Railroad. The story figured prominently in Alex Haley’s book “Roots” and the book “Company Shops”, now out of print, was published when the TV series based on “Roots” was still fresh in people’s memories. In the Appendix, Durwood Stokes gives a list of the name of many of the streets in Burlington that we know so well. It turns out that most of the street names came from the names of executives or others affiliated with the railroad at the time Company Shops was first incorporated as a town, rather prosaic, but not surprising. It appears that number of families of the eponymous street names may be relatives of some of our classmates. The ones I spotted were Davis, Webb, Holt, Fonville, Sellars, and Tucker. I’ll leave it to others to confirm. There was another small world connection between Burlington and William Stokes (a native of Graham): his maternal grandmother was in the Turrentine family. I never met a Turrentine; perhaps they are still around, but I was almost sure that they were a mythical family. Most of that branch of William’s family lived in Orange County. William is a very fine pipe organist and by coincidence I learned that he knows Melvin Butler, who graduated from WHS a few years ahead of us. I remember Melvin because played viola in the WHS orchestra and was one of Dr. Artley’s (who founded the string orchestra program in the Burlington City Schools) most successful students. Melvin studied organ with Bobby King (who recently retired) at First Presbyterian, as did practically every other organ student in Burlington, including some of our classmates. Melvin is now Canon Musician of Saint Marks Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle. I corresponded with him a bit after I learned the connection with my neighbor; I have one of his recordings: “French on the Flentrop” (see: gothic-catalog/J_Melvin_Butler_s/469.htm; Flentrop is Dutch organ company that also built the nave organ in Duke Chapel). To my surprise, last year while having lunch with my mother in Burlington, I was surprised to see Dr. Artley (I was a violin student up until my senior year, when I opted for Mr. Foster’s second year chemistry class). Dr. Artley is in his 90’s now and sadly, according to Ann Wooten, my sister-in-law, he has dementia. In any case, there was not chance to speak to him before he left the restaurant, since it was only then that I heard someone call out his name. I remember at Turrentine Jr. High when I fell out of my chair while playing the violin with Dr. Artley was conducting because I had my feet under the rungs of the chair (good violinists know not to do this) making a lasting impression. -J Below is the list of “Company Shops” street names. Durward T. Stokes, “Company Shops: The Town Built by a Railroad”, J. F Blair Publisher, Winston Salem, 1981, ISBN 0-89587-016-9 Appendix D The Streets of Company Shops The map drawn by J. S. Morrison in 1886 showed twenty-six named streets in the town. They are listed below. 1. Main Street: The principal commercial artery of Company Shops. 2. Front Street: named because it extended east and west cross the front side of the railroads buildings. 3. Webb Avenue: Named for Thomas Webb, one-time president of the NCRR. 4. Davis Street: Named for Dolphin A. Davis, one of the directors of the NCRR. 5. Morehead Street: Named for John Motley Morehead, first resident of the NCRR and one-time governor of the state. 6. Mebane Street: Named for Giles Mebane, a director of the NCRR and a major supporter of the legislative bill that created it. 7. Spring Street: So named because a natural spring lay near it. 8. Cameron Street: Named for two members of the Cameron family of Hillsborough-Duncan Cameron, who presided over the organizational meeting of the roads stockholders in 1850, and Paul Carrington Cameron, who served as a director and resident of the company. 9. Gilmer Street: Named for John A. Gilmer, an early supporter of the NCRR and a member of the first board of directors. 10. Graves Street: Named for Calvin Graves, who sacrificed his political career for the NCRR. 11. Hawkins Street: Named for Philemon Hawkins, a director of the NCRR. 12. Ireland Street: Named for John Ireland, a large landowner in the area. 13. Ruffin Street: Named for Judge Thomas Ruffin, a director of the NCRR and staunch opponent of Reconstruction. 14. Holt Street: Named for two members of the Holt family - Edwin M. Holt, a company director, and Thomas M. Holt, a director and president. 15. Worth Street: Named for Daniel Worth, an important early businessman in Company Shops. 16. Fonville Street: Named for James C. Fonville and his family, some of the original owners of the land where Company Shops was built. 17. Sellars Street: Named for Thomas Sellars and his family, who were also original landowners in the area. 18. Tarpley Street: Named for the Tarpley family, original landowners, especially Dr. William C. Tarpley, a leading citizen of Company Shops. Later became North Main, and the name Tarpley was given to another street in a different part of town. 19. Tucker Street: Named for Sylvester Tucker, a director of the NCRR. 20. Fisher Street: Named for Charles Fisher, second president of the NCRR. 21. Johnston Street: Named for William J. Johnston, an outstanding railroad builder. 22. Means Street: Named for William C. Means, a fund raiser and director for the NCRR Name changed to Maple Avenue in 1915. 23. Mendenhall Street: Named for Cyrus P. Mendenhall, secretary-treasurer and director of the NCRR Name changed to Broad Street in 1908. 24. Church Street: Presumably named for the Presbyterian Church built on it in 1878. 25. Everett Street: Possibly named for John Everett and John Guard Everett, two of the NCRR’s stockholders, but more probably named for Edward Everett, president of Harvard University, who visited the state in 1859. 26. Flanner Street: Named for John D. Flanner, a state senator and director of the NCRR.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 00:04:32 +0000
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