February 23, 2024 Coats Museum News
For those of you who have been following this column since 2009, you read in my first column about Verrazzano, a Florentine navigator in the service of France. Five hundred years ago in 1524, he explored the coast that would later be named Carolina and even later North Carolina. The beauties, wonders, and abundance of the wilderness impressed him. Verrazzano was “charmed by the faire fields and plains, full of mightie great woods-with diverse sorts of trees, as pleasant and delectable to behold, as is possible to imagine” according to historians Lefler and Newsome.
Then Barlowe, in his report to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, referred to the “delicious odors of the bay trees, to the highest cedars of the world,” oaks “farre greater and better than any in Europe, and pine, cypress and other sweet smelling timber trees.” As the column continued from one week to the next, you read that these continuing glowing reports by other explorers had a continuous effect on the settlement of the “new world” for many years to come until there were permanent settlements in our part of the state.
Yes, if you have been reading the Coats Museum News all these years, you have read five hundred years of history –much of it about the area in the Grove Township and bordering townships of Black River, Averasboro, Neil’s Creek and some nearby towns. We have discovered that there has been so much change. I will revisit some changes in school districts in response to a museum phone call we received. There was a time when there were no public schools at all. Then there were small locally supported district schools that consolidated into larger district schools and finally mega consolidated schools split and formed even more mega schools in Harnett County supported by county and state taxes with some federal money.
Hence, consolidation is not new. There was a time when there were scores and scores of school districts. The schools were located in rural farm areas and the students had to walk to schools in their district prior to the early 1920’s when during that era school trucks (buses) came on the scene and would transport most students to schools. Interestingly enough, some schools had dormitories for teachers and students to stay before student transportation was offered.
Transportation brought about much change period. The earliest form of school transportation in our area was by Gus Stewart and unless you were fortunate to live in the Turlington School District #4 area and had Gus Stewart to pick you up in 1916 on his covered wagon and take you to the District #3 School in Coats where there was a high school, you had to walk in many cases a number of miles to school in fair and foul weather.
It was around 1911 that a School Census was implemented and it recorded the number of students in a certain age range (8-12)) who lived in a particular school district. These young students were mandated to attend school. Older students would later be added to that School Census compulsory attendance list.
Consolidation? The museum phone recently recorded a message from a lady inquiring about the Wiggins School. It was difficult to understand the entire voice message but it sounded like she wanted to know why the Wiggins School was not included in the seven schools that we included on the school map in an earlier column.
She is correct to ask about the Wiggins School. In fact we have a picture of the one room school on the wall mural in our Research Library at the museum. According to the Together We Leave history of the Coats High School and the schools that consolidated into it, it was written that the second Turlington School, District # 4, was approximately .8 miles farther west on the same farm and was near the grist mill known as “Turlington Mill”. Water for drinking was obtained from a nearby spring. Some teachers who had taught there were Grant Gardner, Maude Keeter, Cora Parker, Lena Parker, Perry Morgan, Dora Creel and Lillie Smith. Some of the historical material was supplied to us by Brookie Stewart (daughter of Gus Stewart) and Nettie Turner Turlington (wife of Paul Turlington) Both of these ladies grew up in the Turlington area of Grove Township.
As the population grew, the Harnett County Board of Education decided in 1913 to consolidate the Wiggins School (District #5), a one room school, with the Turlington (District #4) also a one room school, into a larger three room school centrally located between the two school districts. This is why Wiggins School was not part of the Coats Union School map shown in the Coats Museum News column. Some of the students from Wiggins may have gone to the new Parker School # 5 while others to Turlington School #4. Eventually Turlington School grew from a four room in 1922-23 into a 5 room school. By 1935-36, the school population had dropped so much that Thelma Turlington (Edward Turlington’s aunt) and Mary Robinson closed out the last year of the beloved Turlington School.
Please keep in mind that there were many school districts early on in Harnett County. There was a District #8 (Key) and these students were consolidated into Sorrell District #6 and Duke in 1916. There was Parker School which became District # 5 and had 112 students census age. There was Barclaysville from which 25 students came to Coats District# 3.
Eventually by 1950 all the other 6 small districts schools would consolidate into the Coats Union School where all students between ages 8 and 16 had to attend a nine month term because of the compulsory school attendance law.
Not only did the school districts change but also the teachers and principals changed. Mr. R. Hal Smith would come to Coats and replace A.J. Dickson in 1945. Mr. Smith would see graduating classes from 1946 to 1959. The Daily Record April 1, 1994 edition wrote about the death of Mr. R. Hal Smith.
Mr. Smith had resigned from Benhaven High School in 1945 to come to Coats. He had graduated from Wake Forest in 1932 and went to Benhaven where he taught, coached and served as the principal. After leaving Coats in 1959, he returned to UNC at which he earned his master’s degree and became principal at Angier High School.
He had 37 years of service to the Harnett County Schools. Mr. Smith was 84 years old and was survived by his wife Olivia Smith and two sons-Bobby and Billy Smith.
For those of you who attended Coats when he was principal, can you describe how he moved about campus? Can you recall what grade his wife Olivia taught and where was her classroom? What color of hair did she have?
I do know that Bobby and Billy were outstanding students and went on to serve in the military. Billy graduated in 1956 and has visited the museum with his classmates and also added his brother Bobby and his military records to our Defenders of the Red, White and Blue military book. Billy also gave a generous donation to help operate the museum. He looked very much like his dad did in May of 1985 when Mr. R. Hal Smith came back to the Coats Reunion celebration.
So many of our visitors are interested in knowing their roots. Many have done the ancestry.com route and many have purchased the DNA tests. Are there other ways to add to your knowledge of your family genealogy? Tomorrow –February 24th from 10-to 12:00, professional genealogist Robin Foster, author of four genealogy books, co-founder of and owner of www. genealogyjustask.com has volunteered to give additional tips to attendees on how to trace their roots. She has given many genealogy presentations and classes so we are excited that she is giving a free workshop tomorrow. Join the Coats Museum folks in the Research Library and meet Ms. Foster and learn how you can add to your knowledge of your family’s genealogy.
It is free and we will enjoy refreshments after the workshop.
For those of you who have been following this column since 2009, you read in my first column about Verrazzano, a Florentine navigator in the service of France. Five hundred years ago in 1524, he explored the coast that would later be named Carolina and even later North Carolina. The beauties, wonders, and abundance of the wilderness impressed him. Verrazzano was “charmed by the faire fields and plains, full of mightie great woods-with diverse sorts of trees, as pleasant and delectable to behold, as is possible to imagine” according to historians Lefler and Newsome.
Then Barlowe, in his report to Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, referred to the “delicious odors of the bay trees, to the highest cedars of the world,” oaks “farre greater and better than any in Europe, and pine, cypress and other sweet smelling timber trees.” As the column continued from one week to the next, you read that these continuing glowing reports by other explorers had a continuous effect on the settlement of the “new world” for many years to come until there were permanent settlements in our part of the state.
Yes, if you have been reading the Coats Museum News all these years, you have read five hundred years of history –much of it about the area in the Grove Township and bordering townships of Black River, Averasboro, Neil’s Creek and some nearby towns. We have discovered that there has been so much change. I will revisit some changes in school districts in response to a museum phone call we received. There was a time when there were no public schools at all. Then there were small locally supported district schools that consolidated into larger district schools and finally mega consolidated schools split and formed even more mega schools in Harnett County supported by county and state taxes with some federal money.
Hence, consolidation is not new. There was a time when there were scores and scores of school districts. The schools were located in rural farm areas and the students had to walk to schools in their district prior to the early 1920’s when during that era school trucks (buses) came on the scene and would transport most students to schools. Interestingly enough, some schools had dormitories for teachers and students to stay before student transportation was offered.
Transportation brought about much change period. The earliest form of school transportation in our area was by Gus Stewart and unless you were fortunate to live in the Turlington School District #4 area and had Gus Stewart to pick you up in 1916 on his covered wagon and take you to the District #3 School in Coats where there was a high school, you had to walk in many cases a number of miles to school in fair and foul weather.
It was around 1911 that a School Census was implemented and it recorded the number of students in a certain age range (8-12)) who lived in a particular school district. These young students were mandated to attend school. Older students would later be added to that School Census compulsory attendance list.
Consolidation? The museum phone recently recorded a message from a lady inquiring about the Wiggins School. It was difficult to understand the entire voice message but it sounded like she wanted to know why the Wiggins School was not included in the seven schools that we included on the school map in an earlier column.
She is correct to ask about the Wiggins School. In fact we have a picture of the one room school on the wall mural in our Research Library at the museum. According to the Together We Leave history of the Coats High School and the schools that consolidated into it, it was written that the second Turlington School, District # 4, was approximately .8 miles farther west on the same farm and was near the grist mill known as “Turlington Mill”. Water for drinking was obtained from a nearby spring. Some teachers who had taught there were Grant Gardner, Maude Keeter, Cora Parker, Lena Parker, Perry Morgan, Dora Creel and Lillie Smith. Some of the historical material was supplied to us by Brookie Stewart (daughter of Gus Stewart) and Nettie Turner Turlington (wife of Paul Turlington) Both of these ladies grew up in the Turlington area of Grove Township.
As the population grew, the Harnett County Board of Education decided in 1913 to consolidate the Wiggins School (District #5), a one room school, with the Turlington (District #4) also a one room school, into a larger three room school centrally located between the two school districts. This is why Wiggins School was not part of the Coats Union School map shown in the Coats Museum News column. Some of the students from Wiggins may have gone to the new Parker School # 5 while others to Turlington School #4. Eventually Turlington School grew from a four room in 1922-23 into a 5 room school. By 1935-36, the school population had dropped so much that Thelma Turlington (Edward Turlington’s aunt) and Mary Robinson closed out the last year of the beloved Turlington School.
Please keep in mind that there were many school districts early on in Harnett County. There was a District #8 (Key) and these students were consolidated into Sorrell District #6 and Duke in 1916. There was Parker School which became District # 5 and had 112 students census age. There was Barclaysville from which 25 students came to Coats District# 3.
Eventually by 1950 all the other 6 small districts schools would consolidate into the Coats Union School where all students between ages 8 and 16 had to attend a nine month term because of the compulsory school attendance law.
Not only did the school districts change but also the teachers and principals changed. Mr. R. Hal Smith would come to Coats and replace A.J. Dickson in 1945. Mr. Smith would see graduating classes from 1946 to 1959. The Daily Record April 1, 1994 edition wrote about the death of Mr. R. Hal Smith.
Mr. Smith had resigned from Benhaven High School in 1945 to come to Coats. He had graduated from Wake Forest in 1932 and went to Benhaven where he taught, coached and served as the principal. After leaving Coats in 1959, he returned to UNC at which he earned his master’s degree and became principal at Angier High School.
He had 37 years of service to the Harnett County Schools. Mr. Smith was 84 years old and was survived by his wife Olivia Smith and two sons-Bobby and Billy Smith.
For those of you who attended Coats when he was principal, can you describe how he moved about campus? Can you recall what grade his wife Olivia taught and where was her classroom? What color of hair did she have?
I do know that Bobby and Billy were outstanding students and went on to serve in the military. Billy graduated in 1956 and has visited the museum with his classmates and also added his brother Bobby and his military records to our Defenders of the Red, White and Blue military book. Billy also gave a generous donation to help operate the museum. He looked very much like his dad did in May of 1985 when Mr. R. Hal Smith came back to the Coats Reunion celebration.
So many of our visitors are interested in knowing their roots. Many have done the ancestry.com route and many have purchased the DNA tests. Are there other ways to add to your knowledge of your family genealogy? Tomorrow –February 24th from 10-to 12:00, professional genealogist Robin Foster, author of four genealogy books, co-founder of and owner of www. genealogyjustask.com has volunteered to give additional tips to attendees on how to trace their roots. She has given many genealogy presentations and classes so we are excited that she is giving a free workshop tomorrow. Join the Coats Museum folks in the Research Library and meet Ms. Foster and learn how you can add to your knowledge of your family’s genealogy.
It is free and we will enjoy refreshments after the workshop.