February 6, 2012 Coats Museum News
The month was August of 1926. It was on a Wednesday in that month that the Turlington clan celebrated the fourth annual reunion of that family. The reunion was held at Bethsaida Primitive Baptist Church and about 200 people attended. Three states and many North Carolina counties were represented. Jimmie Turlington, N.C. State Representative Zeb V. Turlington-the noted legislator and father of the famous N.C. “Volstead Act”-, and Grover Britt of the “Dispatch” were present. Franklin T. Dupree, a Turlington relative, was chief speaker. Devereaux Turlington at 79 years of age was the oldest Turlington present and Willis Turlington , 78 years old, was the oldest from out of state being from Bennettville, S.C. ( Harnett County News August 12, 1926).
About three score of barbecue eaters pronounced Henry A. Turlington’s as being “absolutely fine”. The party gathered in the grove. (Some people speculate that “Grove District” obtained the name from this grove of sheltering pines.)The genial proprietor of the Duroc Farm and the crowd had a jolly good time (Harnett County News August 19, 1926).
It was during this same summer that the sites were being sought to build the seven Rosenwald Colored Schools approved by the county. These seven schools built in 1926-27 were Bunnlevel, Coats, Mt. Pisgah, Murchinson, , Paradise, Smith Grove, and Summerville.
Other Rosenwald Schools built in Harnett were Angier (1928-29), Atkins Road (1923-24), Averasboro ((1922-23), Bethlehem (1929-30), County Training (1922-23, 1927), Creeksville (1923-24), Duke (1921-22), Killingsford (1923-24), Lillington No.1 (1922-23), Lillington No.2 (1922-23), Lillington No.3 (1927-28),Norrington (1922-23), Sand Hill (1920-21), Stewart’s Creek ( 1922-23), and Yarboro- “Upper Little River” (1923-24)- (Taken from the ECA quilt square “Norrington School”)
What happened to the first Mt. Pisgah School? According to the Mt. Pisgah Harnett County Original Free Baptist Church History recorded in the Heritage of Coats, North Carolina Volume 2, pages 54-57, the county purchased land in the proximity of where the members of Mt. Pisgah Church were then holding services and built a one-room school for colored children to receive an education. Mr. William Shaw, who wore a long gray beard, was superintendent of the school in the 1880’s. Many of the members of Mt. Pisgah, as children, attended this school during seasons when they were not required to be in the fields to plant, cultivate, or harvest the crops.
When Mt. Pisgah Church, lovingly referred to as “Old Egypt”, burned down, the members of the church were permitted to use the schoolhouse until a new church was built. The school remained there for 56 years until it was declared unsafe and the building was sold according to Peggy Robinson. She also shared that on December 25, 1926, the Reverend John D. Shaw, Ella McKay Shaw, David Ryals, and Eliza McKay Ryals sold land to the Harnett County Board of Education upon which was built the second Mt. Pisgah School. It had four rooms and four teachers.
In 1930, the HCBOE agreed to take $15.00 for the old Mt. Pisgah School building that had been abandoned since the second school had been built.
On June 20, 1935, The Harnett County Board of Education received a petition from Henry Mack Stewart, principal of Mt.Pisgah, asking that certain schools for colored students in Grove Township be consolidated with Coats Colored School and that necessary transportation facilities be provided. He also requested in that petition that transportation be provided for high school students. The petition was signed by 19 leading white people. It was denied (Harnett County News June 20, 1935).
On July 14, 1935, North Harnett School was erected to honor Henry Mack Stewart who was a Negro educator. He was born in Coats and lived and taught in the areas of Coats, Angier, Duncan, Buies Creek, and southern Wake County according to Mrs. Robinson.
On April 13, 1937, the HCBOE appointed D.H. Ryals, Jack Spears, and William Holliday to Mt. Pisgah School: Charles M. Stewart, Benton Lee and Hilliary Stewart to Black River Grove; Edgar McLean, T.S. Surles, and J.C. Carney to Turlington Grove: Herman Williams, James D. Stewart, Prentice McLean to Coats Colored School and lastly, W.H. Massey, Robert Rowland and Walter Matthews at Rowland School (Harnett County News April 15, 1937).
In 1941, the Turlington Grove Colored School consolidated with Mt. Pisgah and the school was sold (Harnett County News January 9, 1941).
In the Harnett County News April 10, 1947 edition, it was printed that William Stewart, James D. Stewart, and Arthur Rowland served on the Coats Negro School Board while Herbert Johnson, W.E. Nichols and W.T. Sorrell served on the Coats White School. W.E. Nichols had replaced Dr. C. Garner Fuquay and Johnson had replaced R.D. Ennis who recently had died.
Mt. Pisgah had Sandy McKay, Archie Melvin, and Andrew Ryals on the Negro school board. At that date, Bethlehem, Paradise, Seminole, Smith Grove, Killingsford, McLean’s Chapel, Norrington, Murchison, Cedar Grove and Beaver Dam were Negro Schools (Dunn Dispatch April 10, 1947).
You have to wonder ”Where were all of these Black Schools?” The Black River Grove was located on the present Johnson Road just northeast of Coats. The Rowland School was located on the present Bill Avery Road off NC Highway 27 between Buies Creek and Coats. What about the others?
The Coats Museum folks are attempting to gather history about the black citizens of the Grove Township and surrounding areas. The museum volunteers are taking on the project to help Peggy Robinson publish a Black Heritage Book similar to the Heritage Book of Coats, North Carolina. We will need to gather information from our black and white citizens to make this happen. The date of planning for the book had changed to March 24, 2012 at the Coats Community Building on the Heritage Square. Read the upcoming columns to keep informed of the events.
Have you seen all the activity behind the Heritage Museum and Cotton Museum? The Coats Museum Board of Directors and museum volunteers held a ground breaking for the 2500 square feet addition. The footing has been poured. Edward Turlington and Tommy McLeod of EST General Contractors were at the event. Kent Langdon called me last week to share that the Mabry who mixed fertilizer was Edward Turlington’s grandfather. Kent also has many vivid memories of his family’s black neighbors in the Barclaysville area. Thanks to Hazel Byrd for her gift of 1980’s calendars from the Coats Auto Parts.
The month was August of 1926. It was on a Wednesday in that month that the Turlington clan celebrated the fourth annual reunion of that family. The reunion was held at Bethsaida Primitive Baptist Church and about 200 people attended. Three states and many North Carolina counties were represented. Jimmie Turlington, N.C. State Representative Zeb V. Turlington-the noted legislator and father of the famous N.C. “Volstead Act”-, and Grover Britt of the “Dispatch” were present. Franklin T. Dupree, a Turlington relative, was chief speaker. Devereaux Turlington at 79 years of age was the oldest Turlington present and Willis Turlington , 78 years old, was the oldest from out of state being from Bennettville, S.C. ( Harnett County News August 12, 1926).
About three score of barbecue eaters pronounced Henry A. Turlington’s as being “absolutely fine”. The party gathered in the grove. (Some people speculate that “Grove District” obtained the name from this grove of sheltering pines.)The genial proprietor of the Duroc Farm and the crowd had a jolly good time (Harnett County News August 19, 1926).
It was during this same summer that the sites were being sought to build the seven Rosenwald Colored Schools approved by the county. These seven schools built in 1926-27 were Bunnlevel, Coats, Mt. Pisgah, Murchinson, , Paradise, Smith Grove, and Summerville.
Other Rosenwald Schools built in Harnett were Angier (1928-29), Atkins Road (1923-24), Averasboro ((1922-23), Bethlehem (1929-30), County Training (1922-23, 1927), Creeksville (1923-24), Duke (1921-22), Killingsford (1923-24), Lillington No.1 (1922-23), Lillington No.2 (1922-23), Lillington No.3 (1927-28),Norrington (1922-23), Sand Hill (1920-21), Stewart’s Creek ( 1922-23), and Yarboro- “Upper Little River” (1923-24)- (Taken from the ECA quilt square “Norrington School”)
What happened to the first Mt. Pisgah School? According to the Mt. Pisgah Harnett County Original Free Baptist Church History recorded in the Heritage of Coats, North Carolina Volume 2, pages 54-57, the county purchased land in the proximity of where the members of Mt. Pisgah Church were then holding services and built a one-room school for colored children to receive an education. Mr. William Shaw, who wore a long gray beard, was superintendent of the school in the 1880’s. Many of the members of Mt. Pisgah, as children, attended this school during seasons when they were not required to be in the fields to plant, cultivate, or harvest the crops.
When Mt. Pisgah Church, lovingly referred to as “Old Egypt”, burned down, the members of the church were permitted to use the schoolhouse until a new church was built. The school remained there for 56 years until it was declared unsafe and the building was sold according to Peggy Robinson. She also shared that on December 25, 1926, the Reverend John D. Shaw, Ella McKay Shaw, David Ryals, and Eliza McKay Ryals sold land to the Harnett County Board of Education upon which was built the second Mt. Pisgah School. It had four rooms and four teachers.
In 1930, the HCBOE agreed to take $15.00 for the old Mt. Pisgah School building that had been abandoned since the second school had been built.
On June 20, 1935, The Harnett County Board of Education received a petition from Henry Mack Stewart, principal of Mt.Pisgah, asking that certain schools for colored students in Grove Township be consolidated with Coats Colored School and that necessary transportation facilities be provided. He also requested in that petition that transportation be provided for high school students. The petition was signed by 19 leading white people. It was denied (Harnett County News June 20, 1935).
On July 14, 1935, North Harnett School was erected to honor Henry Mack Stewart who was a Negro educator. He was born in Coats and lived and taught in the areas of Coats, Angier, Duncan, Buies Creek, and southern Wake County according to Mrs. Robinson.
On April 13, 1937, the HCBOE appointed D.H. Ryals, Jack Spears, and William Holliday to Mt. Pisgah School: Charles M. Stewart, Benton Lee and Hilliary Stewart to Black River Grove; Edgar McLean, T.S. Surles, and J.C. Carney to Turlington Grove: Herman Williams, James D. Stewart, Prentice McLean to Coats Colored School and lastly, W.H. Massey, Robert Rowland and Walter Matthews at Rowland School (Harnett County News April 15, 1937).
In 1941, the Turlington Grove Colored School consolidated with Mt. Pisgah and the school was sold (Harnett County News January 9, 1941).
In the Harnett County News April 10, 1947 edition, it was printed that William Stewart, James D. Stewart, and Arthur Rowland served on the Coats Negro School Board while Herbert Johnson, W.E. Nichols and W.T. Sorrell served on the Coats White School. W.E. Nichols had replaced Dr. C. Garner Fuquay and Johnson had replaced R.D. Ennis who recently had died.
Mt. Pisgah had Sandy McKay, Archie Melvin, and Andrew Ryals on the Negro school board. At that date, Bethlehem, Paradise, Seminole, Smith Grove, Killingsford, McLean’s Chapel, Norrington, Murchison, Cedar Grove and Beaver Dam were Negro Schools (Dunn Dispatch April 10, 1947).
You have to wonder ”Where were all of these Black Schools?” The Black River Grove was located on the present Johnson Road just northeast of Coats. The Rowland School was located on the present Bill Avery Road off NC Highway 27 between Buies Creek and Coats. What about the others?
The Coats Museum folks are attempting to gather history about the black citizens of the Grove Township and surrounding areas. The museum volunteers are taking on the project to help Peggy Robinson publish a Black Heritage Book similar to the Heritage Book of Coats, North Carolina. We will need to gather information from our black and white citizens to make this happen. The date of planning for the book had changed to March 24, 2012 at the Coats Community Building on the Heritage Square. Read the upcoming columns to keep informed of the events.
Have you seen all the activity behind the Heritage Museum and Cotton Museum? The Coats Museum Board of Directors and museum volunteers held a ground breaking for the 2500 square feet addition. The footing has been poured. Edward Turlington and Tommy McLeod of EST General Contractors were at the event. Kent Langdon called me last week to share that the Mabry who mixed fertilizer was Edward Turlington’s grandfather. Kent also has many vivid memories of his family’s black neighbors in the Barclaysville area. Thanks to Hazel Byrd for her gift of 1980’s calendars from the Coats Auto Parts.
