March 7, 2025 Coats Museum News
Can you believe that it is already March of 2025? However, the date on the Daily Record shared that it was the May 15, 1995 edition. An article in that paper printed that Christel Smith of Coats had received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Barton College. She was a 1992 graduate of Peace College. Christel was the wife of Rev. Billy Smith of the Red Hill PFWB Church on Red Hill Church Road.
“Red Hill” Church –do you know anything about that church and wonder why officials may have named it Red Hill Church Road? Did you know there is another time in history where the “red hill” is mentioned? Since you are reading the column, I assume you love history. Allow me to share to enlighten you on the church and the earlier mention of the “red hill” in our local history.
Let’s begin with PFWB “Red Hill” Church. Pastor Tony Kopanski in 2004-05 wrote for the Heritage of Coats, NC book that he used the church records, the records of Mrs. Gertie Moore, interviews with Mrs. Izola Stephenson, Ms. Brice Stephenson and Mr. Wesley Pleasant to compile his entry into the heritage book.
He said around the turn of the century (1900) that a small group of 12 people wanted to have a closer walk with the Lord and they met in the log house of Lewis Messer, a transplant from Chatham County. His Messer family had paid $1.00 per acre for 100 acres and upon his donation of some of that land was built the first “bush shelter or brush arbor” in 1905 and adopted the name Red Hill Church. There were 6 male and 9 females for a total of 15 and the church was accepted into the Cape Fear Free Will Baptist Conference on Oct. 7, 1907. No mention of why they named it Red Hill was shared.
A church cemetery plot was donated by John Monroe Messer near this 1907 date. The church grew from the 15 members in 1907 to 133 in 1999. Within those years, the church had not only grown in numbers but many additions occurred including many updates and the building of a parsonage for the pastor. The building “stands strong, as did the foundation of the founding families of the Red Church”.
Here were the names of those 12 original members: Lewis and Elizabeth Messer, William Thomas (Bud) and Claudia Messer, John M. and Rebecca Messer, John W. and Jennie Byrd, Lilly Messer, Julie Catherine (?), Fannie Jernigan and Mr. Suggs.
As one rides down that Red Hill Church Road from the Dunn direction, does it appear that the church was indeed built upon a slight red hill?
Now for the second time the “red hill” is mentioned in that general area. Dr. Ronnie Faulkner, a local historian, wrote for the Coats heritage book that the Coats area had been the home of a number of authentic personages. “Poplar Foot” Daniel Shaw (a miller) and father to Dushee Shaw lived a few miles south of Coats (in the current area of Coats Erwin Middle School). There were supposedly five Daniel Shaws and each was given a “suitable appellation” to separate one from the other.
Poplar Foot acquired his name after he lost a foot from a shattered ankle wound at Rockfish Creek. The story passed down was that Daniel had his son Dushee cut down a poplar tree from which Daniel carved himself a foot; hence, he became known as Poplar Foot Daniel Shaw. It was on this land that a tavern was built for lodging so stagecoach riders could spend the night on their journey from the Raleigh capital to Fayetteville. It is this tavern that is being restored as museum near the CEMS by Bryan Avery. This is part of the 2300 acres purchased by Willis Turlington from the Daniel Shaw heirs in 1839.
Another Daniel Shaw and his wife Sarah arrived in this country from the Isle of Skye in the year of 1775 and settled near McNeill’s Ferry on the Cape Fear River. Their son Daniel, Jr. was born there. The war of the revolution was in progress at that time but Daniel did not take part on either side but he was taken from his house to be killed, but some friends recognized him and told the raiders that he was not a Tory and the Daniel Shaw they wanted was a lame man who lived at the “Red Hill” in the Raleigh Fayetteville road and was known as Old Miller Daniel Shaw. That’s interesting--so he was known by two names?
The Daniel Shaw, Jr. mentioned above is buried in the Coats City Cemetery along with his wife Margaret Urquhart Shaw. His heirs sold the Daniel Shaw land in 1875-76 to Preacher Thomas Coats upon which 250 acres of Coats was chartered in 1905. They were parents of Benjamin F. Shaw, the first clerk of court in the newly organized Harnett County. The rest of the story is on page 391 of the Coats Heritage Book in the Coats Museum.
Visit us at the Coats Museum on Thursdays and Sundays-there’s so much to see and learn from our volunteers and visitors. A visit from David Langdon caught us up on his son, Dr. Casey Langdon, who earned is PHD from Yale and has earned a professorship at a university in Charleston, SC. More later on other visitors.
Can you believe that it is already March of 2025? However, the date on the Daily Record shared that it was the May 15, 1995 edition. An article in that paper printed that Christel Smith of Coats had received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Barton College. She was a 1992 graduate of Peace College. Christel was the wife of Rev. Billy Smith of the Red Hill PFWB Church on Red Hill Church Road.
“Red Hill” Church –do you know anything about that church and wonder why officials may have named it Red Hill Church Road? Did you know there is another time in history where the “red hill” is mentioned? Since you are reading the column, I assume you love history. Allow me to share to enlighten you on the church and the earlier mention of the “red hill” in our local history.
Let’s begin with PFWB “Red Hill” Church. Pastor Tony Kopanski in 2004-05 wrote for the Heritage of Coats, NC book that he used the church records, the records of Mrs. Gertie Moore, interviews with Mrs. Izola Stephenson, Ms. Brice Stephenson and Mr. Wesley Pleasant to compile his entry into the heritage book.
He said around the turn of the century (1900) that a small group of 12 people wanted to have a closer walk with the Lord and they met in the log house of Lewis Messer, a transplant from Chatham County. His Messer family had paid $1.00 per acre for 100 acres and upon his donation of some of that land was built the first “bush shelter or brush arbor” in 1905 and adopted the name Red Hill Church. There were 6 male and 9 females for a total of 15 and the church was accepted into the Cape Fear Free Will Baptist Conference on Oct. 7, 1907. No mention of why they named it Red Hill was shared.
A church cemetery plot was donated by John Monroe Messer near this 1907 date. The church grew from the 15 members in 1907 to 133 in 1999. Within those years, the church had not only grown in numbers but many additions occurred including many updates and the building of a parsonage for the pastor. The building “stands strong, as did the foundation of the founding families of the Red Church”.
Here were the names of those 12 original members: Lewis and Elizabeth Messer, William Thomas (Bud) and Claudia Messer, John M. and Rebecca Messer, John W. and Jennie Byrd, Lilly Messer, Julie Catherine (?), Fannie Jernigan and Mr. Suggs.
As one rides down that Red Hill Church Road from the Dunn direction, does it appear that the church was indeed built upon a slight red hill?
Now for the second time the “red hill” is mentioned in that general area. Dr. Ronnie Faulkner, a local historian, wrote for the Coats heritage book that the Coats area had been the home of a number of authentic personages. “Poplar Foot” Daniel Shaw (a miller) and father to Dushee Shaw lived a few miles south of Coats (in the current area of Coats Erwin Middle School). There were supposedly five Daniel Shaws and each was given a “suitable appellation” to separate one from the other.
Poplar Foot acquired his name after he lost a foot from a shattered ankle wound at Rockfish Creek. The story passed down was that Daniel had his son Dushee cut down a poplar tree from which Daniel carved himself a foot; hence, he became known as Poplar Foot Daniel Shaw. It was on this land that a tavern was built for lodging so stagecoach riders could spend the night on their journey from the Raleigh capital to Fayetteville. It is this tavern that is being restored as museum near the CEMS by Bryan Avery. This is part of the 2300 acres purchased by Willis Turlington from the Daniel Shaw heirs in 1839.
Another Daniel Shaw and his wife Sarah arrived in this country from the Isle of Skye in the year of 1775 and settled near McNeill’s Ferry on the Cape Fear River. Their son Daniel, Jr. was born there. The war of the revolution was in progress at that time but Daniel did not take part on either side but he was taken from his house to be killed, but some friends recognized him and told the raiders that he was not a Tory and the Daniel Shaw they wanted was a lame man who lived at the “Red Hill” in the Raleigh Fayetteville road and was known as Old Miller Daniel Shaw. That’s interesting--so he was known by two names?
The Daniel Shaw, Jr. mentioned above is buried in the Coats City Cemetery along with his wife Margaret Urquhart Shaw. His heirs sold the Daniel Shaw land in 1875-76 to Preacher Thomas Coats upon which 250 acres of Coats was chartered in 1905. They were parents of Benjamin F. Shaw, the first clerk of court in the newly organized Harnett County. The rest of the story is on page 391 of the Coats Heritage Book in the Coats Museum.
Visit us at the Coats Museum on Thursdays and Sundays-there’s so much to see and learn from our volunteers and visitors. A visit from David Langdon caught us up on his son, Dr. Casey Langdon, who earned is PHD from Yale and has earned a professorship at a university in Charleston, SC. More later on other visitors.