March 9, 2012 Coats Museum News
The Harnett County News published an article in its August 19, 1926 edition about John McKay Byrd of Coats, N.C. The source of the paper’s information was the “Creek Pebbles” which noted Byrd’s rise to prominence was because of his perseverance and honest methods.
John McKay Byrd’s father was Reddin Byrd whose roots can be traced to Johnston County, N.C. Reddin Byrd had been one of the men to employ President J.A. Campbell to run a small subscription school in the community and contributed largely to the young institution. J.McKay Byrd, who was about 20 years of age at the time, was one of the notable sixteen to register on the opening day of the subscription school in 1887. The early impressions of that small school were vivid in the memory of Byrd in 1926. He attributed much of his success in life to the visions which came to him in the little one room subscription school. Campbell University is celebrating its 125 th this year—wonder how many other students who attended that institution can say the same thing that Mr. Byrd did in 1926.
The old Byrd plantation was about one-quarter of a mile south of the school. In 1926, William Hatcher owned most of the plantation. The old house was just about two hundred yards from the Hatcher home which Mr. Byrd had built several years ago at that place. Mr. Byrd lived there until 1909 when he sold his plantation and moved to Oklahoma. How old was J. McKay Byrd when he sold the plantation and went to Oklahoma? For years, he had engaged in farming and livestock. He had brought many carloads of fine horses and mules into Harnett County. Wonder if he brought the animals in on the train in Lillington or the one in Coats.
Although Mr. Byrd was successful in his Oklahoma adventure, the call to return to the old North State was so strong that he returned in 1913 to Lillington. It was there that the Republicans nominated him to run for sheriff. He was elected with the whole ticket and served the county faithfully for the years of 1915 and 1916. Do you know who the sheriff was who followed Byrd?
In 1918, he made his last change and one of the most important in his life. Byrd bought an interest in the mill enterprises controlled by N.T. Patterson at Coats. The business consisted of a sawmill, ginnery and a hosiery mill. A series of misfortunes soon fell upon the new partnership, sufficient enough to destroy a man of more than ordinary ability. First, the depression in business, following the world war, paralyzed the markets for their products. In this period of anxious waiting, the hosiery mill had burned in October of 1920 and was only covered partially by insurance. The greatest calamity of all came in the tragic death of his partner, N.T. Patterson. With only a short experience with the many sided interests, Mr. Byrd was determined to carry on. The story of the salvation of this business enterprise single-handedly is an inspiration to any struggling businessman. With very little capital, Byrd bought out the interest of his partner , assumed heavy obligations on the property and began to pull inch by inch out of debt.
The newspapers article stated that Byrd not only saved the old business, but had almost doubled the old business by the purchase of another mill and ginnery in his town of Coats. Did Mr. Byrd ever own a flour mill?
In 1925, he had ginned over 5,000 bales of cotton in the small town of Coats. If it took about 1200 pounds of seed cotton to make a bale of lint cotton, about how many pounds of cotton had been picked and transported to the Byrd cotton gin?
In August of 1926, Mr. Byrd and his sons were installing a modern gin at Buies Creek, equal in size to his original plant in Coats. In all his varied experiences in business, Sheriff Byrd had at all times what Andrew Carnegie said was the first business asset-“Irreproachable character” (Harnett County News August 19, 1926). How many of you know the names of Mr. Byrd’s sons and grandsons?
This I do know. The roads and paths upon which the farmers traveled to Coats and surrounding areas were mere paths of sand, clay and mud. Hence, the people in eastern Harnett County had to be excited to hear that W.T. Smith of the Harnett County Highway Commission was surveying the right-of –way for the road that would run from Erwin to Angier by way of Coats and Barclaysville. The survey was to determine the location of the right-of-way and as soon as that was completed, which was to take about 30 days, the work of clearing would begin. Construction would follow and the road would be pushed to completion. The policy of using convict labor to build roads was no longer in effect in 1926 (Harnett County News August 19, 1926). Could they continue to use convicts to cut and clear the roadsides?
Store that date in your memory and wait to see how long it takes to complete the road that we know as N.C. Highway 55.
Read the column next week to discover who Mayor P.F. Pope and his town commissioners elected as cotton weigher; who was appointed tax collector and who was hired as a night watchman in the town of Coats. You will also discover who applied to lay water lines in Coats in 1926.
The folks at the museum hope you have marked your calendar for 1:00 -3:00 on Saturday, March 24th to visit the museum and the Coats Heritage Square where there will be speakers and music to kickoff the African American Heritage Project to preserve the heritage of the Grove Township area African Americans. The goal is to publish the history of the Black families, schools, churches, military, medicine, businesses and much more. The folks at the museum enjoyed having the Liberty Club to meet at the museum and really appreciate Florine Penny and Rebeth Mitchell sharing their memories of life before electricity on video so the information can be incorporated into the exhibits in the new exhibit hall currently under construction.
A special thank you goes to the individual who gave a memorial gift to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor Hettie Mae Ennis. This fund will insure that the museum can be maintained for future generations to learn of the days past.
Please be mindful that this column was published in the Daily Record on March 19, 2012.
The Harnett County News published an article in its August 19, 1926 edition about John McKay Byrd of Coats, N.C. The source of the paper’s information was the “Creek Pebbles” which noted Byrd’s rise to prominence was because of his perseverance and honest methods.
John McKay Byrd’s father was Reddin Byrd whose roots can be traced to Johnston County, N.C. Reddin Byrd had been one of the men to employ President J.A. Campbell to run a small subscription school in the community and contributed largely to the young institution. J.McKay Byrd, who was about 20 years of age at the time, was one of the notable sixteen to register on the opening day of the subscription school in 1887. The early impressions of that small school were vivid in the memory of Byrd in 1926. He attributed much of his success in life to the visions which came to him in the little one room subscription school. Campbell University is celebrating its 125 th this year—wonder how many other students who attended that institution can say the same thing that Mr. Byrd did in 1926.
The old Byrd plantation was about one-quarter of a mile south of the school. In 1926, William Hatcher owned most of the plantation. The old house was just about two hundred yards from the Hatcher home which Mr. Byrd had built several years ago at that place. Mr. Byrd lived there until 1909 when he sold his plantation and moved to Oklahoma. How old was J. McKay Byrd when he sold the plantation and went to Oklahoma? For years, he had engaged in farming and livestock. He had brought many carloads of fine horses and mules into Harnett County. Wonder if he brought the animals in on the train in Lillington or the one in Coats.
Although Mr. Byrd was successful in his Oklahoma adventure, the call to return to the old North State was so strong that he returned in 1913 to Lillington. It was there that the Republicans nominated him to run for sheriff. He was elected with the whole ticket and served the county faithfully for the years of 1915 and 1916. Do you know who the sheriff was who followed Byrd?
In 1918, he made his last change and one of the most important in his life. Byrd bought an interest in the mill enterprises controlled by N.T. Patterson at Coats. The business consisted of a sawmill, ginnery and a hosiery mill. A series of misfortunes soon fell upon the new partnership, sufficient enough to destroy a man of more than ordinary ability. First, the depression in business, following the world war, paralyzed the markets for their products. In this period of anxious waiting, the hosiery mill had burned in October of 1920 and was only covered partially by insurance. The greatest calamity of all came in the tragic death of his partner, N.T. Patterson. With only a short experience with the many sided interests, Mr. Byrd was determined to carry on. The story of the salvation of this business enterprise single-handedly is an inspiration to any struggling businessman. With very little capital, Byrd bought out the interest of his partner , assumed heavy obligations on the property and began to pull inch by inch out of debt.
The newspapers article stated that Byrd not only saved the old business, but had almost doubled the old business by the purchase of another mill and ginnery in his town of Coats. Did Mr. Byrd ever own a flour mill?
In 1925, he had ginned over 5,000 bales of cotton in the small town of Coats. If it took about 1200 pounds of seed cotton to make a bale of lint cotton, about how many pounds of cotton had been picked and transported to the Byrd cotton gin?
In August of 1926, Mr. Byrd and his sons were installing a modern gin at Buies Creek, equal in size to his original plant in Coats. In all his varied experiences in business, Sheriff Byrd had at all times what Andrew Carnegie said was the first business asset-“Irreproachable character” (Harnett County News August 19, 1926). How many of you know the names of Mr. Byrd’s sons and grandsons?
This I do know. The roads and paths upon which the farmers traveled to Coats and surrounding areas were mere paths of sand, clay and mud. Hence, the people in eastern Harnett County had to be excited to hear that W.T. Smith of the Harnett County Highway Commission was surveying the right-of –way for the road that would run from Erwin to Angier by way of Coats and Barclaysville. The survey was to determine the location of the right-of-way and as soon as that was completed, which was to take about 30 days, the work of clearing would begin. Construction would follow and the road would be pushed to completion. The policy of using convict labor to build roads was no longer in effect in 1926 (Harnett County News August 19, 1926). Could they continue to use convicts to cut and clear the roadsides?
Store that date in your memory and wait to see how long it takes to complete the road that we know as N.C. Highway 55.
Read the column next week to discover who Mayor P.F. Pope and his town commissioners elected as cotton weigher; who was appointed tax collector and who was hired as a night watchman in the town of Coats. You will also discover who applied to lay water lines in Coats in 1926.
The folks at the museum hope you have marked your calendar for 1:00 -3:00 on Saturday, March 24th to visit the museum and the Coats Heritage Square where there will be speakers and music to kickoff the African American Heritage Project to preserve the heritage of the Grove Township area African Americans. The goal is to publish the history of the Black families, schools, churches, military, medicine, businesses and much more. The folks at the museum enjoyed having the Liberty Club to meet at the museum and really appreciate Florine Penny and Rebeth Mitchell sharing their memories of life before electricity on video so the information can be incorporated into the exhibits in the new exhibit hall currently under construction.
A special thank you goes to the individual who gave a memorial gift to the Coats Museum Endowment to honor Hettie Mae Ennis. This fund will insure that the museum can be maintained for future generations to learn of the days past.
Please be mindful that this column was published in the Daily Record on March 19, 2012.