W. E. Nichols
Let’s play the mind game again and ask that you name ten men whom you think made a lasting impact in the Coats community. The husband of Eva Smith Nichols comes to my mind after following his life in Coats from about 1914 until his death in 1954.
W.E. Nichols came to Coats around 1914 from the Oak Grove area of Durham, NC. He served as the railroad agent and manager of the Express and Telegraph in 1914 and again in 1916.
In 1925, Mr. Nichols served on the Coats School Board. He was very supportive of excellence in education, and he challenged students by offering $1.00 for the best performance in Reciting, Disclaiming, and Debating. He served as mayor of Coats in 1924 and in 1933. Mr. Nichols served on the committee for the 1936 Coats High School building and auditorium project and on the Harnett County Board of Education in 1948-1954.
The Harnett County News defined W.E. Nichols as Coats’ “Number One” businessman and farmer. Since 1920, he had operated and owned the Coats Mercantile Company that sold dry goods, shoes, hardware, tools, farm implements, farm wagons, seeds, VC and International fertilizers along with a pen of Tennessee mules. The company grew into trucking, deliveries, banking, and distribution.
He lobbied for Highway 40 (now NC 27) westward from Coats to connect Coats to Highway 421 near Buies Creek and for other roads in the Coats area that needed better roads due to the volume of traffic on them.
The Bank of Harnett closed its doors in the early 1930’s and consolidated with the one in Erwin according to the Jan. 8, 1941, edition of the Harnett County News. Later, Mr. Nichols served on the committee to bring a new bank to Coats. He was seated on the First Citizen Bank Board, on the Board of Trustees for Campbell College, and on the Harnett Hospital Board in Dunn. Very impactful was his gift of the 8 lots on which the Coats Community Building is built and served on the Advisory Board.
He later became very involved with the Lee Moore Oil Company who gave the land in 1980 upon which the Coats Museum and Cotton Museum are built.
Sadly, he died abroad while on vacation and did not live to see the county celebrate its 100th celebration in 1955 but he left behind a legacy that will long be recorded in “The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina.”
Let’s play the mind game again and ask that you name ten men whom you think made a lasting impact in the Coats community. The husband of Eva Smith Nichols comes to my mind after following his life in Coats from about 1914 until his death in 1954.
W.E. Nichols came to Coats around 1914 from the Oak Grove area of Durham, NC. He served as the railroad agent and manager of the Express and Telegraph in 1914 and again in 1916.
In 1925, Mr. Nichols served on the Coats School Board. He was very supportive of excellence in education, and he challenged students by offering $1.00 for the best performance in Reciting, Disclaiming, and Debating. He served as mayor of Coats in 1924 and in 1933. Mr. Nichols served on the committee for the 1936 Coats High School building and auditorium project and on the Harnett County Board of Education in 1948-1954.
The Harnett County News defined W.E. Nichols as Coats’ “Number One” businessman and farmer. Since 1920, he had operated and owned the Coats Mercantile Company that sold dry goods, shoes, hardware, tools, farm implements, farm wagons, seeds, VC and International fertilizers along with a pen of Tennessee mules. The company grew into trucking, deliveries, banking, and distribution.
He lobbied for Highway 40 (now NC 27) westward from Coats to connect Coats to Highway 421 near Buies Creek and for other roads in the Coats area that needed better roads due to the volume of traffic on them.
The Bank of Harnett closed its doors in the early 1930’s and consolidated with the one in Erwin according to the Jan. 8, 1941, edition of the Harnett County News. Later, Mr. Nichols served on the committee to bring a new bank to Coats. He was seated on the First Citizen Bank Board, on the Board of Trustees for Campbell College, and on the Harnett Hospital Board in Dunn. Very impactful was his gift of the 8 lots on which the Coats Community Building is built and served on the Advisory Board.
He later became very involved with the Lee Moore Oil Company who gave the land in 1980 upon which the Coats Museum and Cotton Museum are built.
Sadly, he died abroad while on vacation and did not live to see the county celebrate its 100th celebration in 1955 but he left behind a legacy that will long be recorded in “The Heritage of Coats, North Carolina.”