September 1, 2017 Coats Museum News
The year was 1964 and good news had come to the families who lived on Ennis Road outside of Coats. Harnett County was to receive $250,191.00 in road building funds. The Ennis Road was to receive $6,000 for repairs. How much repairing would that money do? Was it a gravel or asphalt road?
I do know that there was a time, not too far removed from 1964 when the Ennis Road received money, that all the streets in Coats were not paved. Join me as we revisit 1949 when Vic Lee was mayor for a short time. The November 4, 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that T.O. Beasley, Haywood Roberts, Luke Barefoot and O.K. Keene voted to buy a motor grader for $4,100 and remarked that the streets would be in the best shape in the town’s history. While at that same 1949 meeting, the commissioners voted to install two stop lights to control the traffic that seemed to be speeding through the town. One stoplight was to be placed at the intersection of Main Street and McKinley and the second one at the intersection of NC 55 and the NEW Buies Creek –Benson Road that connected at the Coats School.
You did notice that the 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch said the NEW Buies Creek-Benson Road? When a group of us were researching the history of Coats and the Grove area, we interviewed a large number of citizens who were born in the early 1920’s. James Grimes shared that the current Delma Grimes Road was the way that people traveled to get to Benson from Coats. He recalled that the road passed by the his dad Delma Grimes’ place and the Coy Williams farm and then went into what today are woods. He said that there were three wooden bridges to cross over Black River and the road came out just above where Kenneth Pollard’s house s today.
Does that mean that the current NC 27 highway ended at Ebenezer Church Road before 1949? Let’s revisit the December 15, 1948 edition of the Dunn Dispatch and read that “Owen Odum’s property consisting of nine choice lots were to be sold and were located in the northeast section of Coats, adjoining the right –of-way of the NEW highway soon to be built..” Was that the land upon which the Coats Town sign is currently located? Wasn’t much of the land on that side of the road referred to as Odum and Stewart land? That information seems to support that one had to go down Main Street of Coats to get to the Delma Grimes Road to get to Highway 40 (NC 27) to travel to Benson if there was no travelable road between Ebenezer Road and Black River.
A second question I posed was how much road or repairs could you get for $6,000? I do know it was reported that bids had been given to hard surface the road between Coats and Benson. The bid was $148, 861.15 to pave the 6.4 miles of road in 1948. Do the math. I also know that in 1932, about 26 years earlier, the cost of building a road with 2 inches of crushed stone and asphalt had been $5,000 per mile.
You might ask, “How do I know the streets were not paved in Coats?” I do know that the May 12, 1948 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that Angier was following the example of Dunn in checking out the feasibility of paving streets. Carl Young, an Angier town commissioner, announced the meeting for those for and against the paving to voice their opinions. The paper did not mention that Angier would follow Dunn and Coats-right? Did the people who lived on the street have to pay for the paving?
I do know that what today is called McKinnley Street (NC 55 out of city limits) was paved as a result of an Angier-Coats meeting with the Harnett County Commissioners and the road commissioners according to the May 6, 1926 edition of the Harnett County News. They adopted a joint resolution resolving that this side of the county, which was the most populated section of the county, needed a feasible connection to the capital city of Raleigh. The resolution resolved that the NC State Highway Commission be requested to place on the system a gravel highway connecting the Route 60 at Erwin, Harnett County, NC and running thence by the most feasible route through Turlington, Coats and Angier to connect with Route 21 at the most feasible point in Wake County. Another question-Did the original NC 55 connect at the same point on Route 60 as it connects today on NC 421? Also, where was Route 21 in Wake County?
How did folks get to Angier and Raleigh? Was the Old Stage Road used? Is that road continued to be used as a travel route to get to the capital in 2017? How did the folks in Lillington get to Coats, Angier, and Raleigh?
I will share from the January 6, 1927 edition of the Harnett County News it was reported that R. Getty Browning, principal Locating and Claims Engineer, wrote on January 4, 1927 that he had inspected the location of the new highway from Erwin (Note that it is no longer called Duke.) and continue to the county line north of Angier. The new road will start at No. 60 north of Erwin and continue on the west side of the Durham and Southern Railroad all the way to Wake County. The county highway forces under Supt. Ballard will begin work right away, starting between Coats and Angier. Parts of the road were to be let by contract.
The January 24, 1929 edition of the Harnett County News reported that work was being done on the direct road from Lillington to Angier to connect with the state highway on the Wake County line on No. 21. That same edition reported that the state road from Erwin to Angier was to be tarred soon (NC 55).
For those of you who like trivia, that was the same year 1929 that Erwin had a new hospital on the site next to the two wooden buildings in which the hospital had been located since 1913 when Dr. Holt established Good Hope Hospital . The new hospital could handle 30 patients and it was built by Erwin Cotton Mills according to the Feb. 7, 1929 edition of the Harnett County News. How great it will be for people to be able to more rapidly transport those needing hospital or emergency care to the Good Hope Hospital or to their town doctors.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill Wood had need of a doctor. The Route 3, Dunn couple announced the arrival of a son on May 7, 1964 at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Carolyn Elaine Pleasant was the new mom (Daily Record May 8, 1964).
Another Coats couple also had a new arrival. Mr. and Mrs. John Leroy Byrd announced the birth of a son, also but he arrived at Good Hope Hospital on May 10th. The mom was the former Linda Wilder (Daily Record May 11, 1964).
A third birth announcement was printed in the Daily Record on May 11, 1964. T.J. and Jo Ann Stephenson Barnes announced the arrival of Melanie Ann Barnes who was born on April 23rd.
That same paper had some news not related to births. Delano Whittington, son of Carl Whittington, was inducted into an honorary society at Campbell University. The next edition on May 12th reported that Miriam Susan Beard was selected for a Summer Training Program in Advanced Biology at NC State University. Miriam had maintained a high “A” average in biology. She was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Howard Beard of the Coats Baptist Church.
Surely the ladies in the Coats Woman’s Club who attended the Baptist Church were proud of their preacher’s daughter. At the club meeting, Mrs. O.K. Keene presided for Mrs. Ora Pond Hawley and Robert “Bobby” Stewart, Superintendent of the Welfare Department for Harnett County, was the speaker (Daily Record May 12, 1964).
How great it was to have Stanley Bass to visit the museum last Thursday. Many of you recognize his name because of his association with the Harnett County Jet Port outside of Erwin. Stanley came by to share that he was in the Ihrie Wiggins’ vintage Coats School photo that was printed in the Coats Museum News column a few weeks back. He was the little fellow wearing a soldier outfit that his dad had given to him and Stanley had worn it to school for his class group picture he thought was taken in 1942. We know what was going on in the world then, don’t we?
The year was 1964 and good news had come to the families who lived on Ennis Road outside of Coats. Harnett County was to receive $250,191.00 in road building funds. The Ennis Road was to receive $6,000 for repairs. How much repairing would that money do? Was it a gravel or asphalt road?
I do know that there was a time, not too far removed from 1964 when the Ennis Road received money, that all the streets in Coats were not paved. Join me as we revisit 1949 when Vic Lee was mayor for a short time. The November 4, 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that T.O. Beasley, Haywood Roberts, Luke Barefoot and O.K. Keene voted to buy a motor grader for $4,100 and remarked that the streets would be in the best shape in the town’s history. While at that same 1949 meeting, the commissioners voted to install two stop lights to control the traffic that seemed to be speeding through the town. One stoplight was to be placed at the intersection of Main Street and McKinley and the second one at the intersection of NC 55 and the NEW Buies Creek –Benson Road that connected at the Coats School.
You did notice that the 1949 edition of the Dunn Dispatch said the NEW Buies Creek-Benson Road? When a group of us were researching the history of Coats and the Grove area, we interviewed a large number of citizens who were born in the early 1920’s. James Grimes shared that the current Delma Grimes Road was the way that people traveled to get to Benson from Coats. He recalled that the road passed by the his dad Delma Grimes’ place and the Coy Williams farm and then went into what today are woods. He said that there were three wooden bridges to cross over Black River and the road came out just above where Kenneth Pollard’s house s today.
Does that mean that the current NC 27 highway ended at Ebenezer Church Road before 1949? Let’s revisit the December 15, 1948 edition of the Dunn Dispatch and read that “Owen Odum’s property consisting of nine choice lots were to be sold and were located in the northeast section of Coats, adjoining the right –of-way of the NEW highway soon to be built..” Was that the land upon which the Coats Town sign is currently located? Wasn’t much of the land on that side of the road referred to as Odum and Stewart land? That information seems to support that one had to go down Main Street of Coats to get to the Delma Grimes Road to get to Highway 40 (NC 27) to travel to Benson if there was no travelable road between Ebenezer Road and Black River.
A second question I posed was how much road or repairs could you get for $6,000? I do know it was reported that bids had been given to hard surface the road between Coats and Benson. The bid was $148, 861.15 to pave the 6.4 miles of road in 1948. Do the math. I also know that in 1932, about 26 years earlier, the cost of building a road with 2 inches of crushed stone and asphalt had been $5,000 per mile.
You might ask, “How do I know the streets were not paved in Coats?” I do know that the May 12, 1948 edition of the Dunn Dispatch reported that Angier was following the example of Dunn in checking out the feasibility of paving streets. Carl Young, an Angier town commissioner, announced the meeting for those for and against the paving to voice their opinions. The paper did not mention that Angier would follow Dunn and Coats-right? Did the people who lived on the street have to pay for the paving?
I do know that what today is called McKinnley Street (NC 55 out of city limits) was paved as a result of an Angier-Coats meeting with the Harnett County Commissioners and the road commissioners according to the May 6, 1926 edition of the Harnett County News. They adopted a joint resolution resolving that this side of the county, which was the most populated section of the county, needed a feasible connection to the capital city of Raleigh. The resolution resolved that the NC State Highway Commission be requested to place on the system a gravel highway connecting the Route 60 at Erwin, Harnett County, NC and running thence by the most feasible route through Turlington, Coats and Angier to connect with Route 21 at the most feasible point in Wake County. Another question-Did the original NC 55 connect at the same point on Route 60 as it connects today on NC 421? Also, where was Route 21 in Wake County?
How did folks get to Angier and Raleigh? Was the Old Stage Road used? Is that road continued to be used as a travel route to get to the capital in 2017? How did the folks in Lillington get to Coats, Angier, and Raleigh?
I will share from the January 6, 1927 edition of the Harnett County News it was reported that R. Getty Browning, principal Locating and Claims Engineer, wrote on January 4, 1927 that he had inspected the location of the new highway from Erwin (Note that it is no longer called Duke.) and continue to the county line north of Angier. The new road will start at No. 60 north of Erwin and continue on the west side of the Durham and Southern Railroad all the way to Wake County. The county highway forces under Supt. Ballard will begin work right away, starting between Coats and Angier. Parts of the road were to be let by contract.
The January 24, 1929 edition of the Harnett County News reported that work was being done on the direct road from Lillington to Angier to connect with the state highway on the Wake County line on No. 21. That same edition reported that the state road from Erwin to Angier was to be tarred soon (NC 55).
For those of you who like trivia, that was the same year 1929 that Erwin had a new hospital on the site next to the two wooden buildings in which the hospital had been located since 1913 when Dr. Holt established Good Hope Hospital . The new hospital could handle 30 patients and it was built by Erwin Cotton Mills according to the Feb. 7, 1929 edition of the Harnett County News. How great it will be for people to be able to more rapidly transport those needing hospital or emergency care to the Good Hope Hospital or to their town doctors.
Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill Wood had need of a doctor. The Route 3, Dunn couple announced the arrival of a son on May 7, 1964 at Betsy Johnson Hospital. Carolyn Elaine Pleasant was the new mom (Daily Record May 8, 1964).
Another Coats couple also had a new arrival. Mr. and Mrs. John Leroy Byrd announced the birth of a son, also but he arrived at Good Hope Hospital on May 10th. The mom was the former Linda Wilder (Daily Record May 11, 1964).
A third birth announcement was printed in the Daily Record on May 11, 1964. T.J. and Jo Ann Stephenson Barnes announced the arrival of Melanie Ann Barnes who was born on April 23rd.
That same paper had some news not related to births. Delano Whittington, son of Carl Whittington, was inducted into an honorary society at Campbell University. The next edition on May 12th reported that Miriam Susan Beard was selected for a Summer Training Program in Advanced Biology at NC State University. Miriam had maintained a high “A” average in biology. She was the daughter of Rev. and Mrs. Howard Beard of the Coats Baptist Church.
Surely the ladies in the Coats Woman’s Club who attended the Baptist Church were proud of their preacher’s daughter. At the club meeting, Mrs. O.K. Keene presided for Mrs. Ora Pond Hawley and Robert “Bobby” Stewart, Superintendent of the Welfare Department for Harnett County, was the speaker (Daily Record May 12, 1964).
How great it was to have Stanley Bass to visit the museum last Thursday. Many of you recognize his name because of his association with the Harnett County Jet Port outside of Erwin. Stanley came by to share that he was in the Ihrie Wiggins’ vintage Coats School photo that was printed in the Coats Museum News column a few weeks back. He was the little fellow wearing a soldier outfit that his dad had given to him and Stanley had worn it to school for his class group picture he thought was taken in 1942. We know what was going on in the world then, don’t we?