Edgecombe County

by Alison Purdy
Fall 2000

Edgecombe county is located in the inner coastal plain. The land begins to roll ever so slightly as you traverse these 505 square miles, which averages about 50 miles above sealevel. Fifty miles keep the land from being too boggy. Tobacco, peanuts, soybeans, cotton, grains, and livestock grow well here. Manufacturing accounts for most of Edgecombe's income today, approximately 30 percent of the workforce is in manufacturing. Manufacturing's decline of the latter twentieth century is being counteracted by Carolina's Gateway Partnership program. Edgecombe remains mostly rural. Its largest town is Rocky Mount, but it lies partially in Edgecombe and Nash counties. Tuscarora Indians inhabited the land before the Europeans and artifacts are still found today along Swift Creek and the Tar River. Its population today is approximately 56,700.

The community spirit of Tar Heels is evident today in downtown Tarboro. There is block after block of antebellum homes, many lovingly restored, and all well-maintained. What history do these people have to care so well for the preservation of the past? Tarboro was founded in 1760, twenty-five years after Edgecombe county had been formed from Bertie county. In 1737, a group of approximately 500 settlers in the area headed to Edenton to free a fellow colonist from jail. This small revolution was avoided, however when the mob heard that he was jailed on contempt of court, rather than failure to pay Britain's taxes. The first county courthouse was built in 1739 on the future site of Tarboro. In the same year, three companies of 100 men each became part of the first expeditionary force from America to go overseas when England and Spain were at war. When the first Provincial Congress was held in 1775, Edgecombe county and Tarboro sent representatives. Colonel Henry Irwin, a merchant of Tarboro, became one of Geroge Washington's officers before his death at Germantown. British troops were in the county and met with local militiamen in 1781. President Washington later visited the area in 1791. In 1787, Tarboro hosted the state legislature and just missed being named the capital of the state five years later.

All of this amazing history lies within the quiet town of Tarboro. Perhaps, the bonds of community and spirit are best symbolized in the town common of Tarboro. The common was established in the original. Four acres in the center of downtown are dedicated to a community haven of trees and grass and local monuments. It is a place to gather and enjoy communally. Today the common is still widely used for local festivities and individuals. Shady and sanctified, it provides a place for remembrance and retreat. The fountain was built in the twentieth century to commemorate the death of Henry Wyatt, a member of the community who died in the War Between the States.

Women's clubs were instrumental in shaping the twentieth century. Women's clubs became popular in North Carolina after the turn of the century. Across the state, women's clubs founded libraries and fought for Prohibition. They fought against taverns and for community. Rocky Mount's library began in a room of a local department store in 1915 under the guidance of the town's women's club. In support of World War I women of the Red Cross not only provided medical care but formed clubs such as the knitting club. Sallie Southall Cotten, a leader of North Carolina women, met her future husband in the Johnson family home of Edgecombe county. Women's humanitarian efforts at grassroots affairs persisted throughout the twentieth century making North Carolina a nicer place to live.

The town of Macclesfield provides an illustrative example of women's clubs positive impacts. In 1947, three hundred and sixty-seven people witnessed "the miracle of Macclesfield". According to Lucy Gray Peebles, it was a miracle, because "we all knew we had the worst looking town in the whole county." A severe statement which is more understandable upon realizing that 80 percent of Macclesfield's citizens did not have running water in 1947. Starting with a group of five women, Mrs. J. Everette Wright founded Macclesfield's first women's club upon response to a national Better Homes and Gardens contest for improved communities. Many fundraisers were held, donations were given, and elbow grease was offered from the community. Along with Brunswick stews and square dances, a unique fundraiser was the Women's Club home beautification contest. Dozens of homes competed for the $100 first prize. The community spirit initiated by Mrs. Wright was feverish and other community projects began. The men built a ballpark with a grandstand that could accommodate the whole town. Regular garbage collection began. A new church and post office were built. In 1949 Macclesfield won first prize in their category of Better Homes's contest and the grand prize of one thousand dollars! Because of what the community had done for themselves, Macclesfield beat out cities such as Cleveland, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; and Claremont, California.

The sense of community within Edgecombe county persists today. In 1992, the Sharp Point Volunteer Fire Department received the first Community Traditions Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society. Sharp Point's fundraisers are well known around the Pitt-Edgecombe county line. In early spring, their fish fries and Brunswick stews bring folks from both of the counties they serve. The department covers a region populated by 150 people. It also assists the nearby townships of Falkland, Fountain, Macclesfield, and Pinetops. The fundraisers take place in the agriculturally slow time of the year and draw as many as 500 people. As much as these gatherings serve to provide for the fire department, they provide a communal gathering and promote community awareness. The fundraisers are a cooperative effort. The volunteer force increases from twenty-one to forty or more individuals in order to catch and clean 700 pounds of herring. The crowded scene of the fish fry off a state road is indicative of the community support. It also reinforces the history and presence of agriculture and cooperative labor and the value of family.

Edgecombe county is old and interesting. The cooperative and tenacious spirit of its people have enabled it to survive into the 21st century while retaining traditions and values of the past.

Works Cited

Baldwin, Karen. "Sharp Point Volunteer Fire Department." North Carolina Journal of Folklore (1992): 57-62.

Bass, Mabrey. Mabrey Bass's Tarboro: From 1950 to 1990. Fuquay-Varina, NC: Research Triangle Publishing, 1997.

"Member Counties." North Carolina's Eastern Region 2000. 26 November 2000 http://www.gtp.net/member/member.html.

Nash, Jacqueline. "Edgecombe and the Revolution." The Edgecombe Story. Ed. Sara Jenkins. North Carolina: Edgecombe County Bicentennial Commission, 1976.

North Carolina State Library. July 1997. "County History." North Carolina Encyclopedia. 18 Nov. 2000 http://statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us/NC/CNTYOUT/CTYCOVER.HTM.

Smith, Margaret S., and Emily H. Wilson. North Carolina Women: Making History. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1999.

St. James United Methodist Church, Tarboro, North Carolina. 3 February 2000. 26 November 2000 http://www.gbgm-umc.org/stjames/.

Tetterton, Glenn and Beverly. North Carolina County Fact Book. Wendell, NC: Broadfoots, 1998.

Created November 28, 2000
Updated May 25, 2003