Haw River Historical Association

Sites of Interest

Historic Haw River, North Carolina

  1. Freeland Homeplace

    2. The Freelands owned and farmed a large tract of land that included the present
    sites of Andrews, Cummings and Broadview schools.
  2. Pearl Smith House ca. 1883

    3. Miss Pearl ran a millinery shop on Main St. The house, which was recently moved,
    is now owned by a niece.
  3. Dan Montgomery House ca. 1890
  4. James Montgomery House ca. 1885

    5. Mr. Montgomery and John Trollinger were partners in a Mebane brickyard.
    Montgomery walked more than ten miles each way to lay brick on the first
    buildings at Elon College.
  5. Rudy Montgomery House

    6. Located on a Trollinger home site, this home was recently remodeled by a
    Montgomery descendant.
  6. McCracken's School and Store ca. 1885

    7. In the early 1900s, the school became the home of the McCracken family
    and was handed down through the Wood family.
  7. Temple Baptist Church
  8. Murray House ca. 1749

    9. Farmer Tom Murray's original two rooms have been remodeled through
    the succeeding generations to the present ten-room home.
  9. Bullard House ca. 1892

    10. Tom Bullard and three of his children worked at Puritan Mills. Of his other
    children, Bus was a barber, Espa was postmistress, and Clara became a nurse
    in Durham.
  10. Haw River Cemetery
  11. Hope Baptist Church
  12. Former Holt's Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church
  13. Haw River United Methodist Church
  14. Trollinger Family Cemetery ca. 1745

    15. Established by Adam Trollinger, this private cemetery contains the graves of
    many of the Trollingers and Montgomerys. Also buried here is Artrelia Roney
    Duke, wife of Washington Duke and mother of Benjamin and Buck Duke who
    had the granite wall erected.
  15. A.L. Thompson Home ca. 1898

    16. A typical two-story mill home, this "over the river" house was bought from the
    mill by the Thompson family in the1950s. "Rusty" grew up in the house and is
    a well-known fiddler.
  16. Hunter Jones House

    17. Mr. Jones, a pharmacist, ran a drug store on Main St. for approximately
    thirty years.
  17. Laird House ca. 1890

    18. Built for Gov. Holt's daughter and son-in-law, this home served as a hospital
    during a flu epidemic in the early 1900s. Converted to apartments by Cone Mills,
    it is now restored and privately owned.
  18. Woodsdale School ca. 1885

    19. This was the first school in the area. Later it was used by Mrs. Ida Hunter who
    taught black children here until the 1920s. The building has been expanded and
    is now a church.
  19. Thompson House ca. 1887

    20. This property was sold by Thomas Holt to Alfred Thompson who came from
    Snow Camp to be the master mechanic at the mill. A great-grandson has
    remodeled the home.
  20. Hayes House

    21. Mr. Hayes ran the coal yard and was the last Haw River stationmaster.
  21. Gov. Holt's Gardener's House ca. 1870
  22. Kidd Home ca. 1948

    23. Mr. Kidd was a manager with the mills and mayor of Haw River 1982-83.
    His home was built by Cone Mills.
  23. Site of Gov. Holt Mansion and Dixon Dale

    24. Mitchell House ca. 1941
    In the 1860s, Thomas Holt built a magnificent mansion with extensive landscaping,
    which included 200 species of native North Carolina trees on the hill overlooking
    his mills. In the early 1900s, a real estate broker from Graham purchased it for his
    family and its grounds became a well-known gathering place. Bought by Cone Mills
    in 1928, it was used for management but torn down becasue of the cost of maintenance.
    The present house was built for managers by the mill and purchased in 1969 by the
    Mitchells who had lived there since 1953. Several original outbuildings and the
    windmill remain.
  24. Holt-Long-Teague House ca. 1897, National Historic Landmark
  25. Cicero Spoon House ca 1885

    26. Originally a dairy farm house, the home has recently been renovated.
  26. Dr. Stratford House

    27. This property, Hide-Away Farm, was tenant farmed for a New York physician
    who spent summers here.
  27. John Trollinger House ca. 1808

    28. The original part of this home was built about thirty years after Adam's death by
    his grandson.
  28. North Carolina R.R. Bridge

    29. The bridge completed by Ben Trollinger and Dan Montgomery in 1855 induced
    the N.C. Railroad to choose the route through Trollinger's Ford. It is 260 feet long.
  29. Site of Swepson's Barge Dock

    30. For at least thirty years; barges, powered by mules, poles and later gasoline engines,
    carried goods up and down the river to the mills in Swepsonville.
  30. Indigo Dyehouse ca. 1850

    31. These buildings were necessary in the process used to make "Alamance Plaids."
  31. Tabardrey Mills ca. 1881

    32. Originally the Cora Mills of the T.M. Holt Manufacturing Company, they were
    renamed for the three children of plant manager Sidney Paine by the Cone Company.
    Now Kingstree Manufacturing Company.
  32. Site of Haw River House Hotel ca. 1856

    33. Trollinger built the first hotel near the center of the railroad line. When the railroad
    later put a hotel near its shops several miles west, Trollinger's hotel failed, forcing
    hiim into bankruptcy. The building continued as a hotel, boarding house, dining
    room and dance hall. It was used as a hosiery mill before being torn down in the
    early 1920s.
  33. Site of Haw River Depot

    34. The second depot at this location was destroyed in a train derailent in 1960.
  34. Site of No. 2 Trollinger Grist Mill ca. 1840

    35. A four-story brick structure stood where the eastern end of the auto bridge is now.
    It was razed in the 1950s but remains a favorite landmark in memory.
  35. Site of No. 1 Trollinger Grist Mill ca. 1747
  36. Granite Finishing Plant ca. 1844, National Historic Landmark

    37. Begun by Ben Trollinger, purchased at auction and enlarged by the Holts, later
    part of Proximity Manufacturing and finally acquired as part of Cone Mills in 1928,
    Granite is the oldest mill still in use in the county. It is named for the rock on which
    it stands.
  37. Stores and Offices

    38. In this row along Main St. in the 1930s, '40s and '50s were a grocery store,
    a drug store, Dr. Wilkins' office, a millinery shop, an appliance and farm store,
    the bank, a 5 and 10 cents store, a clothes store, the bus depot, a taxi stand,
    an ice cream shop and a cafe. Also along here were four hosiery mills. Some
    of the buildings date to the last century and were part of the company store of
    the Holt mills. The building closest to the river has been the community center,
    the YMCA, the library, the firehouse, the town maintenance office and is now
    the Haw River Historical Association Museum.
  38. Best House and Hosiery Mill
  39. Stores and Movies

    40. Two theatres, a variety store, a cafe, a hot dog stand, a bowling alley, a meeting
    room and several groceries occupied the buildings in this row.
  40. Childrey House and Hosiery Mill
  41. McClure House ca. 1897

    42. Another example of a mill house.
  42. Vest House ca. 1900

    43. Captain Sam Vest ran the depot.
  43. Dr. Wilkins House ca. 1890

    44. Built for Mr. Robertson, a Holt in-law who ran the company store, this became
    the home of Dr. Java C. Wilkins who began his general medical practice in 1911.
    He delivered more than 2500 babies before he retired in 1956. His sister, Miss Ida,
    was a local teacher who helped to raise his daughter, Beatrice, after the death of
    his wife in 1918.
  44. Haw River Town Hall and Civic Center

    45. The Town Hall was dedicated during the nation's Bicentennial in 1976. It also
    houses the fire department. The Community Building was erected in the 1950s.
  45. Crutchfield House

    46. Mr. Guy Crutchfield was the town postmaster.
  46. Freshwater House and School

    47. Until the Haw River School included all grades in 1918, some primary classes
    were held here.
  47. Haw River Baptist Church
  48. Barger House ca. 1902

    49. Built by John Trollinger, the house was to be the home of the principal of the
    new school. However, Mr. Birchett and his wife stayed only three years before
    returning to Massachusetts. Later, in turn, it was home to teacher Mrs. Belle
    Murray Russell, to mill owner Earl Wilson and family, and to Mr. and Mrs. Adrian
    Barger. The Bargers owned the home and farm store on Main Street and helped
    to start the town's fire department. Mrs. Barger was the unofficial town historian.
  49. John William Smith Home ca. 1978

    50. Mr. Bill Smith was Haw River mayor for sixteen years.
  50. Haywood Simpson House ca. 1894

    51. Mr. Simpson and Mr. Anderson, whose home stood where the Civic Center is now,
    ran the company store for the Holts.
  51. Haw River School

    52. The original building was completed in 1904 and housed grades 4 through 11.
    It was the first graded school in the county. In 1918, primary grades were included.
    Additions and changes were made in '23, '36, '41, '63-64, '70, '77, '94 and '95.
    In 1953, the Wilkins' gym was built. The high school closed in 1963 and reopened
    as an elementary school in 1964.
  52. Ray Home ca. 1890

    53. Crawford Ray was head of the work crew for the railroad
  53. Clayton House

    54. This house belonged to the railroad's section manager.
  54. Major W.T. Brooks House ca. 1894

    55. Major Brooks was an accountant and bookkeeper for Puritan and Cone Mills
    and a celebrated Sunday school teacher. His wife, Ruby, was a school teacher.
    The home has been restored by the present owners.
  55. Wilson Home ca. 1940

    56. Paul Wilson invented the Haw River True Rib, a sock knitting machine.
  56. Riley Home and Gardens
  57. James Anderson Homeplace ca. 1860
  58. Rippy House ca. 1920

    59. Built by John Trollinger for the Rippys, who moved here from another house
    on nearby Basil Holt Rd.
  59. John and Mary Roney Homeplace ca. 1850

    60. This was the childhood home of Artelia Roney Duke. It is about two miles
    west of the house on Sandy Cross Road.
  60. Newlin Home ca. 1942

    61. Mr. Newlin bought land from John Trollinger for a dairy farm. He started
    Newlin Hardware in Burlington.
  61. Captain John Trollinger House ca. 1845

    62. Descendant of Adam Trollinger, John was a true entrepreneur: builder,
    landlord, brickyard owner, brick mason, farmer and trader.
  62. Haw River Christian Church
  63. Wrightenberry Home and Gardens ca. 1963
  64. Piney Grove School ca. 1880

    65. This district school was purchased by the Sharp family in 1907 and converted
    into a home.
  65. Belview Church

    66. Land for the church was given to a black freeman by John Trollinger in the 1880s.
  66. Henry Bason House ca. 1835

    67. The Basons settled in the area about the same time as the Trollingers. Henry
    Bason farmed and ran a brickyard.
  67. Griffis House ca. 1835, National Historic Landmark

    68. Dr. Griffis ran a store on this "Old Hillsborough Road." His house is also thought
    to have been a stagecoach stop. The home has been extensively renovated and
    restored by the present owners.
  68. A.K. Roney House ca. 1903

    69. This home was originally built as a wedding present for a nephew by Buck and
    Ben Duke. The Dukes were frequent visitors. Lost to the family in the 1920s,
    it changed owners many times. It was used by the school board to house teachers
    in the 30's and 40s and was known as The Teachery. It is being restored by its
    present owners.
  69. Baker Home ca. 1915

    70. Mr. Baker was a farmer and storekeeper. The house has been remodeled and
    added to by its present owners, Mr. Baker's daughter and her husband.
  70. St. Andrews Episcopal Church
  71. Trollingwood Mill ca. 1904

    72. The mill was built by John Trollinger and later became Travora Mill of Cannon Mills.
  72. Seventh Day Adventist Church
  73. A.J. Best House

    74. Mr. Best owned a hosiery mill.
  74. Pleasant Dixon House ca. 1850

    75. Among other pursuits, Mr. Dixon briefly operated a gold mine on this property.
  75. Scott Homeplaces

    76. Kerr Scott was governor of N.C. 1949-54. His son, Bob, was governor 1969-74.
    Both claim Haw River as home. Their homes were about three miles south.
Plans are to add a Locator Map to this page, so please visit again. Until then, Locator Maps are available through the
Haw River Historical Association Museum

 
 
 

Go Home
Go Back to Welcome

 
 
 
 
 
 

Copyright 1997 - 2005 Haw River Historical Association - All Rights Reserved