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Did You Know?
Snell, Charles W. (b. 1858) of
Mackey's Ferry, Washington County, N.C. Born in
Washington County, N.C., November 8, 1858.
Republican. Member of North Carolina state house
of representatives from Washington County, 1887,
1891, 1909, 1913. Disciples of Christ. Member,
Freemasons. Burial location unknown.
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Washington County was formed in
1799 from Tyrrell. It was named in honor of George
Washington. It is in the eastern section
of the State and is bounded by Tyrrell, Hyde,
Beaufort, Martin and Bertie counties, and the
Albemarle Sound. The present land area is 346.07
square miles and the 1990 population was 13,997 .
The courts were ordered to be held at Lee's Mill
until a courthouse could be erected. Plymouth,
already in existence when the county was
established was incorporated in 1807. In 1823 the
courthouse was moved from Lee's Mill to Plymouth.
In 1873 the General Assembly authorized that the
county seat be moved from Plymouth to Mackey's
Ferry provided the people approved the
same by popular vote. Plymouth is the county seat.
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Lee's Mill was
built by Thomas Blount in 1702. At some time after 1706, following the death of
Thomas Blount, Colonel Thomas Lee
married the widow of Thomas Blount, and dubbed
the mill built by Blount with his own name. Thomas Lee subsequently built a dam at the site
of the Mill. It was in 1921 that this oldest
developed waterpower in North Carolina
came to an unfortunate and tragic end. After more than 215 years of continuous
operation, it was to die at the hands of angry
farmers. It seems that during times of
heavy precipitation, the dammed waters of
Kendricks Creek would rise above their banks
inundating the surrounding fields, destroying
valuable crops. After enduring this
situation for a number of years and having
received no relief, the victims of this flooding
decided to take matters into their own hands. They blew up the dam.
In 1888 a new industry came to
Roper under the caption of John L. Roper
Land and Lumber Company. John L.
Roper, who was originally from Pennsylvania,
first became familiar with the town when he was a
union soldier stationed in Virginia. He saw
the potential of the area for lumber production,
and after the Civil War he returned to the town
that today bears his name. In tribute to
the new industry, the name of the town was
changed to Roper, on August 15, 1889. Roper was chartered in 1906. Roper became a
boomtown. During its peak, the Roper
Lumber Company was the biggest supplier of cedar
shingles in the United States.
The John L. Roper Lumber
Company was one of the largest lumber companies
in the United States. Mr. Roper had lumber
mills throughout North Carolina and Virginia. The mill closest to Roper was in Belhaven. Logs were brought to and from Virginia and North
Carolina on Mr. Roper's railroad, The Albemarle
and Pantego Railroad. They crossed the
Albemarle Sound and entered Mackey's Ferry and
made their way to Roper. The railroad
eventually ran south straight through the middle
of Roper on its way to Belhaven. The
railroad ran along what is now Railroad Street.
The Roper Lumber
Company became the catalyst for a vibrant and
thriving Community in Roper. Roper had a
horse track and an opera house. Businesses lined Buncombe Street with their
stores full of produce and imported products. The lumber company had its own store where the
shelves reached to the tin ceiling full of goods
for sale. The lumber company even supplied
the town with its water and electricity. When the mill shut down operations for the night,
so did the town. The lights would blink
around 9:30 p.m. and residents knew that they
would have about 30 minutes more of electricity.
During the 1920's the town of
Roper was still bustling with activity,. Mr.
J. W. Buchanan had the latest model Ford car at
his warehouse on East Buncombe Street. Ladies could purchase a Madame Grace Corset from Miss
Ida Peacock's store or maybe a hat Miss
Ida had picked up with someone special in mind. Mr. J. O. Highsmith carried a
line of boy's and men's clothing. If you
needed new furniture, you could visit Mr. J.
W. Williams. He could " fix
you up" . He might even throw in a bike
or two.
The bank of Roper was located
at the corner of Buncombe and Bank Streets in
what is now the Blount Brother's Barber Shop. It was a Trust Worth Institution in 1917
with a capital surplus of $35,000. The bank later served as the Roper Post Office.
In 1999, the John
L. Roper Heritage Park was dedicated by Senator
Marc Basnight on the site of the old
Roper Lumber Company. In attendance was John
L. Roper, III. The park, located
adjacent to Kendricks Creek on Highway 64
currently has three elements - The Betty
Ray McCain Amphitheatre, The Kendricks Creek
Boardwalk, and the T. R. Spruill
Picnic Pavilion. It is anticipated
that playground equipment and a walking trail
will be added in the near future.
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