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History
The first
county seat was established in the early 1700's.
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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