HISTORICAL SKETCHES

CANE CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH

Number 20 November 2006 www.canecreek.org 6901 Orange Grove Rd., Hillsborough, NC 27278

KEEPING UP THE ROADS

In the old days, roads were a big problem for the settlers. They began as horse trails, which closely followed old Indian footpaths. Some re-routing was done to suit horses and mules, which can't navigate sharp turns and steep slopes quite as nimbly as humans. Later the paths were widened and relocated again to allow for the wagons used by the first settlers coming south from Virginia and Pennsylvania. Even before Orange County was created in 1752, a British form of county government was instituted which put the main "Public" roads under the jurisdiction of the County courthouse. Many local roads were created just so settlers could get around the neighborhood and to their fields. The public roads connected towns and river crossings and many followed the route of ancient Indian trading paths. The court appointed “overseerers” who lived along the public roads. They were responsible for rounding up neighbor men to put in a certain amount of time per year on maintenance. Smaller neighborhood roads were not included in this arrangement. No one was responsible for their upkeep.

The earliest public road in our neighborhood that I know of came south from Hillsborough along what is now Orange Grove Road, then cut southwest about where Sugar Ridge Road now is, then ran back of Tommy Holmes’ house, joined the present Bradshaw Quarry Road, and headed on toward Woodys Ferry and Saxapahaw where the Haw River could be crossed. On the other side it joined the Fayetteville Road, a major east-west road connecting the back-country with the closest point for river navigation.

We all know and love good old Orange County red clay. This made our roads truly nightmarish at times. In the 1760s, Colonial Governor Martin wrote that the roads in Orange County "were the most wretched he had ever seen" and that the region west of Hillsborough was "the most broken, difficult, and rough country he had ever seen." It took a long time for things to improve.

Roads continued to be run out of the county courthouse after the revolution and even after the state constitution was re-written following the Civil War. All taxable men between the ages of 16 and 50 had to devote three day's labor (six days in Colonial times) a year to road maintenance. Anyone who did not appear for work had to supply three other workers in his place or else forfeit five shillings a day. Road maintenance was about the same during James Cheek’s childhood in the 1880s. In his Footprints of a human Life, he describes the routine:

“The county roads were kept up by sections according to law. An overseer was appointed for each section and the men of a neighborhood would work in their own section. When an overseer thought it was time to go over a road, he would go from house to house, or send word, in his section, and inform the men as to which day they would begin work. This was called ‘warning the road hands in.’ There was no grading, the road being left flat, except for diagonal ditches, which were made across the road to carry the water off. Mr. Tommie Dodson would bring his black mule and plow where plowing was needed in our section.

“When I did my first work on the road, a man by the name of Joe Murray was overseer. He had a certain by-word he used often as he worked, which I could never forget. He was a great worker. When he picked up a mattock or spade, it meant that there was going to be something done, and ever so often, he would use his cherished by-word. I did not think so much about it then, as I used by-words myself, but as I look back I can see the folly of it.” (p35)

This arrangement continued into the 1890s. But by this time, Hillsborough Township had decided to levy a tax to support roadwork and within a few years this idea found acceptance throughout the county. In the two-year period 1891-92, the seven-cent road tax raised $440 in Bingham Township of which $187 was actually spent on road maintenance.

Roads, however, were still pretty dicey things in bad weather even into the 1920s during North Carolina’s so-called ‘good roads’ era. Road maintenance had become the top county expenditure and Orange County, like many other North Carolina counties, was becoming deeply indebted just to keep up with the demands of its citizens for better roads. In 1931, North Carolina did a radical thing. It took over jurisdiction and maintenance of all county roads. But in spite of this, it was not until Governor Kerr Scott's administration in the early 1950s that his two hundred million dollar program to pave "farm-to-market" roads program finally got us out of the mud.

Whenever we get off the beaten track and wander through the woods, we keep coming across old trails and roads. You can see the old Greensboro Stage Road in a gully just south of the cemetery. At my house on Buckhorn Road, the driveway follows an old road that went to the gristmill. Some say that the road followed the route of an old Indian path. Wouldn't it be fun to know something more about these old paths and roads?

Orange County is fortunate to have a man who is devoting himself to such a task. He is Tom Magnuson of Hillsborough and he runs the non-profit Trading Path Association. Check out his website at www.tradingpath.org. He does research throughout the state trying to locate and preserve old Indian paths and early colonial roads. He organizes outings on the first Sunday of every month that tour around to special sites he has identified. These are delightful and are open to anyone who wants to sign up. Last year I went on a tour that included a lunch stop at Bill Burlingame's house (just down the driveway from Hugh and Cookie Wilson's old house. There used to be a gristmill there on Morgan Creek and the road from Calvander to Cane Creek came through the site. If you'd enjoy a fun weekend outing, check out the website. A fee is charged for which you will receive literature pertaining to the outing, a meal, and transportation. I think you'll enjoy it.

Ed Johnson